Bad experience with Hella Blackout Headlights.....
 

I think its probably pretty old news that Hella Blackout Headlights SUCK ! I know a whole bunch of the members here have reported that one or both of their Hell Blackouts leaked, and then got all fogged with condensation.

Well, one of mine did that too.

Then I began this big back and forth phone game with Auto Anything (whom I will never do business with again, either) and they basically screwed with me until I gave up on them.

So, I took some heavy duty epoxy sealent to it, and apparently, I did an okay job, because that was about 9 months ago, and it hasn't leaked since.

However now, all around the edges of the main clear face cover on both lights, it appears that the surface is trying to peel off :-( Hard to explain.... might post a photo later.... but trust me, it looks like $#!+ !

So anyway, is their anybody here who thinks I might actually be able to get Hella or Auto Anything to do anything about these headlights now, with them being 10 months old ?

Or did I just get screwed by both Hella and Auto Anything ???

Thankfully, I still have my original stock headlights in the closet. I might try the oven trick on those soon, and just see if I can get those ripped apart for painting. Heck, if I can't get them blacked out, they are worthless to me anyway.....

Hmmmm,
What would you do ? {if you were poor like me ?}

Fish

I was just lookin at them on Summit thinkin of possibly gettin some, bout to say why not just put some thick clearly?.. gasket type sealent around the headlight, Throw them in the oven and put some thicker sealent around it??

Hey tman, first off, if I'm paying $200 for a set of brand new headlights, they > should not need to be sealed after I get them ! And this is not just a freak thing. A whole bunch of guys have reported this same thing.

Secondly, sealing these things is not as clear cut as you might think. I gaurantee, you will look at these things and think, "Well where is it actually leaking ? And what part do I actually need to seal ? And you will probably just end up saying screw it..... and slopping on sealent all over the darn things, and if your lucky, that sealent won't show itself with the lights mounted in your truck.

However, asside from all that, when the whole surface of your headlights starts peeling off, you will understand why a leaking light is not near as big of a deal, as a peeling light !

That's why.

Peace,
Fish

PS, When I mentioned "the oven trick" it had nothing to do with fixing leaking lights..... It was a method that some guys have used to pry apart their stock lights, so that they could paint a lot of the chrome areas black, or PTM, then they seal them back up.

I would call Hella and bitch at them and see if they would replace them. I know all to well about ordering "Harley look alikes" and them falking up.I did the same and sealed the **** outta them and they still leak. Unfortunaly i ordered off ebay along time ago and dont even remember who i bought them from.All the best to you buddy.

I would also try calling Hella. Sometimes you will get ahold of somebody that will try to make you happy. I am also skeptical about the whole putting the stockers in the oven. I dont want to ruin 1 yr old headlights, but I want them ptm.

Go to your local auto parts store and pick up whats called RTV Black Sealant that's what I did after I painted my headlights after cooking them in the oven and it works awesome or use a flashing roofing adhesive sealant that would work also.

I purchased my Hella lamps from Tire Rack. When I had an issue with them, I contacted Hella who told me to contact the retailer. Tire Rack was helpful, and had a new set shipped out right away without any issues. Of course I was still within the warranty period. (FYI, my issue wasn't leaking... it was the old issue they did the recall for, where the adjustment screw stops working).

You can try contacting Hella and say the retailer won't help you out.. worth a try. You may get Hella to call them and tell them to correct your problem. Good luck.

theres a guy in south houston that does alot of peoples tails and heads i think also, PM me and ill try and get you his info. if you haven't joined texastruckscene.com usually alot of helpful stuff on there dealing with houston, and we got a fair amount of f150's that meet at our north spot.

I thought most of the people having issues with leaking were using knock-off Hellas. They bought them on ebay, but they weren't the real things. There were Fellas. :lol:

Mine leaked as well. I put them in the oven cleaned them up and resealed them. This has been at least 8 months ago. Then yesterday I did noticed the clear coating on the lens starting to flake off also. I'm well out of warranty but I'll give hella a call in a few days. Really sucks cause most of their stuff is pretty good.

I also bought some off of eBay, and surprisingly have had no issues with them...that is until about three weeks ago. And it was probably my fault. I guess there is like a clear coat or something on the lenses of the lights. I was washing my truck and decided to use some of that bug b gone spray. Well I guess the spray didnt agree with that clear coat and at the top of the head light it started peeling. Luckily I caught it in time, and you cant really tell unless you look closely. Can these be re cleared?

I see several of you are dealing with this same, ugly clear coat peeling issue :( Sucks huh ?

I'll try to call Hella if I get some free time..... but if any of you call, and actually get some help, please post the experience, and ph # here.

Thanks,
Fish

FC, I believe it's called crazing. My cheapo Depo blackouts did that. I ended up going with Ford Genuine HD headlights and have never looked back.

I have had my hellas for probably close to a year now and have no issues (knocking on wood, now) LOL

How worn do they look and what was the warranty period on them. Hypothetically speaking, if someone was getting the run around from both Auto Anything and Hella, that someone could order up a new set from Auto Anything, install the new ones, throw the old ones in the box and tell them that they are defective. That someone could demand a refund because they are still within the new warranty period. I would advise that someone to order them with a credit card so if they give that someone grief about it, that someone can dispute the charges.