Steamed up Head light! on my T350!

[MADT350]

Ok after all this rain the last few days i now have a steamed up drivers side head lamp on my T350.

Question is
a) do i just leave it to dry out and put up with it every time it rains or
b) get it fixed...what does this involve and what do you think it will cost?

cheers

tom

[targarama]

They are not airtight. Luckily the drivers' side is easier to get at the back of than the passenger side. You could remove the headlamp bulb and get a hairdryer in there somehow maybe. Resealing the front of the perspex will never 100% cure this.

FWIW you see the same problem on many cars.

[hilti]

Targarama is right, many cars have this and it is very difficult to stop.

The problem is that even if the fron lense is sealed air tight, the lamp unit has to be sealed in the body airtight as well? Whilst this isn't impossible, if cold air is sealed in then when sun shines on it it will condensate and if hot air is sealed in and it goes cold, then same will happen.

If the front lenses is sealed and the lamp in the rear is not i have fouiund that the headlamp apature will be allowed to breath and on all three of my Tivs this has been the case and condensation has cleared as fast as it appears. Think mmain probem arises when the front lense seal breaks and you get perminant condensation.

This is one of those jobs you could do over and over again and not get a result?

J

[earlyriser]

hilti said:

This is one of those jobs you could do over and over again and not get a result?

J

Agreed. I deliberately broke the seals around the actual light units (from the wheel arch) when I upgraded bulbs. No problems since. Sods law says you will take time/trouble to re-seal the perspex lense cover ... and then get a stone through it anyway.

[Battlecat]

I had this over the winter, but got it fixed by The Garage (Dave Batty) who re-sealing the covers. He said this would lead to the lights corroding. Since then there has been no condensation but presumably it may need doing every few years.

P.S. my Dads Volvo had condensation in the xenon lights as well. Needed a whole new unit.

[nlaw]

i was quoted round abouts £200 to get them sorted by dealer in london

[FrancoTam]

I've got the same problem with my Tam and have noticed part of the seal for the outside cover is broken. Thought it might just be matter of re-sealing it. But after reading this I think it might be a bit harder than I thought!

[L1OFF]

nlaw said:

i was quoted round abouts £200 to get them sorted by dealer in london

Dont waste your money, mine went back to the factory and was great for a month and then it came back. Followed a Lambo Muci the other day with the same problem (rear lights) so we are not alone.
Buy some Sikafix and do it yourself.

Alan

Edited by L1OFF on Friday 18th May 17:34

[David Godfrey]

went on a run over the weekend and having the same problem, not long after I had the car both were resealed (seals arround the perspex are still intact), as said above highly suspect no matter how well you seal you will get some moisture in there as temps/humidity change (the pannels in the wheel arch don't appear to be sealed well). Also I do remember when they were removed, cleaned and resealed it took a few goes to get the dust out of them.

[andy11]

Been struggling for sometime now with this paticular 'niggle', I've tried 3 times now to reseal the driver's side and everytime it comes up on the same side again. Tried 2 different sealants aswell including the famous Sikaflex. I'm going to attack it next week again with a new plan, next I will rough up the black area around the outside and repaint it, I'm hoping it will then have something to 'key' into rather than trying to adhere to smooth perspex which I think is the problem here.

[MADT350]

cheers for that. the seals look fine around mine i think it might have got in via the headlight at the back so i will have a good look at that and see what i can find...

many thanks

[extremekiter]

Problem easily solved guys!!!!

Go and buy some Sikkaflex 221 or 252 in BLACK. NOT WHITE. It comes in a tube needing a sealer gun to aplly. Remove front covers by hand by GENTLY peeling them away. Clean up interior on headlight unit and inside of perspex and reseal/bond them on with Sikkaflex. We use this stuff on caravans/motorhomes everyday and have done for years and its awsome. not cheap but the best!!! Its around £13 a tube of it giving you loads and loads to do the job porperly. Fixed my T350 headlights a treat........................... Allow 3 days to properly cure inside ya garage in none cold condtions and your away. Job done!!!

Have fun all
Justyn