Moisture trapped in the headlight assembly can make nighttime driving difficult and unsafe. Whether you have moisture in the headlight housing or foggy headlight lenses, your headlights will be dull, and your total visibility will be reduced. With a few simple headlight DIY fixes (the majority of which don’t need removing the headlight assembly), your headlights will be as good as new in no time.
What causes moisture in a headlight
Various factors can cause a clouded headlight, but two of the most frequent are listed below. It requires a few trial and errors to figure out what’s wrong with your headlight unit, but knowing what you’re up against might help speed up the process.
- A Torn or cracked seal
This will let water enter the headlight assembly, increasing the amount of moisture in the area. This can be difficult to see, especially if there is a problem with the seal. There are several techniques to test this and ensure that this is the problem; some are as simple as washing your car and monitoring the water level in the headlight and on the lens afterward. If your seal is broken or leaking, water will leak in from the outside and back into the headlights, dimming your lights or creating blind spots while driving at night. This can make driving extremely dangerous, and it is something you should be conscious of at all times. Here is how dangerous it is to drive with cloudy headlights.
- Blocked headlight vent
Your headlights require ventilation because when you drive, the housing of your headlights heats up, and cold air must flow into the headlamp to cool down the heat. Your headlights include vents that allow heated air to escape into the surrounding region and cold air to enter from the car’s exterior. Moisture will accumulate in the headlights after the airflow is lost, limiting the usable light from the LEDs for night driving. Spider webs, dust, road debris, or a combination of all three can obstruct the headlight vent. To ensure that your car can use the ventilation system to eliminate moisture, learn to clean your headlights regularly using a restoration wipe.
Will headlight condensation go away
Condensation in headlights isn’t always a bad thing, and it doesn’t always indicate your headlights need to be replaced. Small amounts of moisture on the lens will disappear after a few minutes of driving, as the air outside could cause the moisture to be cooler than the temperature on the lenses or the lens being cooler than the air outside of the headlight. This problem can be remedied by steaming your car for a few minutes before driving, allowing the temperatures to equalize and the moisture to evaporate from the headlight.
Another typical solution is to use a natural way to see lens fogging and a rise in moisture inside your headlamp. Allow your car to rest in the sun for about a half-hour; this will warm up the headlights, causing the same moisture evaporation inside the region as if you were driving for some minutes.
How do i remove the moisture out of my car headlights
How bad is the condensation in your headlights? The amount of moisture in your headlights will determine which approach is ideal for you to utilize to drain the water:
Moisture level: Minor to moderate
- Packets of silica gel
If you have modest to moderate quantities of condensation around your headlight lens, putting a silica gel package within the headlight housing can help significantly. The silica gel quickly absorbs water and may do so for an extended time, preventing water from building up in the headlight. If your vehicle is usually kept in a garage, this is a fantastic approach to use.
- Hair dryer
A nice idea to try if you have a little to moderate moisture lingering in your headlight is to use the hand hairdryer. A hairdryer produces enough heat to dry up some of the water in the headlight and quicken the evaporation process that will help remove the remaining water. You’ll need to allow the heat from the hair dryer to blow into the vent for this tip to work.
Moisture Level: Moderate to Heavy
- Pressurized air
You may have a blocked headlight vent if the moisture in your car is moderate to heavy. When the headlight heats up, a clogged headlight vent prevents moisture from leaving the headlamp, causing moisture to film against the lens. This is a simple trick that only requires some compressed air to be sprayed into the vents. It will work with a can of pressurized air, or it will work much better if you have something like the Metro Vacuum B3-CD Air Force Blaster at your disposal. This gadget is fantastic because it blows the area with warm, filtered air that dries the surface and removes spider webs, dust, and road debris.
Moisture
- Removing the headlight
It may be impossible to remove substantial amounts of moisture from around your headlight lens without removing or opening the headlamp. You could have something else underlying the stored moisture that needs to be removed, such as a seal issue that would benefit from removing the headlamp and save you a lot of time. When removing a headlight, use tools like microfiber towels and a good sealant to reseal the headlight area more effectively to avoid any potential of fogging in headlamp housings.
How do I get the moisture out of my car tail light
Your taillights are quite valuable to drivers behind you at night, and they can save you from some very severe accidents. When fog forms in your tail light, it can cause your lights to malfunction or even prematurely burn out the light in your tail light lens. The same method used to remove moisture from a headlight may be used to remove moisture from the tail light. You should note that because the tail light does not affect your eyesight, it may be difficult to notice when it starts to wear out. When carrying out routine maintenance on your car, make sure to check your tail lights to avoid more damages. Here is how to clean your car tail lights.
Conclusion
It can be frustrating to have your headlights fog or your tail lights go out due to moisture, but by considering some of these simple DIY solutions, you will be able to solve this risky and equally annoying situation without concern.
