Leaky headlight

I have a spare UK Spec headlight which has a slight leak, does anyone have a proven fix for this problem? ( or who cares because there cheap now !)

Thanks........

(Edited by GavinL at 11:38 am on Aug. 15, 2001)

Educated guess says you'll have to open it up, a la JB, and re-seal it.

not sure how the UK lights are put together but assuming its the same way then just follow the instructions on the mkivsupra.net site but instead of fully pulling the thing apart just lever it apart slightly and then push it back together, all the sealant should then reseal.

Do bear in mind the headlamps might well have breather holes out of which the water should evaporate, or alternatively just remove one of the headlamp bulbs and leave the car in the hot sun for a while so the water can evaporate out.

JB

After standing out in the weekend's rain at a mates house, my headlamps have blasted well got the same problem now.  Putting your headlights on helps burn the stuff off, but I'm going to experiment with silica bags - see how fast it clears up without having to pull the headlight unit apart.

-Ian

Turn a negative into a positive, keep pretty coloured tropical fish in your headlights :biggrin:

Forgive the ignorant question: What is the problem exactly? Do they just condense or do they actually begin to fill up with water?

And is the problem limited to UK spec lights or do Jap ones do it too?

Hi...

I can only speak for the UK spec. Mine develop condensation only but I have seen them with water sloshing around.

I'm sure that the J-spec ones do the same as well, some one will confirm.

regards...............

The condensation problem affects UK and j-spec, if you have driven through a large amount of water and had it splash up into the engine bay then the water can go in through the breather holes, it will normally evaporate away on its own but somtimes its a bit stubborn.

Can I take a guess and say its the near side headlamp that has the condensation in it? Theres fewer obstructions on that side of the engine bay so the water can get up there much easier.

JB

I obviously don't have any idea (yet) what the breather holes are like, but could you attach a peice of hose to them and route the openings to somewhere that isn't susceptible to getting wet?

Quote: from branners on 1:53 pm on Aug. 16, 2001[br]

Can I take a guess and say its the near side headlamp that has the condensation in it? Theres fewer obstructions on that side of the engine bay so the water can get up there much easier.

 

JB

Give that man a coconut!  And a cigar!

Yes, it's the nearside that's got it bad, but the offside one got a bit of damp as well.

J-Spec, BTW.

-Ian

http://www.btinternet.com/~branners/resources/lights/010711-003_small.jpg

notice on this picture that between and just above the two bulb holes on the left there is a circular tube type thing? Thats one of the breather pipes, theres another one on the right of the middle lamp and another one on the very right of the headlamp. Two of them are a U shape, the one on the very right (which would be on the very outside of the car) is a L shape which means the water could get 'pushed' through it much easier.

I assume they are there to allow air to flow out when the unit gets very hot, but you might get away with sealing up 2 of the holes and still allow the first one mentioned above to flow the air out.

JB

Well, my suggestion is to cram a couple of silica gel bags into them, see if that helps.  I'll be trying that next week (week off, week off, hurrah hurrah hurrah!)

-Ian

I'm in the process of cleaning and resealing one of my headlights right now (bout time to go check the oven) and the breathers had some old deteriorated spongey like material in them. It pretty much came out like dirt in small pieces. My question is: Do I need to replace this with something?

i believe these are breathers to allow air and moisture out as the air inside the light heats up from the bulbs. Mine came out of my Jspec lights and has been fine since without a foam peice

I've utilized a bit of old sponge that isn't too dense. We'll see how it works. I was pretty liberal with the RVT sealant around the lamp so hopefully no condensation. Does anybody have a picture of the stupid clamp that holds the inside bulb down? I can't figure out how it went and have been drinking. Thanks.