Headlight Condensation

[thebadger]

Hey guys, having an issue of condensation inside my drivers side HL.

Anyone on here know of a quick fix that may not require removing or replacing the whole unit?

Cheers

Badger.

[scooter]

badger a hair dryer works

[PaulZX]

leave yer lights on for an hour, that should do the trick....

would drilling a couple of wee holes in two places allow for miniscule air flow, and give the condensation somewhere to vent?

[thebadger]

I fear miniscule holes have gotten me into this predicament!

I may action the hair dryer tomorrow, but only if I get some good weather.

[p fandango]

I may action the hair dryer tomorrow, but only if I get some good weather.
hope you've got a back-up plan then, this is England lol

[castellsmith123]

Scooter is right! A hair dryer does work! If you can find the hole,clear silicon will do the trick!

[v70torslanda]

Check the bulb cover over the dip beam. Condensation is a known P2 problem.

Volvo introduced a modified cover with a small cutaway and a textile membrane over the hole. The idea was to allow the headlight to breathe and water vapour to pass through the textile while preventing the condensation when the lamp cooled down again

Easy enough to do yourself, simply cut a hole about the size of a 5p coin in the circular bulb cover and glue a couple of layers of j-cloth over the hole.

I'm afraid if this doesn't cure it then you will have to replace the headlamp.

BTW have you jet washed the car recently? This can cause the condensation and it goes away quite quickly without any intervention.

[thebadger]

hope you've got a back-up plan then, this is England lol

Maybe for you mate, for me it's Scotland!

I have the ones with a membrane... I'm thinking silicone may be the required action.

I have HIDs fitted & I'm guessing that the tiny gap near the membrane has allowed liquid in. Either that or my garage have damaged it in an attempt to fix my beam patterns. It failed the MOT through that, but they claimed they fixed it. :rolleyes:

I may look out an old hoover hose to direct the air...

[gazbak1]

you could stick some of them silica gel packets in the bottom of the headlamp

you know the white packets that say do not eat on them?

[thebadger]

Thought about that, but it would be visible in the unit & annoy me almost as much as the condensation.

I'd rather fix it than slowly get rid of it.

[p fandango]

Maybe for you mate, for me it's Scotland!
so even less chance of decent weather lol, & you've even got your location in the side profile which i should of read lol

[thebadger]

It was cold, but very sunny here today, so may be good tomorrow too!

[p fandango]

It was cold, but very sunny here today, so may be good tomorrow too!
its today now mate lol

[thebadger]

The Hairdryer seems to have done the trick, but The cause was a perished wire gromit from the HID's on the full beams cap.

Took about 20 mins to remove the whole lot as it had spread from the full beam right round to the indicator! The joys!

[Jaseb77]

Curious,
I had condensation on one head light, prior to fitting HIDS, then after fitting the HIDS, and not getting round to putting the covers for the back of the lamp on.

My condensation issue has "evaporated" (sorry)

so opposite of you ??

[thebadger]

Not at all Jase, I'd guess that having the caps off has allowed the moisture out, though there is a membrane on the caps to allow air out, but no cap is probably going to let even more out!

[cornclose]

Don't the HIDs generated less heat than halogens aswell ? That might make condensation buildup more likely.

[thebadger]

Yeah, I think so. but a hairdryer generates a breeze too! :P