Water in front LH headlamp

StefanoP

Member
Dear friends,

after many weeks of drought it's raining again, and its welcome for rivers, farmers etc, but not so good for the LH headlamp of my FSI (the RH had been changed to a new one 2 yrs ago as it was quite opaque.) Do you think that removing it, drying the glass and seal it again would cure this disease? New lamps are over 160+ Euros and I wouldn't like to spend that sort of money. Do I have to remove the front bumper to extract the lamp assembly? Thank you for your invaluable help. Cheers!

Stefano

Audi_A2_FSI_Front_LH.jpg
 
No, you do not need to remove the bumper, it is held by just two bolts T30. Be very carefull to not OVERTIGHTEN them when you will be installing the headlamp back, because the holders are plastic and could easily break, especially at low temperatures.
Here (I have put the direct timeline in the link):
 
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Buona sera Stefano,

I might be wrong but I believe a few members on here have drilled a hole (or several holes) on the underside of the headlight so that it can 'breathed'. I do believe there is a thread about it on here.

Tanti saluti
 
Remove the headlight and remove the moisture. Carefully check the seal on the access cap is not twisted and is correctly fitted and the spring retaining clip is doing its job holding the cap against the rear of the headlight tightly. Check the front "glass" for signs of chips or cracks as that will let water in. Lastly carefully clean the area where the "glass" joints the black headlight housing and apply silicone sealant around the whole join with no gaps. Let it cure for 24 hours then refit the headlight. It is safe enough to let the headlight sit face down until the silicone is cured.

Drilling holes does not fix the problem as the light by design is semi sealed and the vents are designed to cope with temperature and humidity changes.
 
Do you think that removing it, drying the glass and seal it again would cure this disease?
Buona sera Stefano,

I would also remove the headlight, open the rear cover, and place the headlight somewhere warm, inside your house. Once all the moisture has evaporated, replace the rear cover.
I'd also suggest that you inspect the seal around the edge of the rear cover. I have found that removing the seal and reinstalling it the other way around works well. It's clear that the A2's headlight is designed to be a sealed unit, so I'd be reluctant to drill any holes in it. If the issues with moisture returns, then it could be that a seal elsewhere has failed.

Despite this issue with your A2, I'm pleased that rain has returned to northern Italy. When I was in Lombardia and Trentino earlier this year, the lack of water was really concerning. I'm sure the rains will be of relief to many, though it will take a lot more to refill the reservoirs. Hopefully the Alps will receive an exceptional amount of snow this winter, and its melt-water will help to replenish supplies.

All the best,

Tom
 
Thank you. i have been having a trawl around the forum looking for information on a few issues i already know I have with my Anew A2. This is one of them on both front lights. I will remove, dry and check the seals before i give it its first proper deep wash. Along with check the bonnet drains etc.
 
What I have done was purchase 2 very strong neodymnium magnets. Wrap them in microfibre cloth and secure the cloth with a zip tie at the back. Soak one of them in IPA and then drop it in the headlight. The trick then is to guide the inner magnet using the other one one th surface of the headlight.

I have been able to get a lot of crud out and clean the lenses from the inside. Once you are happy you can fish the magnet out using long-nose tweezers or similar.

Edit: I've kept the pair on my fridge for any similar task.
 
What I have done was purchase 2 very strong neodymnium magnets. Wrap them in microfibre cloth and secure the cloth with a zip tie at the back. Soak one of them in IPA and then drop it in the headlight. The trick then is to guide the inner magnet using the other one one th surface of the headlight.

I have been able to get a lot of crud out and clean the lenses from the inside. Once you are happy you can fish the magnet out using long-nose tweezers or similar.

Edit: I've kept the pair on my fridge for any similar task.
Inspired. - Andy
 
Can these light units be separated from clear front and back? I am guessing not after @Evripidis reply
Earlier ones (2000-2001) were certainly splittable, but later ones had fewer clips holding the lens to the body and more butyl sealant. They can still be separated after the right application of heat in an oven but there's always the risk of going too far and melting the unit. It has happened :oops:
 
A word of caution when using any chemicals on the inside of the headlight assemblies. The "chrome" reflector is a thin layer applied over plastic and can be damaged very easily. I am a great believer and user of IPA but would not use something as strong inside the headlight.

When proving a leaking headlight I fill it up with soft tap water and check to see where it escapes from excluding the venting system. This shows the leak is coming from the main sealed area between the clear "lens" and the headlight body or sometimes the rear cover foam gasket.

I then empty the headlight and place a small amount of warm water into the headlight and slosh it around to remove any dust and debris. I agree this may not be sufficient to get baked dirt out of the headlight but is perfectly adequate in this country.

The light is then placed on its rear access opening with the cap off to drain down as much water as possible and the foam gasket removed from the cover and given a clean in warm dish soap and left to dry.

Once the majority of the water has drained I then place the light unit onto an old crisp box (or similar size ) that I have cut an opening in the top roughly the same size as the lights access opening and another much smaller hole near the bottom of one of the sides of the box. The light is placed over the upper opening and a hair dryer nozzle is placed into the lower hole. The hair dryer is switched on and left to run on a medium temperature until the headlight is completely dry. By this time the foam gasket has also dried completely.

The light is removed from the box and hair dryer turned off and removed.

The foam is carefully inspected to see if it had been twisted when previously installed and that caused a leak. The gasket is given a light smear of silicone grease and carefully fully inserted back into it groove in the cap ensuring it is not twisted and sits flat in the groove.

The headlight receives a 10mm bead of black silicone all around the join area between the "lens" and the body ensuring it is complete with no gaps or air bubbles and left for 10 minutes. I then run electrical insulation tape over the black silicone and pull tight. This further compresses the silicone and gives a nice finish once fully dry, although I leave the tape on afterwards.

The electrical connectors are then checked and cleaned with a rag and small amount of contact cleaner or IPA and the bulbs correctly reinserted into their locations and the rear access cap refitted and secured with its spring clip. Headlight refitted and external wiring plug reconnected.

All sealed headlights do mist up in certain conditions but will clear within a few minutes of the lights being turned on. This is because the air inside the unit was not mixing with the outside air.
 
Can these light units be separated from clear front and back? I am guessing not after @Evripidis reply

Tell you what. The wiring inside a Tiguan headlight had disintegrated; the reason? Failed ac compressor soaked it all over via the aux belt and in combination with the missing caps the wiring insulation had had enough, thus melting half the fuse box when the high beam was turned on. Having repaired the fuse box the headlight had to be replaced at a cost of 350 eur. It was a selaed unit via ultrasonic welding.

The owner took it on his one and cut it open in not the most elegant way. I repaired the wiring and put it back together using polyurethane glue. It is still holding up to this day and it has been 3 years now.
 
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