Moisture/fog in headlights

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11-18-2006, 12:52 AM

Diezelpower

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My Ride: 03/2005mod 535d E61 *Chipped* 350bhp/700NM *KN Air filter *Hamann Style Front Lip *Hamann Style Diffuser *M5 look carbon mirrors *6000k Xenon Kit *6000k Angel Eyes *20" Rims *Black Kidneys *Quad Exhaust *Drilled and slotted brake rotors *EBC Yellowstuff Brakepads - Active Steering, Panorama Sunroof, Sport Seats, M-Package, Anthracite Roof Liner, M-Pedals, M-sport suspension, M-Sport Steering Wheel, Auto Leveling, Navi Pro, CD-Changer, Aux Input, M-Sport Door Sills, Iso-Fix (I have two children). I will post pictures later on... Bought the car 21st of Septermber and went abroad to work on the 23rd of September... Will try to get some decent pictures...

Hi!

I've just replaced my headlights because of moisture/fog in the old ones. Another problem: even more moist/fog in the new ones. Anyone tried putting bags of silica gel in the headlights to remove the moisture?
I got told by my dealer that porsche cayenne uses silica gel bags or equivalent in their headlights...
Suggestions please??

:'(

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11-18-2006, 01:47 AM

530i_msport

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Mist in the headlight is completely normal.They are designed that way.So i wouldnt suggest that you put whatever you say you will put on them.Dont mess them up.

We have to learn to live with it

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11-19-2006, 07:20 AM

Diezelpower

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Quote:

Originally Posted by 530i_msport' post='357558' date='Nov 18 2006, 11:47 AM

Mist in the headlight is completely normal.They are designed that way.So i wouldnt suggest that you put whatever you say you will put on them.Dont mess them up.

We have to learn to live with it

I don't want to live with it!
BMW stands for quality, and quality doesn't look like this....
This is what we can expect from cheap korean cars or similar....not from BMW....
This is bad, and there must be a solution to the problem....

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11-19-2006, 09:43 AM

Matt BMW California

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Diezelpower' post='357988' date='Nov 19 2006, 08:20 AM

the solution is moving to a drier climate - nothing else will fix it. <_< ...its not a BMW design flaw by any means....

Every car has this problem. You will even see a factory rubber drain pipe on these headlight lenses...I believe this is standard design for every lens based lighting system.

Water is so invasive that a lense cannot keep the moisture out - rather it needs to be made to breath so once the moisture is in, it will manage to escape when your climate dries out a little. Out in California this is a pretty rare occurence, but I used to live in Vancouver, BC, Canada - pretty much 1/4 of the time you could expect to see condensation taking place...

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11-19-2006, 10:28 AM

dlevi67

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Diezelpower' post='357555' date='Nov 18 2006, 09:52 AM

There is a difference between moisture coming in because of imperfect sealing (water coming in as liquid), and moisture occurring because of condensation (water droplets forming in the light as a result of different relative humidity in the air at different moments/temperatures).

You may be able to get rid of the first type - and indeed if the headlight is letting water in, it is a defect. But there's zilch you can do for the second. Even if you fit silica or calcium chloride bags (much more effective, if a lot messier), it will need replacing at some point, and the headlight is not designed to work like that. Sorry.

The only "solution" I can think of is that you relocate to Atacama.