Condensation misting up front headlight

Anyone come across this problem / feature of the A2. My Y Plate 1.4 SE has exhibited this fault since I bought it appx 3 years ago. It only effects the drivers side headlights. It tends to be less obvious in winter as humidity is less and the lights are on more so they warm up and drive out the moisture.
I have completely removed the light housing when one of the bulbs blew, I checked all the seals and looked for cracks.
Lastly there is no damage on the front or side of the headlight unit.

I always look at A2's (dont we all) and have not seen another like it.

Thanks in advance

Steve
 
Anyone come across this problem / feature of the A2. My Y Plate 1.4 SE has exhibited this fault since I bought it appx 3 years ago. It only effects the drivers side headlights. It tends to be less obvious in winter as humidity is less and the lights are on more so they warm up and drive out the moisture.
I have completely removed the light housing when one of the bulbs blew, I checked all the seals and looked for cracks.
Lastly there is no damage on the front or side of the headlight unit.

I always look at A2's (dont we all) and have not seen another like it.

Thanks in advance

Steve

Misting has always been a 'regular' feature of A2s since they were launched and a number of them were replaced because of this.

There will be a miniscule crack somewhere, or more likely, the seal between the lens and the shell will not be complete.

There are breather holes in the back of the shell and these are designed to eqalise pressure when the bulbs get hot, but they can also let in excess moisture.

One solution is to put a silica gel sachet in there and to keep it changed reularly.

Cheers,

Mike
 
My one went like that, I put some of those gel in packets in the back and ensured that I sealed the back seal with some normal vaseline (make sure you don't leave any bits missed). So far a month and my headlight hasn't misted up.

.. linky
 
Cheers guys I have a plan , now where did I put that silica gell from my last electronic purchase, I remembered not to eat it!!!

Thanks again

Steve:)
 
Hi Steve
Maybe you have this in hand but if there is still condensation inside the light unit, remove it, take out the bulbs then use gentle heat (fan heater or hair drier etc) to evapourate off all the moisture. Next condition the silica gell sachets by putting them in a warm oven for 15min or so before putting everything back together

Cheers Spike
 
It's been the passenger side on our A2 that has exhibited severe condensation for months now - actually large water droplets.

A couple of weeks ago I took the lamp unit out, and split the lens from the shell by removing the spring clips all around - I noticed that one was missing and the plastic mount was broken, so I may not be the first person to do this!

Anyway, I cleaned and dried inside and re-assembled. So far there has only been very light misting, and if it gets worse again I will strip down and use some silicone sealant on the join along with some silica gel.
 
Condensation

Well Friday came excellent weather off came the front rhs light ,result, all three top side clips broken , sides and bottom OK, araldite'd new tops , cleaned dried , added silica gel and now Im back up and running. Whoever said (Milke Spike ? ) there would be a crack was right I had one of those as well (more araldite) !. So lets see how we get on in the rain , thanks for the advice guys.

Steve
 
Take your courage in your hand , its certainly worth clearing out the condensation , the other night I was out late and the difference in terms of light output is great. The condensation causes the light from the bulbs to bounce around and as a result you get less where you are going. Removing the front light is only two bolts plus removal of the electrical connector it takes mins not hours, have a go its worth it.

Steve
 
I replaced a sidelight bulb and failed to seat the back plate correctly thus headlight unit is full of heavy condensation, can anyone offer me advice on how to disconnect the wiring attached to the headlight thus allowing me to remove the unit and clean the lens due to the heavy condensation trails, any advice please
 
Take the whole unit out - just two bolts with bonnet off, and disconnect the socket carefully. Then you can take the unit indoors, remove rear cover and let it dry out.
 
Thanks for replying Lukas, initially I could not disconnect the socket and not wanting to damage anything I dried out the unit with a hairdryer, placed a good sized pack of silicone granules in the back of the unit and it has cured the misting up, however I need to remove some condensation marks from the interior of the lens, any tips on what could be presenting me from disconnecting the electrics from the unit

Many thanks
 
Thanks for replying Lukas, initially I could not disconnect the socket and not wanting to damage anything I dried out the unit with a hairdryer, placed a good sized pack of silicone granules in the back of the unit and it has cured the misting up, however I need to remove some condensation marks from the interior of the lens, any tips on what could be presenting me from disconnecting the electrics from the unit

Many thanks


HI,

The plugs come off with a little biut of pressure and a little bit of inside information as to how the locking tab is released.

Please check out the "How To" Index section for details that MAY help. They are on this link but it is well worth checking the whole Index thread for tips like this How to get the headlamp wiring connector off

A list of some of the "How To's" and useful threads


Steve B
 
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