Headlight Condensation
Discussion
A bit of a laugh, I have tried to advise a mate to fit a venting kit to his Vantage due to condensation problems but he thought he would be clever and just drill holes in the light caps. I called him on the weekend, we spoke about his remedy only to find out one of the lights now have a family of spiders and webs inside it, he is not a happy man.
I did the hole drilling thing and added gore tex before Christmas - no improvement. Changed the gore tex for a bit of fish tank filter foam and chucked in a couple of silica packs for good measure and hey presto ZERO condensation! and that's with the car living outside through the wettest winter on record...
rickyf1 said:
I did the hole drilling thing and added gore tex before Christmas - no improvement. Changed the gore tex for a bit of fish tank filter foam and chucked in a couple of silica packs for good measure and hey presto ZERO condensation! and that's with the car living outside through the wettest winter on record...
Hi, sorry to say I have tried all these plus when the silicon bags absorb the moisture, you are going to have to go through the procedure of removing them, drying them out and then replacing them, not a fun job, good luck.rickyf1 said:
I did the hole drilling thing and added gore tex before Christmas - no improvement. Changed the gore tex for a bit of fish tank filter foam and chucked in a couple of silica packs for good measure and hey presto ZERO condensation! and that's with the car living outside through the wettest winter on record...
Adding the foam instead of the Goretex is basically compounding the problem - you're allowing more moisture in, which means the silica gel has to do twice the job.In your case no holes and silica would be best, better still a headlight vent kit which pushes the moisture out.
Make sure you have a vapour barrier between the wheel arch liner and the rear of the headlight. The seal on the access panel isn't worth a light and lets lots of water through to the rear of the headlights.
Worth having a read through the thread for some tips.
JonnyCJ said:
Adding the foam instead of the Goretex is basically compounding the problem - you're allowing more moisture in, which means the silica gel has to do twice the job.
In your case no holes and silica would be best, better still a headlight vent kit which pushes the moisture out.
Make sure you have a vapour barrier between the wheel arch liner and the rear of the headlight. The seal on the access panel isn't worth a light and lets lots of water through to the rear of the headlights.
Worth having a read through the thread for some tips.
Hi, I totally agree, the moist air must be removed, the venting kit is the perfect tool plus it is water protected and includes filters, fit once and forget. I fitted mine quite a few months ago, I drive the car a lot, in all weather conditions and I am pleased to say I have never had the condensation return. Stay safe all you petrol heads.In your case no holes and silica would be best, better still a headlight vent kit which pushes the moisture out.
Make sure you have a vapour barrier between the wheel arch liner and the rear of the headlight. The seal on the access panel isn't worth a light and lets lots of water through to the rear of the headlights.
Worth having a read through the thread for some tips.
My initial post was aimed at the poor guy that now has spiders taking up residence in his headlights, though I guess he may have to remove and split the unit first to clear the cobwebs...
Moisture intermittently appeared in my headlights since new (2006) until last year when one light constantly had large droplets all over the inside of the glass. I dried it out with a hairdryer and the same level of moisture returned within a week. Since drilling the holes and covering with foam they are 100% dry and have been for the last 5 months - with the car being outside through the the wettest winter on record. It is obvious air containing moisture can enter the headlight (as it can with a venting kit) but as no condensation is appearing on the inside of the lens it appears to be leaving the enclosure at the same rate - so far anyway. I'm guessing that with changes in temperature the enclosure was actively drawing in moisture and with gore tex in place there was not enough free air movement to prevent a small pressure differential still drawing in water, so replacing it with foam was the next step. If water was still entering at the rate of a teaspoon full a week then the silica would have been overwhelmed long ago. The silica may be superfluous but it may keep any humidity inside the headlight down - absorbing moisture when the air is damp and releasing it when heated by the bulb or the sun.
Whilst looking at some form of forced venting I couldn't see any downside to trying this first, and if it mists up come next winter I shall then decide between replacing the silica or fitting a venting kit...
Moisture intermittently appeared in my headlights since new (2006) until last year when one light constantly had large droplets all over the inside of the glass. I dried it out with a hairdryer and the same level of moisture returned within a week. Since drilling the holes and covering with foam they are 100% dry and have been for the last 5 months - with the car being outside through the the wettest winter on record. It is obvious air containing moisture can enter the headlight (as it can with a venting kit) but as no condensation is appearing on the inside of the lens it appears to be leaving the enclosure at the same rate - so far anyway. I'm guessing that with changes in temperature the enclosure was actively drawing in moisture and with gore tex in place there was not enough free air movement to prevent a small pressure differential still drawing in water, so replacing it with foam was the next step. If water was still entering at the rate of a teaspoon full a week then the silica would have been overwhelmed long ago. The silica may be superfluous but it may keep any humidity inside the headlight down - absorbing moisture when the air is damp and releasing it when heated by the bulb or the sun.
Whilst looking at some form of forced venting I couldn't see any downside to trying this first, and if it mists up come next winter I shall then decide between replacing the silica or fitting a venting kit...
JohnV8V said:
A bit of a laugh, I have tried to advise a mate to fit a venting kit to his Vantage due to condensation problems but he thought he would be clever and just drill holes in the light caps. I called him on the weekend, we spoke about his remedy only to find out one of the lights now have a family of spiders and webs inside it, he is not a happy man.
Just a silly update, he stripped the spider infested light unit out, he said it took several hours to complete, he also said he has now purchased the amupgrades venting kit. I bet he wishes he did this in the first place.Hi, new here on PH.com. My name is Michael, I am from Germany and I drive a V12S having had the same probs with the headlights. A guy from the german forum developed a kit where the air from head lights goes through Silicat that is stored in a small container with convenient access. Fresh air also gets through that into the headlights and gets dried before reaching the lights. After 8 weeks or so all air in the system is dry and there is no more fogging of the headlights since 2 years now- no matter where and when I drive....
I try to ad some scans:
I try to ad some scans:
Effendi said:
Hi, new here on PH.com. My name is Michael, I am from Germany and I drive a V12S having had the same probs with the headlights. A guy from the german forum developed a kit where the air from head lights goes through Silicat that is stored in a small container with convenient access. Fresh air also gets through that into the headlights and gets dried before reaching the lights. After 8 weeks or so all air in the system is dry and there is no more fogging of the headlights since 2 years now- no matter where and when I drive....
I try to ad some scans:
That's interesting - do you have more details?I try to ad some scans:
Yes, no probs.... as I said: Christian from V8V.info invented that system- you put 2 valves into each headlight housing, wire them with thin high pressure hose and all that leads to the little container with Silicat in it. Through different temperature the air in the lights gets bigger/smaller volume causing fresh air to come in (through Silicat) or drives used air out forcing fresh air to come in....
Way in and out has to go through that little container so after a while you have dry air in the system container-hoses-2 headlights- no more condensation. You can speed up the initial process by using a vacuum pump to clear the system- you have a convenient valve near the container for it.
Michael
Way in and out has to go through that little container so after a while you have dry air in the system container-hoses-2 headlights- no more condensation. You can speed up the initial process by using a vacuum pump to clear the system- you have a convenient valve near the container for it.
Michael
Effendi said:
Hi, new here on PH.com. My name is Michael, I am from Germany and I drive a V12S having had the same probs with the headlights. A guy from the german forum developed a kit where the air from head lights goes through Silicat that is stored in a small container with convenient access. Fresh air also gets through that into the headlights and gets dried before reaching the lights. After 8 weeks or so all air in the system is dry and there is no more fogging of the headlights since 2 years now- no matter where and when I drive....
I try to ad some scans:
Looks a good setup I try to ad some scans:
Al in favour of anything that helps the headlights get vented, compared to the nonsensical original design.
Like the idea of this, however would raise a couple of areas for discussion compared to the blown fan solution...
This seems to require an element of maintenance, i.e changing the silica gel in the container, also, I presume you need to run a couple of plastic tubes from the canister to the nearside headlight (UK spec). To my mind this opens up a few areas of inefficiency compared to the blown fan solution.
Infinitely better than having nothing of course !
Like the idea of this, however would raise a couple of areas for discussion compared to the blown fan solution...
This seems to require an element of maintenance, i.e changing the silica gel in the container, also, I presume you need to run a couple of plastic tubes from the canister to the nearside headlight (UK spec). To my mind this opens up a few areas of inefficiency compared to the blown fan solution.
Infinitely better than having nothing of course !
Ok....here you go:
This is the small hose coming from the left side headlight and that one that connects to the right headlight.
Next is -hide them!
Then it is done, hose is under the upper wing fixing
This is before connecting to the little container with the silicat
This is the lower part of the Silicat container with gasket...
Here when all is mounted and the little green hose goes to the vacuum pump for initializing...
You do not see more when the hood is open....
Michael
This is the small hose coming from the left side headlight and that one that connects to the right headlight.
Next is -hide them!
Then it is done, hose is under the upper wing fixing
This is before connecting to the little container with the silicat
This is the lower part of the Silicat container with gasket...
Here when all is mounted and the little green hose goes to the vacuum pump for initializing...
You do not see more when the hood is open....
Michael
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