How do I dry out a headlight housing?

[Ricochet]

I've got some water in there that keeps evaporating onto the inside of the lense and won't go away. I don't feel like heating them up and ripping them apart again.. The seals are all tight, there's just water in there that won't come out. Right now the housing is out laying in the clouded sun, hopefully that works.

[SubaSteevo]

Use a hair dryer

[Ricochet]

tried that too.. stood there for ten minutes blowing into the fog light hole and nothing happened.

[svxistentialist]

Brian, leave the car during the day with your headlights facing into the sun.

Take out both bulbs behind the lights. Just leave them hanging there. Remember the bulb holders have rubber jackets around them to keep water from getting in.

So in theory the headlamp is a sealed unit, and the moist air has no way to get out while the bulbs are in position and rubbered up.

It might take a few days of sunshine, but they will dry out OK.

Just remember to plug the bulbs in if you are driving at night, K?

Joe

[Tim]

The trick I use is placing in front of a dehumidifier over night.

[svxistentialist]

I just re-read that. You don't have the lamps fitted to the car, do you?

Well in that case I would use something like a fan heater or a hair dryer. You need to turn the hot air on the lens surface, and you need the lamp pointing at the ground, propped or held by a vice, so that the moist air can leave through the bulb opening on top.

If you make it too hot, the plastic will warp, so be careful.

Joe

[Ricochet]

no it's back in the car now, only one has moisture in it.. but I'll try the hair dryer thing tomorrow.

[svxistentialist]

I had moisture in one of my rear lamps. It has taken me about five days of parking facing the sun with the boot open [and the boot lamp off!]. However, it worked. All the moisture now gone, using sunshine only.

Slow but sure.

Joe

[crazyhorse]

That's the key to heating plastic without warpage....slow, but sure.

If the litle lady has a food dehydrator that'll do the trick in a couple hours. they run about 120deg f.

[ensteele]

I face my lights into the sun, but nobody likes the angle I park my car.

[Ricochet]

Originally Posted by crazyhorse

That's the key to heating plastic without warpage....slow, but sure.

If the litle lady has a food dehydrator that'll do the trick in a couple hours. they run about 120deg f.

what if I stick the housing in the oven at 120 for about 10min?

[WestCoastSVX]

I've did a tail light once by taking out the bulbs and placing it in a big box with a hairdryer on "low" shooting into the bulb holes from about 6 inches away. The box helped keep the heat in like a little sauna (someone on here gave me the idea years and years ago). Worked great and only took about 15 minutes, plus with the hairdryer positioned in the box I didn't have to stand there holding it the whole time. Of course I supervised to make sure nothing caught on fire.

[mohrds]

Originally Posted by svxistentialist

Brian, leave the car during the day with your headlights facing into the sun.

Take out both bulbs behind the lights. Just leave them hanging there. Remember the bulb holders have rubber jackets around them to keep water from getting in.

So in theory the headlamp is a sealed unit, and the moist air has no way to get out while the bulbs are in position and rubbered up.

It might take a few days of sunshine, but they will dry out OK.

Just remember to plug the bulbs in if you are driving at night, K?

Joe

There is an open rubber tube about an inch long on each headlight that allows for pressure equalization so they aren't truly "Sealed"

The oven works best for me. Ten minutes on about 130 degrees with the bulbs out does the trick. If you had the lights on for a while and you shut off the car in a heavy rain, as the headlight cools, it sucks in the wet outside air through the vent tube.

Doug

[Ricochet]

I stuck it in the oven for 10 minutes at 170 (lowest it goes) and it looked kinda dry. AS I was putting it back on the car it fogged back up. Guess I'm gonna have to rip it apart again and dry it out