headlight condensation-help please!!

[dannyscott]

Anyone used raytech magic gel??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wS3Z5-_Ank

[Wozza]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dannyscott

the ones i boughtoff of ebay are in
a little cage i litterally popped the top cover off and placed them in there ,their too big to fall through.

Ok thanks. Which ones did you buy?

[dannyscott]

So today i decided to remove front bumper(actually quite easy) disconnecting all parking sensors before removal..

headlights were ok -apart from 3 of the clips holding torx bolts in place decided to snap so had to drill out torx bolts and order new ones-these were actually cheaper direct from bmw rather than buying off of ebay!!

ordered new rear cover,top cover also just to eliminate these areas-all these are reasonable straight from bmw.

new balast ordered but werent sure if this comes with new gasket or do i need to order one-but cant find part or part number on bmw ?

removed offending ballast and confirmed it to be full of water !! so im now thinking of setting them in raytech gel before reinstalling new balast??

ive got to say this is a load of bull ache just for a poxy headlight bulb lol

[Keith]

This thread is full of solutions to the symptoms, but no mention of the actual source issue and fix for that?

Where is the water getting in from? No point adding sachets to absorb water if more is getting in, which it obviously is as ballasts are welling up. Same will happen again unless the faulty seals are identified and sorted.

Be a useful thread if that could be described and identified.

[Martyn]

Replacing the caps at the top and back with new items and seals does not fix the issue. I purchased both to try and resolve it but it still fogs slightly.

A new headlight also doesn’t fix it as mine had a new unit before I purchased it and it still fogs too

[dannyscott]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martyn

Replacing the caps at the top and back with new items and seals does not fix the issue. I purchased both to try and resolve it but it still fogs slightly.

A new headlight also doesn’t fix it as mine had a new unit before I purchased it and it still fogs too

i know it wont fix the problem but its the process of elimination for me,both lights are going to be resealed by replacing the sealer also,air vent was clear so i know thats not a cause,but like i said it is a process of elimination.
also gonna attempt to seal the ballast using raytech magic gel so if it does happen again hopefully it wont affect the ballast this time

[Martyn]

Let me know how you get on with opening/resealing them as I'd like to do this at some point too

[dannyscott]

So i removed the headlights from the car last week and placed them nicely in the front room under the coffee table(missus was not happy!!)
I was advised by a technician at audi(family friend) to let the lights get to room temperature as the plastic becomes more pliable.i was also advised not to break the lights open as could make the problem significantly worse .
Popped to my local halfords bought a high temp clear silicone,i transferred the silicone into a 10ml syringe and injected this around the lights between the clear cover and the lens.If you take your time you cannot even notice the sealant when the lights are back in the car .These were then left overnight or for approx 24hrs to set ,any excess that went over the rear of the units wiped off once dry.new covers with gaskets were fitted rear and top of lights-just for my own peace of mind and a light seal of silicone was placed around the ballast so if i need to remove the ballast again i can but also making the seal air tight.

Headlights were then put back into car-now we had alot of rain and the odd snow and usually i do not drive my car in these conditions but i thought if i was going to get condensation it would be then-touch wood after a few days of being driven and left out in the rain no condensation at all and the lights are 100% clear!!!