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Headlight and taillight condensation
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.6sp...d15bacb6c.jpeg I heard it’s common for the taillights to have condensation. Is it also common for the headlights to have condensation too? I noticed these dark spots on the headlight and was not sure what it is. Could condensation lead to this and in the long run, damage the headlight and bulbs? |
It’s more likely to fry the electronic control board for the LEDs. Read this thread. https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...eadlights.html btw. The goretex patches I’m using toward the end of 5he thread solved my headlight condensation issues. |
Is anybody that has fixed their LED strip doing these as a paid repair? Yes, my passenger white LED's went sometime last week ;/
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Does anyone else know of or has these dark spots?
Cause for concern or not? |
Are the dark spots on the lens or on the silver metallic headlight shroud? - tough to tell from the photo. In any case you mention moisture. Moisture will kill the electronics inside: see here:
https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...t-working.html |
The dark spots are on the silver metalllic shroud. |
Originally Posted by lovingit
(Post 4754388)
The dark spots are on the silver metalllic shroud. |
Originally Posted by BMW-North
(Post 4754400)
The silver colored headlight shrouds are coated with a very delicate metallic coating. Just handling without gloves, the oil from your fingers will strip the finish. You can't polish them either - the finish just rubs off. If you know the headlights have not been opened and handled you might have had a drop or two of water drip on them and the black plastic underneath is starting to show. The marks won't effect the headlight operation. I'd worry more about the moisture prevention.
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Originally Posted by lovingit
(Post 4754417)
i don’t believe the headlight have been opened but there is no way to verify since I am not the first owner. I know previous owner babied the car. When I did the PPI, he said that there was condensation in the taillights and one of the headlights. He said he was not concerned because he sees it all the time. I wasn’t sure how common condensation in the headlight are. I heard about the taillight issue but not the headlights. I don’t want to have an issue down the road when I’m washing the car and need brand new lights because they are expensive. But it doesn’t sound like there is a way to prevent that other than taking them out and sealing it. 1. The headlight housings are poorly sealed from moisture (rain, washing etc.) 2. The headlights when properly sealed do not provide adequate breathing to prevent natural condensation I found out problem two after I made sure I had addressed problem one. I never had condensation on my headlights from simple temperature differentials (outside air vs. inside air) till after I thoroughly sealed the headlights. - Then the condensation would occur when the outside air was much colder than the air inside the housing. The Goretex patches initially described by Rich worked perfect for me to allow the air temps to equalize and to allow a sufficient transfer of air in and out of the housing while preventing moisture penetration. I just had to do much bigger patches and drill several holes on the headlight covers to achieve this. |
Originally Posted by lovingit
(Post 4754301)
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.6sp...d15bacb6c.jpeg I noticed these dark spots on the headlight and was not sure what it is. Could condensation lead to this and in the long run, damage the headlight and bulbs? |
Originally Posted by BMW-North
(Post 4754439)
As I pointed out in the 2 separate linked threads the problem I believe is two-fold.
1. The headlight housings are poorly sealed from moisture (rain, washing etc.) 2. The headlights when properly sealed do not provide adequate breathing to prevent natural condensation I found out problem two after I made sure I had addressed problem one. I never had condensation on my headlights from simple temperature differentials (outside air vs. inside air) till after I thoroughly sealed the headlights. - Then the condensation would occur when the outside air was much colder than the air inside the housing. The Goretex patches initially described by Rich worked perfect for me to allow the air temps to equalize and to allow a sufficient transfer of air in and out of the housing while preventing moisture penetration. I just had to do much bigger patches and drill several holes on the headlight covers to achieve this. Here we see an example of badly executed seal between the headlights glass and body: https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.6sp...63e1e9bf0b.jpg There is an original "membrane thing" in the headlamp body, on the inner side towards the engine bay: view from outside https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.6sp...a1678fac35.jpg view from inside https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.6sp...9757dadef8.jpg However , I dont know if this "membrane thing" really works... And even if it would work, I believe it's in the wrong place. I made a thermal image of the headlight during operation (view of headlight from the engine bay side, as 2nd picture), it is easy to see that most of the heat is released towards the back (where the bulbs sit). https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.6sp...5d34a48930.jpg So putting a ventilation membrane to the upper part of the back opening lid is most likely the better place, as there the hotter air (with higher water vapor content) is located. Thereby more humidity will be moved out of the headlight during heating up. Thomas |
Originally Posted by TR-Spider
(Post 4754514)
So putting a ventilation membrane to the upper part of the back opening lid is most likely the better place, as there the hotter air (with higher water vapor content) is located. Thereby more humidity will be moved out of the headlight during heating up. Thomas https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.6sp...c9082f1c8f.jpg Goretex Vents in AM Vantage headlight housing Link to full photos and description |
Hello
i think your patches are waterproof and don't let the air through ... Gore tex...yes but only AVS9 or AVS100 patches : https://www.gore.com/products/gore-a...erior-lighting but where to buy them ?? |
As I could not find specific patch, I will try those (3 per headlamp)
PMF200125 - Pressure Compensating Element Snap-In PBT Black - W.L. Gore You can buy those individually in electronic shops for ~6 Euro/piece. They are quoted to be sufficient to vent a volume of 5 liters each. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.6sp...b14840ebad.jpg data sheet for reference see here: https://www.distrelec.de/Web/Downloa...XS_eng_tds.pdf |
Originally Posted by Phil57DBS
(Post 4754990)
Hello
i think your patches are waterproof and don't let the air through ... Gore tex...yes but only AVS9 or AVS100 patches : https://www.gore.com/products/gore-a...erior-lighting but where to buy them ?? Goretex patches allow your headlights to exhale, but won't let moisture in. Used on many OEM Headlights, they're especially perfect for retrofitters https://www.theretrofitsource.com/go...hes-53792.html https://www.hidretrofits.com.au/inde...patches-detail They're available from custom headlight builders or Amazon. I looked at valves but I wanted a bigger area of breathing.and didn't want to install 15 of them per headlight to get the same air transfer capacity. . |
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