Cleaning condensation in headlights

[Thenissanguy]

Has anyone on here cleaned up headlights without taking them apart? Any tricks? I havent found anything i can use that will fit into the headlight socket hole and succesfuly clean the lense.

 

[g35_coupe]

How much condensation are you looking to get out? If it's a significant amount, you'll need to reseal them or you'll be chasing your tail by not fixing the issue. However, if it's a small amount most manufacturers will say this is normal due to vents for temperature changes and cleaning them out is not worth the risk of rinsing them with additional water or chemicals.

 

[Dereksdtail]

I have the same problem and it ticks me off just looking at them

 

[lpklemmer]

I had a fog light 2 years ago have the bulb come loose and condensation/moisture loaded it up and fogged the whole light. There was no way to wipe it down without opening up the housing, so I came up with another way.

I used 91% isopropyl alcohol in a small very fine misting bottle. I got it as far into the light and as straight on to the lense as I could and spritzed it a few times. Then once the lens was covered I used an air compressor to blast the lens clear, which removed the grime that the buildup of condensation had created. I repeated this procedure a couple more times and it did a remarkably good job.

I left the foglight housing with a heat lamp above and a small electric heater beside it blowing into the housing for about 2 hours and all moisture was then cleared and the headlight was crystal clear.

 

[g35_coupe]

Like lpklemmer said, you could try and rinse it out with an IPA solution depending on what kind of lamp assembly you're dealing with. If it's a simple fog light or tradition reflector assembly, you should be safe. If it's a fancy projector, I would advise against it as you could get water behind the projector housing and not be able to get additional spots out. Bi-xenon lamps have a solenoid behind the projector that actuates for the high beam. I'm not sure if you can normally pull that assembly out without disassembling it, but you definitely don't want water/alcohol getting in any electrical parts. If you do decide to rinse them, compressed air would be a must in order to avoid water spots and it would be best if you can at least get the lamp off the vehicle.

 

[Thenissanguy]

ill take some pictures tomorrow to give you guys an idea i dont want to just go spraying away and making things worse