Diamond Cut Headlight problem | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Diamond Cut Headlight problem

I have had the Diamond Cut Headlights on my '99 for quite a while now and have been very happy with them

I just noticed that the drivers side light has fogged up.

Anyone else with these lights have this problem?

Thoughts... ideas... duggestions

Thanks
 



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if your headlight is fogging up then you are getting mosture in there. Try taking the light out and look for any seams, cracks or anything suspectible to letting mosture enter your pretty headlight: and fill it with silicone!
 






i posted about the same problem a few months ago and got varied reponse from members.

I bought them from a fellow member who sealed them up (seemingly well) but never installed them. I've had both fog up at times, one worse that the other. Some say that with it so well sealed, there is not enough circulation to let the condensation (hot/cold) evap. I think moisture is getting in somewhere and is the culprit.

When i installed my billet, i took out the headlights and unsealed the hole at the bottom and wiped out all the condensation.

The driver's headlight still gets condensation at the innermost point (nearest the grill at the bottom) that will not go away with the heat from the headlight. On occasion, i get it all the way across the headlight along a straight line about 1/2 way up, but eventually it'll go away, leaving the inner corner wet.

The passenger headlight is pretty much free from condensation, though.

With it so cold here, i don't think i'll be able to get the condensation to stop, if it is indeed condensation and not seepage.
 






Al its funny you posted this, I think these headlights are CRAP. I spent yesturday taking them out, drying them, siliconing the crap out of them, and putting them back in only to have moister in them again this morning. I DO NOT recommend that anyone buy these headlights cause they are just plain crap.
 






You can put a little hole in the housing to prevent it from fogging up. That's what was done with my headlamps.
 






Yeah Tex, but they're just so good looking :D

I'm not sure where to go with this...i believe that they're supposed to be completely sealed as i do not remember my oem lights having any sort of weep hole to let moisture evap like these lights do at the bottom.

NExt time i get ambitious, and it's not 5 deg. outside, i may take em out for the night, dry 'em up and let'em sit overnight, seal the **** out of them AGAIN and let'em sit, seal the silverstars in place and THEN reinstall them.

DOn't hold your breath on this one, though :D
 






aldive said:
I just noticed that the drivers side light has fogged up.

Any coincidence that you got hit with 40deg. weather this week?
 






mines fine

Maybe because I live in florida and there are no real temperature differences. Its either hot or real hot
 






On the OEM headlights there is a little "vent stack" that plugs into the headlight. If I remember right there was an O ring on it. On the forgin made headlights there is a hole for the vent that is covered with a sticker. Seems that you should take the vent off the OEM and put it on the replacements. When I replaced the lights on the 96 X thats what I did and they didnt fog. They werent "diamonds" but probably made in the same place. They make a "runny" silicone that works well to seal lights. I think its packaged as a windwhield sealer.
 






BuffaloXplorer said:
Yeah Tex, but they're just so good looking :D


They dont look good with no light coming out of it cause of condensation.

Im starting to think that maybe it might be the silverstars, I had to use the o-ring from the stock headlights cause the o-rings that came with the silverstars didnt fit in the headlight housing.
 






Bill Kemp said:
They make a "runny" silicone that works well to seal lights. I think its packaged as a windwhield sealer.

Permatex Flowable Windshield & Glass Sealer - i used it to seal up the clearcorners and it dripped right into the housing - QUITE flowable.

Afboy - Al's in florida too and brought up the problem
 






BuffaloXplorer said:
Any coincidence that you got hit with 40deg. weather this week?

Not a chance :) However, it was cold as hell here kast few days ( high 30's ).
 






Off topic, aldive did you notice anything big with your TB spacer?
 












I liked mine. One is filled with engine oil now though :( Never had a fogging problem.
 












Did you try venting them? Are there the holes to put in the vents from the OEM headlights?
 






Bill Kemp said:
Did you try venting them? Are there the holes to put in the vents from the OEM headlights?

Bill, I have not done anything yet.

The new light housings had a hole in the bottom that I silicon ed shut when I installed them.

I do not remember any sort of vent in the OEM housings and regrettably, I no longer have them.

How would you suggest venting the new housings?

Thanks ...
 






I guess, open up the hole you siliconed shut. Insert a piece of rubber/plastic tubing that can be bent so that it faces rearward so rain wont be blown into the headlight but will allow air circulation to keep it dry. A 90 degree preformed piece of tubibg would be nice.
I'm no engineer but it sounds like trapped moisture is causing the problem. When you have the lights out to work on them, dry them w/hair dryer.
 



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The hairdryer method doesnt work for crap. What I found worked best was paper towels, stuff all you can into the headlights to soak everything up. For whats left you can either roll a paper towel up and see if you can dry the individual drops of water or you can make little paper towel balls and put a bunch in there and shake them around.
 






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