Headlight Condensation

[EVR]

JonnyCJ said:

Interesting site at V8V.info - some good little projects going on there and in particular the wiper spindle caps. Think I may need to place an order !

Yep, the guy is a cool chap. I sent his way some info about TPMS sensors, I saw it's on his to do.

[Effendi]

LOL- here you go....



Michael

[Effendi]

EVR said:

Yep, the guy is a cool chap. I sent his way some info about TPMS sensors, I saw it's on his to do.

Yes- unfortunately he destroyed his Aston...

Michael

[EVR]

Effendi said:

Yes- unfortunately he destroyed his Aston...

Michael

Ah crap, I feel sorry for him. How did that happened?

Thanks for the pic, what a colour!

Edited by EVR on Monday 25th May 08:49

[Emilio Largo]

Ahem, possibly not a matter of public interest as Christian (Gday2) himself never commented on the accident on this forum. Let´s just hope he will one day be back in an Aston Martin and return to PH and the German forum as he has been giving serious and valid advice over the years. Christian, if you read this, hope everything is well with you!

[Mark6767]

Hi all, just beat the lockdown, sold the Aston and the good news is, I bought another, 2011 V8 Vantage, headlights were full of condensation, I got an extra £400 off, first thing I did was buy a venting kit from AM Upgrades, fitted it on Sunday, two weeks ago, the lights still had droplets inside so I gave the car a good drive, venting kit working, headlights on to help dry up the moisture, got back about an hour later, both lights 95% clear, parked up, went out about and hour later, totally clear and have been since. My mate has had his wife buy one for Christmas, well worth getting. Just need to refurbish the wheels now, a lockdown project, stay safe all and Merry Christmas too.

[JohnV8V]

Hi Mark6767,

Good to hear about your headlights, this is not a good time for wet/damp weather, I am glad to say my venting kit has kept mine clear, so much better at night giving more light than previously. I have a rear light unit full of condensation, I will remove it this weekend and dry it out, doesn’t take long, I will update you when I complete it.

[Dave Aston]

Hi All,

I have been searching on the Web for a V12 Vantage, I think I have found one, I contacted 6 owners and as soon as I said "do you have condensation in the headlights", 3 said they did (One said he didn’t know!!!). The one I will look at when the lockdown improves, has clear headlights as it is fitted with the venting kit, the headlight condensation must lose quite a few sales this time of year when it is wet and damp. Hurry up lockdown.

[Mark6767]

Dave Aston said:

Hi All,

I have been searching on the Web for a V12 Vantage, I think I have found one, I contacted 6 owners and as soon as I said "do you have condensation in the headlights", 3 said they did (One said he didn’t know!!!). The one I will look at when the lockdown improves, has clear headlights as it is fitted with the venting kit, the headlight condensation must lose quite a few sales this time of year when it is wet and damp. Hurry up lockdown.

Hi Dave Aston,

good luck with the V12, I bought mine about 10 months ago, what a fab motor, I left a message on this Post about the headlights misting up so I bought the venting kit and happy to say they have been all clear since being fitted. If I was you, if you change to another V12 without the venting kit, see if you can get an extra reduction so you can buy a kit, good luck.

[JohnV8V]

JohnV8V said:

Hi Mark6767,

Good to hear about your headlights, this is not a good time for wet/damp weather, I am glad to say my venting kit has kept mine clear, so much better at night giving more light than previously. I have a rear light unit full of condensation, I will remove it this weekend and dry it out, doesn’t take long, I will update you when I complete it.

Hi John, regarding the rear light, don’t bother with Gortex patches. Several years ago, I followed steps on drilling holes, I nearly drilled into a circuit board, I dried the light out over 48hours by putting it a couple inches above a hot radiator. When the moisture disappeared, I fitted the Gortex patches on the holes, refitted the light and it worked, no condensation (So I thought). 8 to 10 months later, it was back, what a waste of time that was. I thought the patches worked but it was only because I dried the light unit out the condensation went. In time the moist air got back in and started all over again. I removed the light unit and dried it out the same way as before, I scraped all the joint edges and then literally rubbed good quality silicon sealant along all the edges/joins approx 2 to 3mm thick, it looked messy but you will not see this when refitted. It dried in a few hours, I refitted the light and waited to see if the condensation came back, that was four years ago and the light unit is still clear. The light has a pressure release valve so you don’t need the Gortex patches, the holes I had drilled, I fitted rubber grommets and again, silicon sealed all around the edges. Hope it helps.

[vernierMike]

JohnV8V said:

I removed the light unit and dried it out the same way as before, I scraped all the joint edges and then literally rubbed good quality silicon sealant along all the edges/joins approx 2 to 3mm thick, it looked messy but you will not see this when refitted.

This is a great tip. Mine are fine at the mo, but if they do start showing moisture, then I'm on it.

The family runabout had leakage problems, same solution with taking out all the rear lights etc and applying silicone, that was about 6 years ago and still water-tight.

Btw I also have fitted the de-misting kit with the fans, so a +1 from me, it's a really good modification noting to tape the access panel and not just rely on the goop.

[JonnyCJ]

Butyl seems a more optimal solution than silicone. If you do end up with condensation again the butyl can easily be heated up and removed, whereas silicone doesn’t soften up in the same way as butyl.

If you get silicone wrong, you’re in a world of trouble getting it all out.

[vernierMike]

JonnyCJ said:

Butyl seems a more optimal solution than silicone. If you do end up with condensation again the butyl can easily be heated up and removed, whereas silicone doesn’t soften up in the same way as butyl.

If you get silicone wrong, you’re in a world of trouble getting it all out.

Jonny, any suggested brands?

[milu]

You can buy butyl tape online.
Various colours too

[JonnyCJ]

vernierMike said:

Jonny, any suggested brands?

4mm stuff is the right width. Plenty of it on eBay and it’s pretty much all the same. It’s the stuff that gets used to seal windows etc.

[De-lurk]

Thought I'd give thus butyl tape a go.

I'm not normally that cack-handed but is there some trick to pulling the rear lights out?

I've undone the 2 x nuts and washers (there's not 3 on my car) and tried the redpants technique of pulling the cluster from the outer edge to swivel it out but no joy. It seems to be caught on the inside of the cluster i.e. near the reversing light side.

I've noticed that the 2 studs can be loosened off themselves. Do you have to do anything to these? Or do you have to be brave and give it some beans when pulling?

How did you guys do it?

[bullet7]

There are definitely three fixings on these lights

[JonnyCJ]

De-lurk said:

Thought I'd give thus butyl tape a go.

I'm not normally that cack-handed but is there some trick to pulling the rear lights out?

I've undone the 2 x nuts and washers (there's not 3 on my car) and tried the redpants technique of pulling the cluster from the outer edge to swivel it out but no joy. It seems to be caught on the inside of the cluster i.e. near the reversing light side.

I've noticed that the 2 studs can be loosened off themselves. Do you have to do anything to these? Or do you have to be brave and give it some beans when pulling?

How did you guys do it?

Definitely 3 fixings. On the driver's side it's hidden behind the access panel to the tyre sealant. On the driver's side there should be 2 domed covers which unscrew and then a 19mm nut and lock washer. Behind the access panel it's just a 19mm nut and washer.

Passenger side has 3 domed nuts and associated washers.

Once all 3 are out, you'll need a small flat blade screwdriver to ping back the red clip on the connector block. Careful whilst doing this or you'll scratch the paint with the mounting screws.

It is really easy, so no need to go tugging anything hard, just a gentle waggle should see it come out. (Cue Finbar Saunders....)

[De-lurk]

Thanks for your quick replies on this.

I must be being really thick here. On the driver's side, I have one dome and 1 bolt behind the panel where you charge the car. On the passemger side, I have 2 visible domes.


This is drivers side



This is passenger side



Do I need to pull out the carpet to expose the 3rd bolt?

Thanks for your help and apologies if I am being a numpty.

[Riddochg]

For what its worth I tried everything on my lights, drilling a ventilation hole. Warming and opening the light up then resealing. Condensation always came back.

Bought a used set on e bay. Big mistake. Misted up as well. Tried to fix but no better.

Conclusions.

1. Could be that I'm rubbish at fixing stuff
2. Bloody hard to do it yourself.
3. Getting them rebuilt by Divinatech or another firm I've seen advertising may be a better long term solution.

I eventually bit the expensive bullet and bought some new ones. Word from dealer was that the problem was eventually fixed by Aston. Four years later they are still perfect.

Oh one more thing the dealer mentioned. When you secure the lights from the boot with the bolts do not over tension!! This can cause the light to deform and that lets moisture in.

Hope that helps.