Condensation in Headlights

KwackerJack

Any way of clearing condensation in glass headlights?

Cant see any cracks or anywhere that would let in water.

Would drilling a hole in the tear plastic allow air to flow and clear them out??

Although it is raining outside the outside of the light was completely dried off, all water visible is inside

biko

Do you use the lights as DRL?
There's usually something like a rubber gasket over plastic cover on the back of the light.
On my e36 I just removed that cover and that sorted it for me, it's a classic issue on e36 cars.
The heat from the lights dries the headlights fast - but at the same time when you turn them off it pulls in cold air from outside.
May work for you, what car is it?

sean1141

Remove the back covers and use a hairdryer/heat gun carefully to dry them out.

Few packs of silica gel taped to the covers should stop it happening again for a long time

KwackerJack

biko wrote: »

Do you use the lights as DRL?
There's usually something like a rubber gasket over plastic cover on the back of the light.
On my e36 I just removed that cover and that sorted it for me, it's a classic issue on e36 cars.
The heat from the lights dries the headlights fast - but at the same time when you turn them off it pulls in cold air from outside.
May work for you, what car is it?

I'll try that thanks, its a 2002 Volvo S80

sean1141 wrote: »

Remove the back covers and use a hairdryer/heat gun carefully to dry them out.

Few packs of silica gel taped to the covers should stop it happening again for a long time

Was wondering if a heat gun would work or would it all just come back after a few days, ill remove the rear cover and try it, where could i get the Silica packs handy??

Mycroft H

It's worth keeping the dipped lights on all the time to keep the condensation out once you've the condensation cleared.

biko

S80 has the condensation issue too, like e36.
If you use a heat gun be careful so you don't damage something, a hairdryer isn't as hot.

The issue as I see is that moistur gets sucked in but can't escape properly because the lights aren't propely sealed and also can't breathe.
Beside removing cover altogether a solution is a replacement cap with a gore-tex (or some similar "breathing" material) inlay.

JohnBoy26

If it's made of plastic, a small hole at the bottom of the headlight should drain any water out thus stopping the condensation issue.