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2006 Ford Explorer with fog light condensation.

i have just purchased a 2006 ford explorer and i have condensation in passenger side fog lamp removed bulb and dried it out reinstalled bulb and condensation was back the next day have seen this on many explorers would like to make a permanent repair if anyone has corrected this problem please reply i have read many threads but cannot find a repair thanks bmagee1942
 



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do you have an answer to my problem if you do i donot know how to find your reply thanks bmagee1942
 






All quality fog lights are well sealed around the seams. There is also a small hole in the fixture to allow moisture to escape. Usually the vent/hole is in the bottom rear of the light housing. When the light is on the heat will dry the moisture and vent it out the vent hole.
So, make sure your lights are well sealed and drill a 1/8" hole in the rear of the lights where water will not splash into it.
I dont know if the X lights have a vent. There could be one and it could be pluged.
Check it out and let us know.
 






condensation i explorer fog lights

thanks for the information i will try to remove the light in the next couple of days i will get back to you and let you know what i find many thanks bmagee1942
 






got time to take the fog light out today used 13mm wrench to colapse clamp when i got it out i saw there was a vent in the light when i looked at the back i found the went hole was covered with a blue sticker dont know yhy it was there so i opened it up dried the light by blowing air into it through the bulb hole reinstalled fixture and see what happens if this is the problem it came from the factory that way i will get back to you if this solves the problem thanks for the advice bmagee1942
 






5 days now since i opened the vent up in the lght no condensation at all i think this is afactory problem as i see many explorers around with the same problem in the same light ford should put a bulliten out about this it is also a very easy fix thanks for the help bmagee1942 ps i have owned 5 explorers 95 explorerxlt 97 eddie bauer 2000 eddie bauer 04 ltd and now 06 ltd thanks again
 












Did you leave the vent hole without the sticker?
 






yes i did it has been over a week now and have not had any condesation or water showing up in the light we have had some rain here and it doesnt appear any water gets in i think this is an assembly line error but i am not sure hopefully this is the fix for the problem if so it was an easy fix thanks for the reply
 






I had a lot of condensation in my drivers side fog light. popped it off, brought it inside for a couple days and it dried right up. been good for over 2 months now.

i also considered taking the little blue sticker off the vent hole but it appears to be a breathable fabric of some sort probably designed to let moisture out but not in.
 






l have not had any problem since i removed the sticker very cold here now vehicle is in and out of the gararge every dayand have not had any problem not like i had before i temoved the sticker tried drying it before but condesayion came back the next daY IT WAS SUMMER THEN and should have stayed clear thanks for the reply bob
 






2006 Explorer Foglight condensation



I just found your fix today and gave it a try. My passenger side fog light has been full of moisture for quite some time now and while I was doing an oil change this morning I decided to have a look at it. It took me a while just to figure out how to remove the light assembly. I actually found this site by trying to find info on how to remove the light assy. The three posts coming through the back side of the assy. have little tabs that lock them in place. To remove the assy, the box end of the 13mm wrench is used to compress the post tabs, while you push the post toward the housing. Maybe this info will help someone else remove a light assy.

After removing the assy, I found the blue sticker covering the vent hole. I peeled the sticker off from the bottom just enough to expose the vent hole, then reinstalled the assy. I put a little Vaseline on the posts to make insertion easier (that worked good!).

I'll just have to wait now and see how it does.... I have high hopes!!!

Thanks for the tip!
G-man!:usa::usa:
 






5 days now since i opened the vent up in the lght no condensation at all i think this is afactory problem as i see many explorers around with the same problem in the same light ford should put a bulliten out about this it is also a very easy fix thanks for the help bmagee1942 ps i have owned 5 explorers 95 explorerxlt 97 eddie bauer 2000 eddie bauer 04 ltd and now 06 ltd thanks again

thanks for the information. one of my fog lights I can see some condensation. I going to try this when I get a chance.
 






UPDATE>>> My foglight is still clear..... this fix worked great!!! THANKS!

G-Man
 






I'm bumping this thread, because it's such a great fix (I hope). Coincidentally, my passenger side fog lamp had a LOT of moisture. When I pulled it, I found it was cracked, probably due to someone munching into a snow bank or something. I sealed the crack with epoxy and reinstalled it. Had moisture the next day! I figured the seal around the bulb base may not be good, so I bought new O-rings and reinstalled it... still have moisture! When my wife gets the truck home, I'll try and find that sticker. If it works, this thread will get another bump.

Edit: My wife got the truck home, and I pulled the lamp:

DSC_4054.jpg


DSC_4057.jpg


No wonder it isn't breathing:

DSC_4060.jpg


I won't bump this thread again. I didn't realize everybody else in the world must have already seen this but me!

Edit II: No, this didn't do the trick, so I did some more research. I believe that fabric I pulled off is "Gore Tex". When the lights are turned off, the inside of the lamp cools causing a vacuum to draw outside air in. If the air is moist it fogs up inside. The Gore Tex fabric allows air in without the moisture. I don't think the O-ring on the bulb socket can seal 100% due to the high vacuum created. Unless that base is sealed with silicone it can't be a truly sealed unit.

My next attempt will be to find a new piece of Gore Tex to cover that small vent in the top. My theory is the piece I pulled off was clogged by the glue used to hold it on, and air was being sucked in from the bulb's base instead.

Edit III: No Gore-Tex to be had locally, so I cut a small piece of "Omni Shield" fabric from my Columbia jacket. Hopefully it will perform like Gore-Tex.

Here is my quick method for removing moisture from the lamp:

DSC_4075.jpg


To compress the tabs holding the lamp in the bumper, I use three 1/2" long sections of 1/2" copper pipe:

DSC_4072.jpg


Only epoxy I have lately is JB Weld, so I used that to attach a small rubber washer with 3/8" hole around the 1/8" vent in the lamp:

DSC_4065.jpg


DSC_4068.jpg


DSC_4069.jpg


DSC_4070.jpg


DSC_4070a.jpg


We'll see if that does any good soon...

Edit IV: This ain't gonna work. "Omni-Shield" is waterproof. Their fabric comparable to Gore-Tex is "Omni-Wick Evap".

So, I'll put the lamp back in and wait till I get some real Gore-Tex fabric. If my theory is right, I won't see any moisture in the lamp as long as I don't turn on the fog lights...

Edit V: Well, my theory must be a steaming pile, because the lamp is steamed up within a few hours and I didn't turn them on.

I think I can buy a replacement for $30.00 shipped...

...yep, my problem is solved for $31.57. Good luck to everybody else!
 






Received my "solution" from Auto Lighthouse via Ebay. Now, it's one thing to buy cheap Taiwanese junk, which is what these replacements are. It's another to receive a POS that's already been "installed". I should say, attempted to install. The one I got had one of the three retaining lugs broken off. The missing half of it was not in the packaging, so it wasn't broken in transit. I swapped a retainer from the old lamp and installed it using grease to help it slide in. After it was in, I noticed the other two retainers weren't holding it in. Turns out the three tabs on each lug were crushed in, and couldn't spring out due to being cracked at their pivot points. All six of them on the two original lugs. Had to swap the old ones off my moisture filled lamp.

So, it's installed now, and remains to be seen whether it stays condensation free. But, I still have feedback to leave for Auto Lighthouse. I see he already has quite a few negatives, but they're dwarfed by the thousands of positives. Don't know if I should even bother. I'll leave it alone until I know whether this thing is going to fog up or not. From what I've seen of the negatives, it may be hard to get a replacement, but giving a negative now ain't gonna help. Just a head's up for you folks...
 






Received my "solution" from Auto Lighthouse via Ebay. Now, it's one thing to buy cheap Taiwanese junk, which is what these replacements are. It's another to receive a POS that's already been "installed". I should say, attempted to install. The one I got had one of the three retaining lugs broken off. The missing half of it was not in the packaging, so it wasn't broken in transit. I swapped a retainer from the old lamp and installed it using grease to help it slide in. After it was in, I noticed the other two retainers weren't holding it in. Turns out the three tabs on each lug were crushed in, and couldn't spring out due to being cracked at their pivot points. All six of them on the two original lugs. Had to swap the old ones off my moisture filled lamp.

So, it's installed now, and remains to be seen whether it stays condensation free. But, I still have feedback to leave for Auto Lighthouse. I see he already has quite a few negatives, but they're dwarfed by the thousands of positives. Don't know if I should even bother. I'll leave it alone until I know whether this thing is going to fog up or not. From what I've seen of the negatives, it may be hard to get a replacement, but giving a negative now ain't gonna help. Just a head's up for you folks...

I just had a bulb blow up in my passenger side, which was also fogged up for a couple of years. I needed to get the shattered glass out of the unit, so I thought I'd pull it off the truck and shake it out.

While doing so, I had put my hand on the clear lens to push/pull it out, and squiiiitt!, off popped the lens.

Apparently the sealant had failed all the way around and had turned itself into a slime growing experiment. I've cleaned it out and cleaned the lens, and squirted some clear silicone sealer into the channel and re-inserted the lens.

I'll give it a couple of hours to cure. Then a new bulb....and then we shall see.
 






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