Fog/Condensation in my retros

Hey all hoping to get some help with my retrofit problem here.

Back Story: I had these headlights retrofitted and built for me and they are awesome and have been working great no complaints. This person did an awesome job.

I installed these about a month ago when it was still summer here in Oregon and the weather was warm outside. I washed it by hand and even took the truck through a few car washes since then and have never noticed any leaking or fogging/condensation on the lights.

Well this week the weather has turned and for the past couple of days it has been cold and a little rainy at night and in the morning. That's when I noticed my lights have begun to fog and have condensation on the inside of the lens.

All the seals looked good and I checked the bulbs to make sure they were in properly and everything looks fine. If it helps these are not OEM housings they are aftermarket.

Any idea on what's going on or how to fix this solution so it stops doing that?
also I noticed on my DTRL I have something "leaking through" it looks like gluing or adhesive thats going into the housing (couldn't get any clear pics of that though.

Before issues:


Currently:




thanks for any and all input

 

Wow thats a lot of mosture These may help "doctor" them a little for now. My best advice would be to take them out and run a light bead of clear silicone around the lenses where they meet the housings without having to take them apart.

http://www.theretrofitsource.com/accessories/silica-gel-moisture-packs-48676.html

 

Must have been quite a temp change to cause all that. I have aftermarket housings with the retro and have yet to have that happen. The lights arent really fully sealed to prevent this from happening though. The lights must have stayed warm inside when the outside got cold and all the condensation got trapped when it had no where to drip. Not sure how to easily fix it though.

 

I would take them apart and dry them/clean them thoroughly. Re-seal them and be sure to go overkill on the resealing.

 

Radtaco: yeah I was thinking about getting those and hoping they would help absorb all that moisture don't wanna really bake them and pry the light apart in fear of damage and all. What kind of silicone should I use?

EDPSX: I wouldn't say it was too dramatic it went from mid to high 80 to low 70 and high 60 I did have my halos on maybe that caused the heat to get trapped in. They cleared up yesterday but then I drove home at night and obviously had to use my lights so when I came out this morning an saw that I was a little upset.

Hopefully the moisture packets will help like RAD suggested.

 

As much as I don't want to do that it seems like that is going to be the best solution.

Any thoughts on what kind of sealant would be best

 

Get the sealant from retrofitsource or something similar from home depot. I just reused the stock sealant myself though.

 

I would go with the silica packets and then run latex sealant along the border of the seam. Silicone has water in it, so I would avoid that for sure.

 

AndrewTRS do you have to pry the lights open to drop those packets in? Sorry if that's a dumb question.

 

No sir, you can fit them down in between the reflector bowl and the housing by removing the housing cap.

 

Okay cool man. You think that will get rid of all that moisture in there? Or will I still need to bake and pry the lenses open?

I'm about to order those packets and sealant form you guys right now.

 

So I added the silica packets into my shopping. Cart now I'm just trying to figure out the sealant. Would JB weld be the best option to fix this problem or is there another one I should get that would work best?

 

If you were able to have it dry out once, I think you could do it again and use the sealant and desiccant to ensure it doesn't return.

 

Make sure the caps are still on the vents, also usually its a bulb socket washer not seating properly.

Pull the small bulbs out and flip the rubber o-rings on them. If that doesn't work take them off and put them in the oven for a few minutes to let the sealant soften, squish the lens together and tighten the screws a little more.

More than likely you are going to have internal marks/stains left from the water droplets and running beads of water

 

I'll
Give this a try this weekend if the weather holds up. I was wanting to put another layer of sealant around the lights too. Would JB weld be good?

 

I ran into the exact same problem two weeks ago. I'm not sure how it started since my retros been in my truck for months without any problems. Never heard about the rubber o rings, I will have to look into that. I did however put two silica packs in my headlights and it did it for me.

I don't think jb weld would be a good idea.

 

Gym Jamz did you take your lenses off and really dry them good or did you just through the packets in there.

 

I just put the packets in there when it was sunny and dry outside. No condensation since

 

Yeah I'm gonna do the packets as well and if they dry all the way on their own then I just plan on doing the packets and putting an extra layer of sealant around the outside.

if there is still a butt load of moisture then it looks like I will have to cowboy up and pry my lenses off to clean all that stuff off.

 

just hate taking off the headlights. It's not too bad except for that damn screw at the bottom. The first time my dad and I took them off that screw was putting us on an emotional roller coaster