Just recently noticed some condensation in the right high and low beam headlamp assemblies. Perhaps not coincidentally, the low-beam had gone out.

I've been reading about this, and different sites and cars have different answers. Some sites say don't worry about it. Others say to drill small holes in the bottom (or top) of the assembly and the water will evaporate eventually. Others say their cars (Volvo?) have drain holes just for this occurrence.

Is this "normal" for these cars? It does indeed go away within 3 minutes of the lights being turned on, but it comes back when it cools down, presumably because there's nowhere for the water vapor to go. Looks terrible!

 

There is a Jaguar TSB for this condensation problem. You need to check the seals where the bulbs go in. Also, there may be a blocked air vent, which I would expect would be located so that water cannot enter accidentally.

 

I have had this problem and removed the water using a 1/8" OD semi rigid plastic tube with a pad of kitchen roll securely taped to the end.

This can be introduced at the rear of the headlamp either via a hole near the sidelight bulb or after removing the main bulb and then dabbing the water so that it is absorbed by the kitchen roll.

You need to be patient but it did the job for me.

 

The most common reason for this I have seen is someone replaced a bulb and didn't properly reinstall the cover plate and gasket to seal the unit.

 

Wanted to post my solution (one of several possible) to the problem of moisture in the headlamp assembly.

The most common solution I found, both here and elsewhere on the net, was to drill small holes in the bottom of the headlamp to allow the moisture to drain out. That didn't sit well with me.

First, I tried removing the lamp assembly and using a hair/blow drier, directing hot air to the lamp, which worked to evaporate the moisture, but the vapor couldn't find it's way to the hole in the back.

Finally, I settled on this solution. This past weekend, I bought a new pair of work shoes and, as with many things, there were little packets of silica gel in to keep them pristine in high humidity environments. I took some very fine fishing line and tied a double know around the packets and managed to work them past the lamp holder inside the assembly and they dropped to the bottom. I tied off the fishing line and reassembled the lamps.

Less than 24 hours later, the high-beam lamp is dry and the low-beam lamp only has a bit left. When it's dry, I'll pull the silica packets out.

(Can you tell I've been a tech writer in a previous life?)