Water in headlight

[NDA]

One of my cars has a completely sealed headlight unit which has condensation in it - a lot, not a misting, but water droplets... all over the inside of the glass.

I would imagine it's a case of replacing the costly unit - I am not a DIY'er so don't have the skills to take the front of the car to bits.

Unless there's a hairdryer type fix? I've no idea.

[finlo]

If you could remove a bulb and leave it facing the sun to dry out (I know I know) it could buy you some respite from the problem for the summer at least.

[Kevin-2g5x2]

If you remove the bulb and holders you might get away with using a hairdryer through the holes, you'll need a bit of patience because if its water rather than condensation it often takes a while to dry out completely, you might also be able to feed a paper towel through the hole to soak it up, just don't let it rip inside!!.

[finlo]

You could also help it along with one of these.

[MDMA .]

It can’t be completely sealed or it wouldn’t be full of water
There’s always a fix.

[POIDH]

Sunny day.
Remove as many bulbs as you can and leave holes open.
Face car into sun.
Wait for nature to do it's thing.
End of day, before it cools, pop bulbs back in.

[Caddyshack]

Share what car it is, I expect it has been fixed before.

I had a TT mk1 that did this.. it looked 100% sealed but it had a tiny crack in the plastic…sealed that after a dry out and that sorted it

[Dog Biscuit]

POIDH said:

Sunny day.
Remove as many bulbs as you can and leave holes open.
Face car into sun.
Wait for nature to do it's thing.
End of day, before it cools, pop bulbs back in.

And wait for the next wash for them to let water in again sadly

I had this probelm with an F10 5 series years ago - replacement lights needed.

[NDA]

Caddyshack said:

Share what car it is, I expect it has been fixed before.

I had a TT mk1 that did this.. it looked 100% sealed but it had a tiny crack in the plastic sealed that after a dry out and that sorted it

It’s a Tesla Model 3

[Smint]

While the weathers nice remove any access covers from the back of the headlight, it won't dry out with the covers in place, as above face into the sun when not in use and when being driven switch the headlights on, unless its swimming in water it'll dry out in a couple of days.
Being a Tesla with cheap charging you could probably leave the lights full on during recharge too if the vehicle allows this.

If you go around the light carefully once dry you'll probably find a chip or gap in the sealing glue.

Had to do similar on a family Golf, found a stonechip at the bottom edge of the headlight which i filled with clear glue.

[NDA]

Thanks for the suggestions.

I will see if I can get to the rear of the lights without removing the bumper.

[Doesitdrive]

Drill a small drain hole in a bottom corner if they are not glass.

Remove the rubber protector covers at back for a while and let them breathe.

The combination usually works if they dont have a bad leak.

Or put them in the oven, YOUTUBE will show you how long, pull of the lens, clean, and reseal.