Moisture in headlamps 86

[stockman1]

I dry them it comes back any tips?

[Ford Builder]

You need to dry it out, and if can you blow air gently into the light not high pressure where the bulb mounts and spray window cleaner on the outside of the light or something that will blow bubbles so you find your leak, and then get your self some clear sealer to seal your leak , hope this helps I have lots of them back in the day.

[Ford Builder]

Stockman ! have chased down your headlight thats leaking yet ?

[stockman1]

Stockman ! have chased down your headlight thats leaking yet ?not yet I am waiting on an injector. long story but a 20 min job is taking me 2 weeks!

[stockman1]

Stockman ! have chased down your headlight thats leaking yet ?dry them out they hold water. Ie no leaks? Moisture builds quick here in humid FL.

[Ford Builder]

I wonder if your bulbs have bad O rings they should vacuum seal them self's after they have been on for long time , they will pop when you pull the bulbs out.

[stockman1]

I wonder if your bulbs have bad O rings they should vacumm seal them self's after they have been on for long time , they will pop when you pull the bulbs out.no pop? Put in new bulbs. Iirc they came with new o rings?

[Ford Builder]

There must be a leak some where. very odd.

[MikeFleming]

I wonder if your bulbs have bad O rings they should vacuum seal them self's after they have been on for long time , they will pop when you pull the bulbs out. Wouldn't it be beter to slightly pressurize the inside with something dry (dry air or nitrogen) before installing the bulb? Mehtinks having a vacuum inside would attract outside air, which contains moisture (especially in Florida! - not so much here in Arizona).

[notacarlo]

Good idea. Drill a hole in the housing and put in a tire valve. Put 5 psi of nitrogen in. I wonder if that would work. I might use one of my old beyond repair housings and try that!

[notacarlo]

Darn it Mike, you made me put my thinking cap on today.

[stockman1]

Good idea. Drill a hole in the housing and put in a tire valve. Put 5 psi of nitrogen in. I wonder if that would work. I might use one of my old beyond repair housings and try that!your not serious?

[notacarlo]

Me? Not usually :) I have brand new housings and they keep beading up. New seals and bulbs. I'll try anything at this point.

[MikeFleming]

You just need a pressurized clean room with dry air, or a nitrogen-pressurized box with arm glove thingies - similar to a blast cabinet - to assemble the bulbs into the housings.

And no, I don't have one available. Sorry.

[Ford Builder]

Why not save all the trouble and replace them with originals and end the pain, am glad I have 85 good old sealed beams

[dagenham]

Ya know, I did just the opposite of trying to seal them up air tight. I drilled a very small(1/16"-1/8") hole in the bottom corner to keep air moving inside.
This was on a '88 that was my DD and would get moisture in them all the time. Once I drilled the holes, they were always dry, even in the rain.

[notacarlo]

I tried the holes....nope, didn't help me.

[dagenham]

HMMM, that dooesnt make sense to me, but what do I know.
I have one question about the nitrgen idea, I thought nitrogen is flammable???
If I'm right (and there is always that possibility but not often) once the filimant and bulb get hot enough, your lights will be better than dry

[notacarlo]

Not flamable. I don't think aircraft would be able to run it in their landing gear. I ran it in all the tires on the race rig. All the race cars used it.

[dagenham]

Oh yeah, I forgot about the tire thing.

[NY eric]

When I had ford look at mine (when I still had a warranty) their fix was to drill 2 small holes at the bottom. this did work but I am not a big fan of rigging things. as Mike said there is a leak somewhere and your best bet is to take some claer RTV and seal the seam allong the housing and lense. I guarentee there is a blown seam somewhere. i doubt it is the lamp to housing oring.

[stockman1]

HMMM, that dooesnt make sense to me, but what do I know.
I have one question about the nitrgen idea, I thought nitrogen is flammable???
If I'm right (and there is always that possibility but not often) once the filimant and bulb get hot enough, your lights will be better than dry if I remember my chemistry N is inert meaning no reaction with oxygen and so no flame.

[TheSVOTrust]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofMwxrWDUmQ

Mark
P.S.. What's the deal with this !
not yet I am waiting on an injector. long story but a 20 min job is taking me 2 weeks!

Have you no friends, parts?

[FoxBuddy]

Geez, now I have to worry about something else! I get condensation as well. I may try to find the leak first. If not drilling seems an alternative. Its like fogged interior windows here in the winter; crack the window and it dissipates faster.

[stockman1]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofMwxrWDUmQ

Mark
P.S.. What's the deal with this !

Have you no friends, parts?had troubles with a new injector leaking then a warranty part came it was a Deca and not a pintle. Finally 3 rd try right part shows up after 2 weeks.

[stockman1]

Ya know, I did just the opposite of trying to seal them up air tight. I drilled a very small(1/16"-1/8") hole in the bottom corner to keep air moving inside.
This was on a '88 that was my DD and would get moisture in them all the time. Once I drilled the holes, they were always dry, even in the rain.I dried out both housings. I drilled a small hole on the inboard lower corner of the bulb housing (1/8 inch). This has created negative pressure and now they are staying dry. Humidity here has been over 85 percent. Love this forum thanks for the idea!

[Mustang Al]

I tried using the spray rubber stuff on an RV repair. The stuff cracks and doesn't flex as advertized.