E39 sport headlamp condensation.
Discussion
Hi Guys,
I've recently bought myself an e39 528i sport which I'm really enjoying.
I have an issue of condensation in the o/s headlamp.
Apparently this is quite a common issue on the e39's. Has anyone got a fix for this issue after drying them out with a hair dryer?
The car is a 2000 model and so doesn't have the angel eye lamps. Does the lense come off and seals changed or are they sealed units.
Any help or avice would be appreciated.
I've recently bought myself an e39 528i sport which I'm really enjoying.
I have an issue of condensation in the o/s headlamp.
Apparently this is quite a common issue on the e39's. Has anyone got a fix for this issue after drying them out with a hair dryer?
The car is a 2000 model and so doesn't have the angel eye lamps. Does the lense come off and seals changed or are they sealed units.
Any help or avice would be appreciated.
My non-angel eye 540i has condensation in the nearside headlamp. It's had it since last year; at first I tried drying it with my wife's hairdryer but after about 45 mins she started shouting at me and it hadn't properly worked anyway.
Since it's an MOT failure (I believe), I took the whole headlight apart in Feb just before my MOT was due. There was quite a bit of water inside the bottom of the unit, which I tipped out, then I dried the inside as fully as I could with kitchen towels - cut them into a point to dry the bit in front of the indicator lens.
It stayed dry long enough to pass the MOT, but it has filled up again now. I think it's the main rubber seal round the plastic which must be slightly damaged, though it doesn't look it. There's no point just covering every joint with silicone sealant because I hear that doesn't solve it either.
By the way, the units aren't totally sealed - there are a couple of holes at the back with rubber L-shaped tubes attached, open to the air. I did remove the accumulated crud from those, but made sure I put the gauze back in each. Obviously that wasn't the problem though.
Since it's an MOT failure (I believe), I took the whole headlight apart in Feb just before my MOT was due. There was quite a bit of water inside the bottom of the unit, which I tipped out, then I dried the inside as fully as I could with kitchen towels - cut them into a point to dry the bit in front of the indicator lens.
It stayed dry long enough to pass the MOT, but it has filled up again now. I think it's the main rubber seal round the plastic which must be slightly damaged, though it doesn't look it. There's no point just covering every joint with silicone sealant because I hear that doesn't solve it either.
By the way, the units aren't totally sealed - there are a couple of holes at the back with rubber L-shaped tubes attached, open to the air. I did remove the accumulated crud from those, but made sure I put the gauze back in each. Obviously that wasn't the problem though.
E38 said:
The condensation is only there when you are not driving it! A few mins after start-up the heat dissipation clears it up.
You've not seen my headlamp unit - there's actual water collecting in the bottom of it. That doesn't just evaporate after half an hour with headlights on.I tried the hair dryer technique and it seemed to clear the fogging but left the droplets there.
The next morning it was worse than ever, the lamp was completely covered and looked terrible.
Today I removed the lamp which was very easy to do, and stripped it down to access the lense. I popped out the lamp glasses and properly dried out the lamp.
I don't know if it will help but I also applied rainex to the inside of the lense.
The job only took 25 mins in total and I think the origional cause was the indicator bulb holder wasn't clipped in properly.
Fingers crossed it is now sorted.
The next morning it was worse than ever, the lamp was completely covered and looked terrible.
Today I removed the lamp which was very easy to do, and stripped it down to access the lense. I popped out the lamp glasses and properly dried out the lamp.
I don't know if it will help but I also applied rainex to the inside of the lense.
The job only took 25 mins in total and I think the origional cause was the indicator bulb holder wasn't clipped in properly.
Fingers crossed it is now sorted.
I had this problem with mine. After getting fed up with using a hair dryer for the umpteenth time, what I did in the end was dismantle the headlamp. I removed the rubber seal, cleaned it up and greased it, then refitted it back to front, so the weathered and perished surface was now inside the seal channel. That worked fine.
Nick
Nick
Cheers Nick, I shall try that because I haven't got round to getting a new seal.
I've left the top cap off mine for a couple of weeks and in the fine weather last week the condensation mostly went away - the only remaining bit is in front of the indicator lens where there's little air circulation.
I've left the top cap off mine for a couple of weeks and in the fine weather last week the condensation mostly went away - the only remaining bit is in front of the indicator lens where there's little air circulation.
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