Water in Headlight

[Lyon]

Good day Kerels

Probleempie. My Patrol se linker voor lig het water damp in. I took it to the dealer, nope, can not repair or stop water damp from getting into the headlight, For them the only choice is that I must buy a new one for about R5500 Surely sealant or whatever should do the job?

Any advice?

Kind regards

Lyon

[Tinus lotz]

Kyk bietjie Ian het n thread gebou oor hoe om hulle uit te sort

[ricster]

If your lens is still 100% then there is only 2 places where water can get into the light.

1) the sealant securing the glass to the plastic may not be sealing properly. I think that this is fairly unlikely as that gluey goo sticks like sheeeeeet to a blanket....
2) inside the engine bay, there should be a soft rubber cover around where the globe fits into the back of the light fitting that has a hole where the wiring plug fits onto the globe. I suspect that this rubber is either not there or is not seated correct.

Either way you need to get the moisture out of the inside of the fitting. There are a few ways to do this. if the fitting has water that you can physically pour out then you will need to remove the light fitting completely and then follow the steps below. If its just mist/fog on the inside of the lens then try this.... Depending on which light fitting it is, if you can get enough space to get your hands in there you can disconnect the plug on the globe and take the rubber cover off the back. Carefully remove the globe without touching the glass of the globe !! Then get the wifes hairdryer out and warm up the glass ( wave the hairdryer around so as not to warm up only one spot of the glass and possibly crack it), while the fitting is nice and warm tie a piece of string to one of those silicone bag thingys that one gets in some packaging boxes that absorbs moisture, and place it inside the globe fitting hole for a few hours. If it falls in don't stress .... it has a string on it....hahaha... Don't shake the light fitting or the bag around with that bag in there as you will scratch the shiny lining in the fitting ruining its efficiency.

Have a pair of tweezers or something ready so you can grip the bag with as you GENTLY pull the string to get the bag out.

Refit everything in reverse order, ensuring the rubber seal is 100% seated.

If you feel it easier to remove the headlight, then a little silicone around the seal between the glass and plastic won't do any harm either.

[iandvl]

As Cedric says - the sealant may be leaking, or the rubber cover was not on properly.

Had to recheck in terms of vehicle, as this is a strange problem. But gathered your vehicle is newer than mine. :)

In short, the pre-face lift Patrol head lights have breathers installed on all light assemblies - basically little rubber tubes that will prevent water ingress, but will allow the moisture to escape. This would prevent the lens "steaming up" permanently, although I guess one would need to drain the unit if it's filled with water,as the vents are not at the bottom of the unit.

I can only assume that the post-facelift models do not have these drain pipes, which is a bit of an oversight in my opinion. I'd simply remove the bulb, remove the headlight and drain any existing fluid out the back where the bulb fits before leaving it in the sun for a couple of hours. Might be an idea to inspect the sealant around the edges of the lens, and patch up should it be problematic. And then ensure that the rubber boot is properly fitted over the light when you reinstall it.

[SJC]

my headlight after crossing the Groot Letaba in 2021... it dried up after a few months...