Water in my headlights...

[Snowolf2]

My old headlight housing was broken from a minor fender bender, so I got one for $20 on ebay. However, there is a small pool of water that has collected in headlight and it wont just dump out. How do I get it out?

-JT

[evolutionmovement]

You could drill a small hole in the bottom of the lens as a quick fix, but that may introduce more moisture from the air than it's designed to handle. Assuming no cracks in the housing, that the water wasn't introduced by wading a body of water (in which case, a hairdryer could solve the problem), and a good seal with the bulb, my suggestion is to remove the headlight and heat up the lens to pull it off. Make sure the seal goes all the way around the lens before resealing it. Check that the rubber hose on the back of the housing is intact as it helps to vent out atmospheric condensation. You might want to just try the hairdryer first as there's no guarantee the lens will reseal perfectly, though I've had no problem with it personally.

[Snowolf2]

so you mean evaporate the water with a hair dryer? And what would be the best way to heat up the lens to get it off? I read someone I believe put it in their oven...

[evolutionmovement]

I think Josh tried it in the oven. I would guess 150-180* for 15 minutes or so, but I used a heat gun as the seal being a problem is really a last case scenario (and what I was removing the lens for was to do a projector lamp instal). If you don't know how the water got in there, I'd just remove the unit and run a hairdryer in the headlight hole until it's dry first and see if the water comes back. It really shouldn't be getting in to any great degree even with a bad seal around the lens. If you have a large puddle, it's most likely from someone driving through a pool of water or something where the force of water could have snuck past the headlight seal. If the headlight is too well sealed (as in the breather hose is clogged or something), you'll get condensation water which could add up over time. Clear the breather and it should be good.

[jefferson]

When I got my edm lights I had water getting into them. Sealed the lens to the body with flowable silicone. I washed them out, but when they dried there was a film on the inside. I thought I was screwed as I really didn't want to take them apart. I ended up spraying windex inside and sloshing it around and then let the things dry. No film afterwards and I breathed a sigh of relief. I would make a bet the water is getting in at the lens to body seam.

Jeff

[Snowolf2]

Took a blow drier to the lights so now the water is gone... Checked the little rubber hoses, and they seem to be fine. I don't see any cracks in the light housing itself, so I'll see how it holds up the next few days.