Headlight moisture fix -- U Might Want to Try
 

Hi Guys,

Since I got my 2006 the headlights are always getting misty when it rains or the car is washed. While the car was under the Jaguar warranty they did all the replacements, and hole drillings and other Jag fixes, but they seldom did any good.


I noticed that after a recent rain I not only had moisture in one headlight but pooling water.

I dissassembled the light of all the parts that are supposed to come apart - I did not cut or break anything.

I have been building custom salt water aquariums for several decades and when installing O-rings or gaskets for aquarium filters and pumps I use KY Jelly to lube the O-rings.

When I took the headlight and headlight lens apart I washed all the rings and the grooves and then lubed the Orings with Petroleum Jelly.

Been through 2 rains, 4+ car washes and no moisture at all. I know 2 months isn't a sure fix, but this is a really easy thing to try.



The other thing I did was there were water spots on the inside of the lens. I put some vinegar in the lens. Swooshed it around and let it sit for about 5 mins on the inside of the lens where the water spots were. Then I blew it out with a compressor. Then I used Isopropyl rubbing alcohol and poured it into the lens. Shook the lens like crazy and then used a compressor tip to blow air in which evaporated all the alcohol. Lens looked really nice an clean for something you can't get inside of to actually clean.

Posting pictures wouldn't do any good, it's so hard to get a photo of water droplets on the inside of a lens.

Just thought I would share these couple of little tricks I tried which so far have worked out well

Dave B

Good tips. Thanks. Though I am not sure which o rings you lubricated.

I have had the headlights out and cleaned out the very lens your talking about. Having put it back together I noticed some water type marks on the inside of the lens. They are going to have to come out again. Never thought of using alcohol.

Frankc - On my 06 when the headlight unit is out. The Front Lens unit unclips from the rear unit which holds the bulbs. Where those two sections come together is a large rectangle shaped O-ring which goes between the two.

There is also a smaller Rubber Gasket that goes in the groove where the clear plastic window on top of the headlight unit clips into.

And then I also cleaned and lubed the 2 black caps that go over the back of the bulbs.


Dave B

Dave,

You didn't give the usual disclaimer when posting a product endorsement on the forum "no connection with the manufacturer - just a satisfied customer". :icon_lol:

Good tip.

Graham

I did disassemble the unit. A tip from me too. Before un-clipping the front from the back portion heat the clips first with a heat gun as they are very brittle.

As for lubricating I will just lubricate all the black rubber seals!

Dont know if you noticed but the inside of the front of the lens is very greasy. A bit of a surprise to me. Going to have to take the headlamp out again to try the rubbing alcohol and grease trick. Give me something to do whilst waiting for the weather to dry up!

Frankc,
Interesting point about brittle connectors. I never heard that one before.

Thanks John

Not as brittle as some of the corrugated black pipes in the engine bay but still brittle non the less. If you ever look at pictures on Ebay etc of second hand headlamp units you often see broken clips.

I will tell you what is impressive though. All of us around the world with a common interest, our Jaguars, helping each other out. From Encino, CA and New Jersey to myself in Malvern England. Nice isnt it :icon_steer:

Tangential question
 

Since you guys seem to be competent with fiddling around with the headlights, I have something that has been a minor annoyance that perhaps you can help with. Some time ago I had the powerwash replaced on the driver side headlight due to the little shiny cover over the powerwash falling off. This was done at a local independent Jag specialist since the car was there for other things. It took the guy an unusually long time to get the headlight out and then put back in again and I was glad I didn't try tackling this.

But it was not until later that I noticed the headlight was not reinstalled exactly right. The passenger headlight is pretty flush with the bumper/fender all around but the drive one is cocked a bit so it sticks out slightly at the fender (see attached photos). I recall seeing a post from someone else about removing the front glass without necessarily removing the entire headlight--just needed to loosen a couple of screws/nuts to slide the headlight out just a bit.

If I wanted to do that, do you guys know if there are some reasonably accessible screws/nuts that I could fiddle with to properly reseat the headlight?

Doug

If you take a look in the engine bay at one side of the headlight, sorry cannot remember which side, you will see two bits of wavy plastic with a bolt in the middle. Slacken the bolt and see if you can manover it back into position.

I shall shortly be removing my headlight again to tackle the interior marks and a couple of other things. If your prepared to wait I will take some photos of me doing it. Just let me know.

Hey Doug,

I am going to pull my Drivers Headlight in the near future, pull it apart, clean the inside of the lens, reseal the and try to fit LED High Beams.

Do you want to come over and we can pull your headlights at the same time, reseal and reseat it? Once I have all the tools pulled out on the driveway pulling a few more headlights out is only a matter of a few minutes of cursing with our hands inside the fender well :)

I'll shoot you a PM with my cell phone if you want to come visit.

Anyone else in LA who wants to join us for some headlight maintenance, speak up !!!


Dave B

Hey Dave sounds like a plan. I pm'd you as well

Doug

An excellent suggestion for a common problem. I would love to join you in LA, but unfortunately I am on the East side of the UK enjoying wind and snow coming directly from Siberia!
Although I have not used it on headlights, I have had success using silicon grease to stop water leaking through the seals on my wife's Punto Cabrio. Possibly an option for those who don't have KY Jelly.