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Car Forum / Honda Cars / January 2005Water in headlights
What to do about lots and lots of water drops in inside of headlight lenses. Drill a bunch of ventilation holes? Where? 1990 Honda CRX PITA! Remove the headlight bulbs, don't touch them. Remove the lense assemble. Remove the metal clips that hold the lense front to back. Heat to about 250F to soften the glue. Buy a used hair blow drier from goodwill! While the glue is hot, seperate the halves. Takes at least two people, and a lot of cussing. After the lenes is apart, use a razor blade to remove the old glue. Be carefull to not remove fingers! Wipe watr out fomr lense halves. Inspect reflective coating, if it is damaged either replace the lense, or clean it very carefully. I used silver "high temp" (header spray) to repair mine. Not as good as new, but not that bad. Money has been kind of tight. Use aquarium silicon seal to glue front/rear halves. The other type may give off fumes that will cause corrosion in the lense. I used a woodworking vise, padded with foam rubber, to hold the lenes halves in place while the silicone set. I left the little metal clip off because I had to destroy them to remove them. Remount lense. Install bulbs and cuss some more. A new lense will run you at least $100US. You might be able to find one a a junk yard for less. Terry > What to do about lots and lots of water drops in inside of headlight lenses. > Drill a bunch of ventilation holes? Where? 1990 Honda CRX take the bulbs out and leave them out for a couple of days. it all evaporates, no trouble, no need to take aything else apart or do anything invasive. next time, DO NOT pressure-wash under the hood. ever. you contaminate the brake fluid, force dirt up under seals, into alternator commutators, down the spark plug tubes so it falls into cylinders on plug changes... all sorts of grief. >> What to do about lots and lots of water drops in inside of headlight >> lenses. Drill a bunch of ventilation holes? Where? 1990 Honda CRX [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > down the spark plug tubes so it falls into cylinders on plug changes... > all sorts of grief. the OP never said anything about pressure washing under the hood. >>> What to do about lots and lots of water drops in inside of headlight >>> lenses. Drill a bunch of ventilation holes? Where? 1990 Honda CRX [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >> > the OP never said anything about pressure washing under the hood. doesn't matter. if it's been done by the garage, previous owner, gremlins, whoever, once the water's in, it doesn't come out if the units are left "sealed". taking the bulbs out for a few days fixes everything. >pressure washing under the hood. > >doesn't matter. if it's been done by the garage, previous owner, >gremlins, whoever, once the water's in, it doesn't come out if the units are left "sealed". taking the bulbs out for a few days fixes everything. Never have washed as suggested. Apparently strictly from driving through rain. Not particularly interested in letting car go unused for "a few days." Where do I drill some ventilation holes? Quent >>pressure washing under the hood. >> [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > do I drill some ventilation holes? > Quent I'd first inspect the O-ring on the headlight bulb and make sure there's no sand or dirt in there affecting the O-ring's ability to seal. Then I'd check the air vent. At the rear of the light, inboard of the bulb and reflector, there is a rectangular box with a rubber hose and a small hole in the bottom. Make sure the rubber hose is present and undamaged, and poke a bent paper clip into the little hole in the bottom to make sure it's not blocked. http://tegger.com/hondafaq/misc/89-93-civic-teg-headlight/ If you really want to drill vent holes, you'll find it easiest to remove the headlight from the vehicle. Undo the two (or three) upper bolts into the radiator support and the two lower bolts under the headlight assembly. Make marks with Wite-Out or a marker at the mount points so you can get it back exactly the same way again. The engine air intake tube will need to come off first under the right-side light. Drill some very small holes, maybe 3/32" dia every couple of inches at the lowest point of the reflector, close to the lens. Keep in mind that due to air turbulence in the area behind and beneath the headlight, the holes will eventually allow fine dust to sift in and coat the lens and reflactor, impairing their ability to pass light.  SignatureTeGGeR? The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ www.tegger.com/hondafaq/ Ye gads amn, did you pull that headlight assembly our of a swamp? I htought mine was a little too dirty, but comapred to your photos I would be willing to eat off mine! Thanks for the info on the vent tube, my "service" manauls don't show that. Terry Ye gads amn, did you pull that headlight assembly out of a swamp? I htought mine was a little too dirty, but comapred to your photos I would be willing to eat off mine! Thanks for the info on the vent tube, my "service" manauls don't show that. Terry > Ye gads amn, did you pull that headlight assembly out of a swamp? > I htought mine was a little too dirty, but comapred to your photos > I would be willing to eat off mine! > Thanks for the info on the vent tube, my "service" manauls don't > show that. It's messy as hell. That's the effect of the annual "drippy" rustproofings over 13 years. The lighter fractions wash off and the heavier fractions eventually build a sort of greasy patina that collects dust and sand and forms an astoundingly effective anti-rust coating. There is not a speck of rust on it except where the patina could not build up. The whole underside of the car is covered with this patina. A few months ago somebody ran into me in a parking lot then buggered off. He (or she...) pushed the headlight in maybe 1/2", just enough to break the adjusters and the corner light lens. The hood and fenders were untouched. The car was burgundy by the scratches on my bumper skin. A replacement cost me $250 at the wreckers. I kept the old one for reference. Came in handy just now. SignatureTeGGeR? The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ www.tegger.com/hondafaq/ TeGGer® wrote: > A few months ago somebody ran into me in a parking lot then buggered off. May their car dissolve from salt this winter! Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only guy out there that's responsible and decent enough to leave a note on someone's windshield when I damage their vehicle while parking and they're not there. Has happened twice in my life: first time cost me $500, the second turned out not to be my damage. Near as I can tell the world is chock full of a.sholes. I hate 'em all. ;-) Take the whole lense out, and dry it inside with a hairdryer, then silicone over the seams.... not a huge job, and easily done, had to do it on my 95 civic >>pressure washing under the hood. >> [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > do I drill some ventilation holes? > Quent vent holes will make the problem worse next time it rains. best option? new lights. second best? take it apart, clean, then resilicone the clear part to the body of the lamp. the 2 final options id consider would be taking the bulbs out and blowing a hair dryer in there. then theres the vent hole idea... if you DO go with the vent holes, put em as far up as possible, and seal with silicone when its dried out. good luck, though. > if you DO go with the vent holes, put em as far up as possible, and > seal with silicone when its dried out. good luck, though. I've used the vent holes idea exactly as I describe (bottom of reflector) on the corner lamps. Works like a charm. Misting and droplets disappeared completely, even in winter. SignatureTeGGeR? The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ www.tegger.com/hondafaq/ |
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