Headlight Condensation

[tfelton]

I just noticed some condensation in my passenger-side headlight. Has anyone seen this and is it something that should be taken care of? Earlier this summer my high beams went out in Wyoming and the bulbs had to be replaced. We've had a drought since then but got some rain the other day.

[Tom in Tacoma]

Forgive me if I state the obvious - you need to do two things; get the moisture out of there, and you need to seal up the seams that are allowing moisture in to begin with.

A technique I've used in the past is to remove the headlight assembly, removing all the bulbs from the shell. Shake as much moisture out of the shell as you can. Use long-stemmed Q-Tips (or anything like that) to remove what remains that you can reach. Then use a hairdryer to warm up the moisture then alternate blowing into the shell. Continue to do that until you see no condensation or moisture remaining.

Then, using clear silicone caulking, lay a bead around any seam in the headlight assembly. Press the caulking into the seam as much as you can with your finger.

Lastly, reinstall and hope you found the leak!

[tfelton]

And another obvious question is: After 55,000 miles why did it start leaking and how did it happen?

[tfelton]

I found out the answer to my own question. After the high beams went out I had the bulbs replaced. A day or two after I noticed a plastic cap under the hood on the cowling. The dealer said the mechanic forgot to put it back on the headlight housing; so he did. There are two of these caps on the back of the housing to allow access to the bulbs. I took them off and found that the one that had been not put on had one of the four locking tabs broken off and the sealing surface damaged under the rubber gasket. I used a blow dryer on low warm to get rid of the condensation and put a bead of silicone grease on the gasket until I can get a proper replacement next week.

A small problem, but annoying.

[Tom in Tacoma]

There's always a "Rest of the Story", isn't there?

[Ava_Cam]

i found some condensation in my driver's side headlight but unfortunately haven't had the time to take care of it, and the car only has 33,xxx miles on it