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Headlight Condensation Gone Bad Just thought I'd give you guys a heads up about what happens when you don't fix headlight condensation. One of mine had been showing moisture since it was in warranty at about 35k. Took it to the dealer they said it was normal which was BS. I pushed back a little but didn't get no where. Now at 57k headlight went totally out. Removed assembly took it to work and blew dry nitrogen in the vent tube to dry it out. In the process the leak along the whole top seam revealed itself in the form of blowing bubbles. I used a syringe with flowable windshield silicone to fix the leak and replaced the bulb. It did not work. After taking it back out and apart I figured out the ballast is the lowest point and water collects there and corrodes and fries it. Hello $440 part plus $100 bulb. I called Mazda bitched and got $200 gift card. Also got the dealer down to $330 on the ballast. All in all I am out $230 some time and have a very good understanding of how the tech package lights work. TL;DR condensation in headlight is more than cosmetic it will fry your shit. |
I started to see some condensation few weeks but hasn't seen since then... Maybe I should look into it.. Thanks! |
I have non-hid housings and the same thing happened to me. Condensation at 35k, but it hasn't progressed to actually pooling, just large droplets. I am planning to bake the lights open once spring comes, I already have my TRS retroquick bixenon kit ready to go I hate the new tapatalk version and hope its replaced soon http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...1023918660.jpg |
Damn...I'm dealing with condensation now too. Took out light...dried it out with a air mattress pump and now hoping that the silicon was able to seal it up enough. No condensation this morning, but only first day. Has anyone determined where these lights are actually failing? I looked around a good bit but didn't see any of the other condensation threads to really pinpoint a common leak area of the lens housing. Its like fixing a leaking roof on a house...no idea how far its running along the light before it actually gets inside. |
This happens on all mass produced cars, some asshole robot or person didn't use enough glue in one spot and after years of drastic temperature change shit gets fucked. I am still waiting to pull mine apart but I'll try to isolate the exact cause if the moisture leak and post it up here I hate tapatalk 4.11 |
Yah, I'll see if where I sealed actually stopped the problem. I thought about running a strip of electrical tape or similar along the seam too just double seal since they aren't visible with hood down (I know its an ugly fix though with the tape). I double checked all the rubber o-rings and seals where the lights mount and gave them a light coat of silicone paste to condition them a bit. As I said though...seems to be working but waiting for rain or a car wash to see if they really held. |
Big rain here in Hawaii and it made it through without water. BTW I put a good amount of dielectric grease on the ballast connection inside the lamp to prevent the pooling water to get in touch with the plug leads. Maybe that will help it survive. |
Use desiccants.....I had a friend open up my tech package headlights to remove most of the chrome and also do demon eyes. He had to reseal it 3 times, but desiccants help A LOT. Just have to tape it to the inside of the cover, where the bulbs are. Also, The Retrofit Source Inc is a great place to get ballast and bulbs, without paying dealership prices. You can get a set of ballasts for $170 and a set of bulbs for $50. how bad mine got, this was during the winter too. https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...ef&oe=55BC4181 end result https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.n...cb26788cc8ef5e |
It's funny you said to use desiccant packs...I actually put some in the other day with the hopes that it would help. I haven't seen any water in my light with the combo of the desiccant pack and the resealed light. 2 wet mornings and nothing in the light! |
I had this issue too. Both headlights. Turned out one Bulb wasn't in right. Fixed the gasket on it. There's a red ring that seals the bulb to the Headlight. Check that first ALWAYS. If that's not a tight seal that'll do it. Easy to do if you've put HIDs in your car. Then I got some clear silicone gasket sealer from Amazon and resealed both headlights. Make sure the rubber boot (it's black and round) surrounding the bulbs, are pushed in tightly too. There's a HOW to headlight removal around somewhere that'll show you exactly how to take the headlights out if you want to go that far. PM me if you have any questions |
Some Nissans and Infinitis use the same ballasts we do. They are easy to find used. |
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If the silicone didn't work, what did you end up doing? |
As mentioned before check your bulb sockets and ensure the seals are there along with installed correctly. If that in turn fails then take the lens apart and reseal with retrorubber or you can use window sealant from parts store. |
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Additionally, I noticed that even though the housing looked dry, it took a few desiccant packs and sitting in the garage for a day or 2 before I noticed all the condensation was removed. I did the air pump, but I felt the desiccant pack helped the most. It has really held up well...very thankful since I was worried it was going to be a failure. I do however wish I had a LED running light on the the lens like the new Dodge Chargers have...I think those look clean during the early evening. |
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Dealer wanted $1500 for replacement headlights since they're Auto leveling, eff that. |
I lost the first ballast and then I really noticed the condensation. After I saw the price of a new ballast (even though used can be found for about $60 on ebay) and realized that its a pain to have to pull the bumper, headlight, dry out, replace ballast, seal up, and then reinstall...I said I'll seal it up the best I can the first time. Definitely not worth $1500 |
Mazda actually replaced one of my headlights under warranty for a bad seal. It was starting to moisture up, and I didn't think a car with 9k miles on it should have this issue. They actually fought me on it. Had interesting experiences with two separate dealerships for warranty repairs, smh. |
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