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      10-31-2016, 03:22 PM   #1
MaximusB
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Moisture in headlight after driving in heavy rain.

After a quick search it seems like a few people have this problem as well. Today I noticed it for the first time that my driver side headlight got quite a bit of moisture built after driving in the rain. I've only had the car for 6 months and it's CPO till end of this year (then extended warranty kicks in for 4 additional years). Is there an easy fix for this or I am better off going to the dealer and have them deal with it?

If I bring it to the dealer will they care that I changed the angel eyes? I hope they won't care since it makes no difference whether I changed them versus the oem bulb burnt out and I had to replace them.
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      10-31-2016, 06:11 PM   #2
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Since you changed angel eye bulbs I would double check you seated the lid correctly towards the back. It's kind of hard to see back there and maybe you didn't get it in the right slots. Could be cause of moisture getting Intot he headlight
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      10-31-2016, 07:21 PM   #3
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Pretty sure the lid is seated correctly. Today wasn't the first rain fall I've driven through, it's just the first time moisture built up inside the headlight.
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      11-01-2016, 08:03 AM   #4
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Seems like most houses eventually get some moisture after wash etc which easy dried out by opening the lid. With warranty still left I'd defenitely get a new house though. Worse case change the angels Peter.
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      02-14-2019, 12:58 PM   #5
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This just happened to me today after heavy rain in LA... not the first time in the rain, which is strange. Never happened after a wash.

Going to open the lid with the hood open for the rest of the day...

Edit: Added pics. Opened passenger side headlamp lid. Waiting patiently. Anyone else have solutions that have worked for them?
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      02-14-2019, 01:29 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by E9T.two View Post
This just happened to me today after heavy rain in LA... not the first time in the rain, which is strange. Going to open the lid with the hood open for the rest of the day...
Use a hair dryer my friend .
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      02-14-2019, 01:43 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium View Post
Use a hair dryer my friend .
LOL seems too easy but I'll try it!
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      02-14-2019, 01:47 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium View Post
Use a hair dryer my friend .
+1. Did this a few months ago, worked like a charm!
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      02-14-2019, 02:42 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by E9T.two View Post
This just happened to me today after heavy rain in LA... not the first time in the rain, which is strange. Never happened after a wash.

Going to open the lid with the hood open for the rest of the day...

Edit: Added pics. Opened passenger side headlamp lid. Waiting patiently. Anyone else have solutions that have worked for them?
My theory for this is the top cover doesn't seal properly overtime
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      02-14-2019, 03:49 PM   #10
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my passenger side started doing this recently. car is garaged with 42k miles. what i did is:
1. pull the headlight off the car, remove and check all covers.
2. Apply some vaseline to all the cover seals and reinstall.
3. spray water directly at all point of headlight to check for leaks.
4. found that at the outside corner water was getting in around the lens, shoved as much "dum dum" in there as possible without taking the lens off.
5. test for leaks again, looks good so far.
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      02-14-2019, 05:31 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SFCM3 View Post
my passenger side started doing this recently. car is garaged with 42k miles. what i did is:
1. pull the headlight off the car, remove and check all covers.
2. Apply some vaseline to all the cover seals and reinstall.
3. spray water directly at all point of headlight to check for leaks.
4. found that at the outside corner water was getting in around the lens, shoved as much "dum dum" in there as possible without taking the lens off.
5. test for leaks again, looks good so far.
Thank you for the detail. Great information. Whether or not I'll have the balls to take my headlight out is another question lol
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      02-14-2019, 09:22 PM   #12
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Oem lights will leak from a strong pressure washer.
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      02-14-2019, 10:27 PM   #13
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In my case, I bought a new lid with fresh seal thinking it’s going to solve the problem...nope. It definitely helped, not getting as much moisture as before but does not solve it completely
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      02-15-2019, 09:18 AM   #14
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I've done almost everything I can imagine (including taping the entire damn headlight) but moisture still gets inside after a car wash. I've used both pressure washer and just a regular hose. It's been like this for over a year and thankfully no electronic shenanigans have occurred. My last attempt to solve this taking the headlight out for the billionth time and checking the ballast seals. I was told by my indy water can seep inside from there. Hopefully that will fix the issue.
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      02-15-2019, 12:13 PM   #15
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I fixed my headlight issue by taking the covers off and parked the car in the sun for a few hours. Did that once like two years ago and so far so good.
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      02-15-2019, 02:53 PM   #16
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My passenger side light fogs up when I wash the car. Drying it out is no problem, remove cap and let it vent. But that doesn’t prevent reoccurrence.

I don’t want to risk electrical issues so I’ll have a shop take them apart, swap in a ZKW projector lens, and reseal them properly and completely.
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      02-15-2019, 05:05 PM   #17
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Letting it dry out with the top cap off never worked for me. It will dry, but if I drive for 5-10 minutes it will return. I once took the headlight out and heard the water inside going from side to side but could never find it. I'm convinced my headlights are cursed. I've sent them to Oneighty for a rebuild too and still have issues.
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      02-16-2019, 09:20 AM   #18
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Aside from the main seal that goes around the lens, the turn signal bulbs also have o ring seals. In my case, one was missing (see photo) and I was able to find a replacement at Home Depot for a couple dollars. You might try checking all the bulb seals to make sure they are present/intact.
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      02-18-2019, 03:54 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kevin///mlee View Post
Aside from the main seal that goes around the lens, the turn signal bulbs also have o ring seals. In my case, one was missing (see photo) and I was able to find a replacement at Home Depot for a couple dollars. You might try checking all the bulb seals to make sure they are present/intact.
This explains a lot. Thank you.
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      03-02-2019, 09:41 AM   #20
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I had the same moisture issue in my headlights and exchanged them for new ones with my third party warranty. I took some photos and gave it to my bmw rep. They swapped them out and I had them modified a week later.
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