Moisture inside Headlight (1 Viewer)

[greglomax]

<I checked the SEARCH before posting this>

I have moisture on the inside of one of my headlights on my 1998 LC. Is this a leaky gasket around the headlamp? If so, is it a big deal to replace and is it costly? Thanks for any help you can provide.

 

[BillWms01]

I've had some moisture in one of mine too, but I had a visible rock ding that was letting it in. Don't know about a gasket. I sealed up mine with a little clear silicone and dried it out with a hair dryer. It took several times before it cleared up completely, but now I got no condensation.

 

[CDN_Cruiser]

I posted a response on this a few months ago, but here is the short answer:

- The headlight is effectively a sealed unit, so you cannot replace the gasket
- Taking the light out is quite easy - even if you don't have a FSM - IIRC I had to undo some screws in the grill, remove the side market light, etc
- Can attempt a fix by running a bead of sealant, assuming there are no cracks, etc
- For LX450 the lights is something like US$300, I think the TLC is cheaper.


Cheers, Hugh

 

[BMT]

I replaced mine sever months ago for the same reason. It looks like you can put a gasket in it but according to c-dan, it is a sealed unit and after taking mine out and inspecting, it is true.

 

[NorCalDoug]

[quote author=CDN_Cruiser link=board=2;threadid=12790;start=msg117801#msg117801 date=1078843220]
- For LX450 the lights is something like US$300, I think the TLC is cheaper.
[/quote]

Just a note -- the LX450 lights are not interchangable with the LC lights. Different shape.
Unless you wanna change the grill too...

BTW, I condensation inside my lenses too after I did the harness upgrade a few weeks back. It's cleared up now. 8) Not too worried since I'm planning on swapping bulbs soon. I checked the lenses and there are not chips, cracks, etc.

 

[Cruiser_Nerd]

I've been fighting this with a hairdryer for about six months. No visible nicks or cracks. Probably pull the housing and pressure test it or something.......anybody ever find a source of leaks?


Damn thing only fogs up when it rains.

 

[Wilesy]

I word of advise for people not as stupid as I once was......

My globe exploded and had pieces of glass all over the inside of my light...so being the anal person in which I am, I decided that it had to come out and get it perfectly clean.

Well, I took the headlight out of the assembly, shook out most of the glass from inside and then filled the headlight with some water & methylated spirits and shook it all around, thinking that it would clean it up nicely....

Well it did..........the metho took all of the silver background of the inside of the light off and made it absolutely useless....

Moral of this story?

Don't ever put metho inside your lights....

 

[treerootCO]

I can't say I was stupid because of my freak accident but I'll add my warning as well:

Different style headlight but still dangerous in my opinion. I had moisture in a sealed headlight back in the day. I noticed a rock had cracked the light and I turned the headlights on thinking it would help. I walked around the car and looked into the headlight right as it exploded. All I saw was red instantly...ran down the street blind looking for a ride to the hospital. If anyone was wondering where the scars on my face came from, now you know. I forgot how many stitches now but the glass shards imbedded so close to my eyes I couldn't see straight.

This was a sealed halogen style headlamp like the FJ40s still use. I know the 100s are a different style but you aren't going to catch me looking at one!!

 

[Wilesy]

Geez,

Hope your sight was Ok!

 

[Bob_Garrett]

I have an 80 that had the same problem. I removed the headlight and got most of the water out through the vent and the bulb openings. I used a hair dryer to get rid of the rest of the moisture and then ran a bead of sealant around the edge where the two sections meet. It has stayed dry for over a year.

Bob

 

[NMuzj100]

I have silicone caulking sealing a serious rock strike that put cracks through the full depth of the glass and have had no fogging issues. If you can find the source of the leak it should be easy to seal.