On my dads F-150 His left Head Light condensation on the inside of the head light (it just happened yesterday). He called Ford and they told him that its normal and will dissapate soon! Has anyone else had this problem?

 

Is there a way to take apart the headlight to dry it out or will it go away like the dealer said?

 

You can remove the bulbs to get it to dry quicker, but the problem is that it will discolor the lense eventually (the more it happens the worse it gets).

i had this problem on my old dodges and 1981 mustang

 

I have stood at my local Ford dealer and listened to them have the exact same conversation with a customer complaining about this problem. By the way, they gave the guy the exact same answer.

I have same the problem with one of the headlights on my '97 Ranger -- for whatever reason, the other headlamp is fine (?). I have tried taking the bulb out, blowing the housing out with compressed air, etc. Nothing works. In fact, this truck is currently being stored and I can walk out into my garage right now and see the moisture in the housing -- even though the vehicle hasn't been out of my garage in over two months! There's no discoloration of my lens though -- it's just that you can see the moisture in there.

One of these days I'm just going to break down and replace the affected housing because it kind of bugs me to look at the moisture inside the light.

 

This problem can be fixed permanently by resealing the headlight with silicone. Its just a pain in the a$$. Its because the assembly is not properly sealed. It may be as simple as the bulbs are not seated properly or as bad as the lens is not air tight.

As for the discoloration, it it cause from deposits left behind when the moisture dries. If you are not using the vehicle and it never dries, then no problem. But if you use it, then heat from the bulbs dries it out. I have heard of people using a hair dryer to dry it but its not recomended to use compresessed air due to the moisture content within it (which is why most air lines have collectors). It just pushes the moisture around and possibly leaves more.

Almost all dealers excuse this as normal, so its pretty much up to you what you do.

 

Some condensation is normal. Only way dealers can replace headlights without risk of being charged back for the repair is if there's standing water in the lense and/or the lense itself is stained on the inside.

 

You have two options:

1) take the headlight out and dry it out using a hair drier. Simply blow it into the empty bulb socket and it will dry the light out. Then take some black silicone sealant and reseal the entire light (were the clear plastic and black plastic meet). This will work and its not that big of a pain...I had to do it with one of my black lights and it solved the problem.

2) Take out the bulb and squirt a little water into the headlight...enough that there is a little standing in the bottom. Then take it back to the dealer and they will replace it. I know this will work too...at least it did on my last Dodge. Its not really dishonest...its just placing emphasis on the existing problem.

 

the foglights on my 01 are aftermarket and i have occasionally seen condensation in them. those did dr yout quickly and has not affected the bulbs or anything in almost a year