Adiver
Member Since: 18 Jan 2006
Location: Rutland
Posts: 492
  
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| Headlight Condensation - anyone used silica gell? |
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My OS headlight has had bad condensation in it, but apparently not enough for the warranty to cover replacing it 
I have had the unit out and blown air through it with a hairdryer on low setting. It seemed to dry it all out quite nicely and left no visable condensation marks at all, so I refitted the unit. As it has got colder outside, there is still some very slight misting showing on the bottom silver bit.
There is supposed to be a breathable Gortex membrane in the unit to allow it to - well - breath!
Has anyone put a sachet of silica gell in side the light unit to absorb any water vapour? This would probably prevent the misting up from occuring and as the unit gets hot from the lamps being on, it would dry out the silica gell and 're-energise' it, with the water vapour escaping thruogh the gortex breathable membrane.
Has anyone else had this problem and tried it? I am not sure where to get a sachet of the stuff from, but you often find it in new electrical goods, shoe boxes (for some bizzare reason - aren't shoes supposed to tollerate a little dampness???!!) and few other packaged goods. I'll wait until some turns up!
There seems to be plenty of room to place a sachet or two without them getting in the way of anything hot. There are also no obvious leaks in the unit - splits etc, so unless one of the seals or plastic welds has gone, I really cant see where so much water is getting in. Does anyone know / have found out how it gets in?
Jon
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 3rd Nov 2007 12:28 am |
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adam
Member Since: 20 Sep 2005
Location: Home and Happy
Posts: 6917
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I would take your packet of silca gel and stick it up the Service Manager's a  se
I have never had a condensation issue - how do you there is not a hairline crack in what should be a virtually sealed unit
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| 3rd Nov 2007 1:10 am |
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Adiver
Member Since: 18 Jan 2006
Location: Rutland
Posts: 492
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I don't! 
The service manager has been good to me so far - but has now argued about this and rear tyre wear / alignment - telling me I have to pay £55 for the alignment!
I told him that in 2000 miles (since I bought the car) I should see no alignment wear as it was not there when I bought the car, even though it had 2 new fronts, and I think the old fronts had been put on the rear. Anyway, the rear O/S is showing a wear pattern on the inside edge and will ruin the tyre prematurely if not fixed. To me, this shows the car was sold with a defect that they should remedy.
Back to the lights - any fixes to prevent this? I was told ( by said service manager) that the condesation would have to cover the lamp beam before being covered by warranty, despite it actually showing as large water droplets on the silver bit ( and the day before it was a condensation covering most of the lense area, but had dried out by the time they saw it ).
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| 3rd Nov 2007 1:35 am |
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caverD3
Member Since: 03 Jul 2006
Location: Oberon, NSW
Posts: 6922
 
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Had one headlight replaced on delivery. The other had a small amount of condensation. I took the back off and left the lights on for a while, put the plug back in and switched off. No problems since.  “There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely gamesâ€
Ernest Hemmingway
D4 3.0 Active Diff, Adaptive Lights, High Beam Assist, Surround Cameras, Privacy Glass.
D3 2.7:Adaptive Headlights,Electronic Rear Diff,ARB Bar,Blaupunkt Speakers,JVC Powered Subwoofer,Removable Snorkel,Mitch Hitch,Pioneer After Market Head Unit,Steering Wheel Control Adaptor,Remote Adjustable Supension Rod System, Taxside Dual Battery System.
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| 3rd Nov 2007 1:42 am |
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Gareth
Site Moderator
Member Since: 07 Dec 2004
Location: Bramhall
Posts: 26699
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The condensation will probably disappear, but stick with the wheel alignment, its a very common issue. The tyres should not wear excessively on the inside edge.
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| 3rd Nov 2007 1:48 am |
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