Is condensation on inside of a headlight cover an NCT failure......

Col200sx

I've my NCT tomorrow morning, and only spotted there's a small bit of condensation on inside of headlight cover.

Nothing that would affect headlight beam, but just a small bit and it's noticeable.

Is that an NCT failure?

Thanks

cadaliac

yes

E39MSport

Take the bulb out and get a hair dryer in there

Leonard Hofstadter

Wasn't for me anyway:)!

Redsquigy

My guy who was an MOT tester in England says bring car for a good spin before NCT and leave your headlights on full beam. This should dry it out. This will not affect traffic in daylight.

Col200sx

Hmmmm, interesting one that one so.

As a mechanic I was talking to said it wasn't a fail, but my postman told me today he failed on it

E39MSport wrote: »

Take the bulb out and get a hair dryer in there

Good thinking, will give that a go.

I'd already got it to the outside of the plastic, and it did a pretty good job, but it'll come back methinks.

meathstevie

Quite likely your headlight has a plastic or rubber cover on the back. Remove that for a while and switch on the lights. The built up humidity in the headlight can evaporate through the opened cover. If the condensation is giving trouble just leave the cover off the headlight altogether.

Boskowski

I have a fair bit of it in my right headlight - for years. It's a common problem with the type of car I have.

Never got a mention during 3 NCTs.

CarMuppet

Redsquigy wrote: »

leave your headlights on full beam. This should dry it out. This will not affect traffic in daylight.

I think it will...

pcardin

My car had a little condenstation in the rear light and failed only because of that. The NCT man said get it fixed and come back later for him to take a look. Went home dried with hairdryer and back to NCT. Passed with no probs. No additional charges or anything.

CiniO

Redsquigy wrote: »

My guy who was an MOT tester in England says bring car for a good spin before NCT and leave your headlights on full beam. This should dry it out. This will not affect traffic in daylight.

Please. Don't tell such a jokes on public forum.
Someone might take it for real and really do it.

mickdw

My car owners manual says that minor fogging up is perfectly normal and will burn off once lights are used. Both headlights were showing minor condensation when I picked it up when it was new. I was shocked as I always believed condensation meant dodgy headlight but the guy handing over the car pointed out the paragraph in the book which said its normal. I feel I wasnt the first customer to query it.

Col200sx

I'm gonna give it a bit more of the hairdrying treatment anyway in the morning to be sure, NCT is at 11am, so I will post up the result after

Veloce

Is condensation on the inside of the rear light cluster also a failing point?

golfbgud

I got a MK4 Golf through NCT this year with some condensation in the front rhs headlight?

TestTransmission

Boskowski wrote: »

I have a fair bit of it in my right headlight - for years. It's a common problem with the type of car I have.

Never got a mention during 3 NCTs.

what's the car?

gcgirl

Is the NCT getting a little bit overboard in it's testing ?

Boskowski

TestTransmission wrote: »

what's the car?

5 series - E39. Happens alot with them.

biko

Aye, it's a classic BMW thing, I have it on my E36.
I just took the back covers off a week before NCT, that got rid of it.

Tropheus

My wife's Audi A2 suffers from this and it's seemingly a common problem with them. The best solution is one of those little silica gel sachets that you get in shoes, etc. to stop them from getting damp.

I popped one just inside the rear cover of the offending headlight and haven't had the problem since.

Col200sx

Well I failed the NCT, but on a totally un-related item.

So, no mention of condensation in the headlight by the tester, so effectively I'm guessing it would have passed otherwise