water getting into headlight

jdt10768 · 12-17-2020, 08:27 AM

Lately I see water droplets inside my driver's side headlight. Not a lot of water, just a fine mist of droplets inside the outer 1/4 of the light - inside the face. I don't see any obvious crack or hole, and the entire face of the light is protected by Xpel wrap/film. I guess I will remove the headlight and look for obvious cracks, points of entry for h2O. If this has happened to you, let me know what you did or where you discovered the point of entry pls

Lester · 12-17-2020, 09:21 AM

If you have had the bulb cover off, it may not have been put back on properly. This allows water to get in.

There have been posts about this in the past.

People have tried drying the entire light assembly in their ovens, and even placing packs of dessicant inside their lights to dry them out.

BikeNHV · 12-17-2020, 11:33 AM

Same thing happened to me recently. First the passenger side, then the drivers side about 6 months later.

My lenses were not protected, and being a 2009 they were pretty cloudy/chipped. Ended up buying 2 new OE headlight assemblies.

All the bulb covers were properly seated. Halogens, if it matters.

I used to own early-2000s VWs. On those headlights, it was common for the seal between the lens and the housing to fail. People would dry them out and run a bead of RTV around the lens to reseal. If my lenses weren't crappy, I would have tried this.

jdt10768 · 01-15-2021, 08:56 AM

I replaced the ballast and adaptive headlight module with aftermarket pieces from Amazon (China) after running a hair dryer into the headlight for a few hours to dry everything out. Ran a bead of silicone around the entire lens/housing interface because I really don't know exactly where the water was entering. The rear cover could have been loose, but I never removed it since purchase of the car. I can see how people don't get the cover tightly placed on the back of the light though. If you don't get the tabs into those 2 indents, it's possible to leave a gap right there at the bottom/rear of the light housing - right where the ballast sits.

12-17-2020, 08:27 AM	#1
jdt10768 Lieutenant 330 Rep 529 Posts Drives: 2013 128i MSport 6MT Join Date: Sep 2018 Location: Columbia, SC iTrader: (0)	water getting into headlight Lately I see water droplets inside my driver's side headlight. Not a lot of water, just a fine mist of droplets inside the outer 1/4 of the light - inside the face. I don't see any obvious crack or hole, and the entire face of the light is protected by Xpel wrap/film. I guess I will remove the headlight and look for obvious cracks, points of entry for h2O. If this has happened to you, let me know what you did or where you discovered the point of entry pls
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12-17-2020, 09:21 AM	#2
Lester Brigadier General 295 Rep 3,350 Posts Drives: Join Date: Oct 2007 iTrader: (0)	If you have had the bulb cover off, it may not have been put back on properly. This allows water to get in. There have been posts about this in the past. People have tried drying the entire light assembly in their ovens, and even placing packs of dessicant inside their lights to dry them out.
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12-17-2020, 11:33 AM	#3
BikeNHV Private First Class 131 Rep 185 Posts Drives: 128i, F-350, Cooper SE Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: CT iTrader: (1)	Same thing happened to me recently. First the passenger side, then the drivers side about 6 months later. My lenses were not protected, and being a 2009 they were pretty cloudy/chipped. Ended up buying 2 new OE headlight assemblies. All the bulb covers were properly seated. Halogens, if it matters. I used to own early-2000s VWs. On those headlights, it was common for the seal between the lens and the housing to fail. People would dry them out and run a bead of RTV around the lens to reseal. If my lenses weren't crappy, I would have tried this.
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01-15-2021, 08:56 AM	#4
jdt10768 Lieutenant 330 Rep 529 Posts Drives: 2013 128i MSport 6MT Join Date: Sep 2018 Location: Columbia, SC iTrader: (0)	I replaced the ballast and adaptive headlight module with aftermarket pieces from Amazon (China) after running a hair dryer into the headlight for a few hours to dry everything out. Ran a bead of silicone around the entire lens/housing interface because I really don't know exactly where the water was entering. The rear cover could have been loose, but I never removed it since purchase of the car. I can see how people don't get the cover tightly placed on the back of the light though. If you don't get the tabs into those 2 indents, it's possible to leave a gap right there at the bottom/rear of the light housing - right where the ballast sits.
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