headlights know issue?

AdamLalana

AdamLalana

Member
I own 2x A2,s now. Both headlights on both cars are full of condensation on the inside. Is this a know issue?
Is there a permanant fix? must I split them dry them and reseal?

Are people suffering the same issues?
 
AdamLalana said:
I own 2x A2,s now. Both headlights on both cars are full of condensation on the inside. Is this a know issue?
Is there a permanant fix? must I split them dry them and reseal?

Are people suffering the same issues?
Click to expand...
It is a known issue and the most common way of resolving it is to remove the headlights, use a hairdryer and a soft cloth on a stick (or similar) to dry them out completely and then drill a couple of small holes in the underside of the unit and, in a 'belt and braces' approach, to use a few small silica bags behind the reflector before refitting.
 
Happens a lot overtime. Most recommended is to drill 1-2 small hole on the bottom of the unit to help with ventilation.
What I do, as I haven't got such drill, is to loosen the rear cover overnight. Just unlock the wire, the cover shouldn't fall off, leave it overnight, that'd clear it up, just don't forget to lock it back before driving again.
 
This is my answer from another post....

A word of caution when using any chemicals on the inside of the headlight assemblies. The "chrome" reflector is a thin layer applied over plastic and can be damaged very easily. I am a great believer and user of IPA but would not use something as strong inside the headlight.
When proving a leaking headlight I fill it up with soft tap water and check to see where it escapes from excluding the venting system. This shows the leak is coming from the main sealed area between the clear "lens" and the headlight body or sometimes the rear cover foam gasket.
I then empty the headlight and place a small amount of warm water into the headlight and slosh it around to remove any dust and debris. I agree this may not be sufficient to get baked dirt out of the headlight but is perfectly adequate in this country.
The light is then placed on its rear access opening with the cap off to drain down as much water as possible and the foam gasket removed from the cover and given a clean in warm dish soap and left to dry.
Once the majority of the water has drained I then place the light unit onto an old crisp box (or similar size ) that I have cut an opening in the top roughly the same size as the lights access opening and another much smaller hole near the bottom of one of the sides of the box. The light is placed over the upper opening and a hair dryer nozzle is placed into the lower hole. The hair dryer is switched on and left to run on a medium temperature until the headlight is completely dry. By this time the foam gasket has also dried completely.
The light is removed from the box and hair dryer turned off and removed.
The foam is carefully inspected to see if it had been twisted when previously installed and that caused a leak. The gasket is given a light smear of silicone grease and carefully fully inserted back into it groove in the cap ensuring it is not twisted and sits flat in the groove.
The headlight receives a 10mm bead of black silicone all around the join area between the "lens" and the body ensuring it is complete with no gaps or air bubbles and left for 10 minutes. I then run electrical insulation tape over the black silicone and pull tight. This further compresses the silicone and gives a nice finish once fully dry, although I leave the tape on afterwards.
The electrical connectors are then checked and cleaned with a rag and small amount of contact cleaner or IPA and the bulbs correctly reinserted into their locations and the rear access cap refitted and secured with its spring clip. Headlight refitted and external wiring plug reconnected.
All sealed headlights do mist up in certain conditions but will clear within a few minutes of the lights being turned on. This is because the air inside the unit was not mixing with the outside air.
 
Jeff Sutcliffe said:
It is a known issue and the most common way of resolving it is to remove the headlights, use a hairdryer and a soft cloth on a stick (or similar) to dry them out completely and then drill a couple of small holes in the underside of the unit and, in a 'belt and braces' approach, to use a few small silica bags behind the reflector before refitting.
Click to expand...
Thanks I will drill some holes and fit some LED bulbs that warm up the space
 
AdamLalana said:
Thanks I will drill some holes and fit some LED bulbs that warm up the space
Click to expand...
As audifan says, don't fit illegal LED bulbs. The MOT tester won't pass an A2 with them fitted and, because they would dazzle other road users, you'd be likely to fall into the hands of the Police.
 
LED lamps run cooler than Halogens, so will have less heating effect.
LEDs are more efficient at converting electricity to light than Halogen filaments, that why an LED equivalent to Halogen are at least half the wattage.
Mac.
 
Literally the easiest way is what I've mentioned above, just open the back cover slightly for after a few hours, and then lock it back. Done.
 
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