F10/11 headlight condensation

[Gad-Westy]

2011 f11.

The other half used the car the other day and mentioned to me that the dash had warned of an o/s indicator fault but they were all working.

I noticed later on that the o/s headlight was full of moisture and cloudy.

It’s an adaptive xenon.

What are my best options here? I’ve seen the repair videos but must admit I’m not mad keen to embark on that or perhaps if I did I’d rather do it on a secondhand light unit in isolation so the car can still be used in the meantime. Is there any way of drying it out temporarily?

I assume a new light unit is euro millions money?

[d_a_n1979]

Gad-Westy said:

2011 f11.

The other half used the car the other day and mentioned to me that the dash had warned of an o/s indicator fault but they were all working.

I noticed later on that the o/s headlight was full of moisture and cloudy.

It’s an adaptive xenon.

What are my best options here? I’ve seen the repair videos but must admit I’m not mad keen to embark on that or perhaps if I did I’d rather do it on a secondhand light unit in isolation so the car can still be used in the meantime. Is there any way of drying it out temporarily?

I assume a new light unit is euro millions money?

On my FiL's F10, we dried them out with a heat gun (hair dryer is fine) and then I taped some bags of silica gel onto the inside of the top lid with strong tape and they kept them dry for ages; you do need to swap them out to begin with as they soak up the residual moisture. But they do work

Edited by d_a_n1979 on Wednesday 25th October 09:24

[Gad-Westy]

d_a_n1979 said:

Gad-Westy said:

2011 f11.

The other half used the car the other day and mentioned to me that the dash had warned of an o/s indicator fault but they were all working.

I noticed later on that the o/s headlight was full of moisture and cloudy.

It’s an adaptive xenon.

What are my best options here? I’ve seen the repair videos but must admit I’m not mad keen to embark on that or perhaps if I did I’d rather do it on a secondhand light unit in isolation so the car can still be used in the meantime. Is there any way of drying it out temporarily?

I assume a new light unit is euro millions money?

On my FiL's F10, we dried them out with a heat gun (hair dryer is fine) and then I taped some bags of silica gel onto the inside of the top lid with strong tape and they kept them dry for ages; you do need to swap them out to begin with as they soak up the residual moisture. But they do work

Edited by d_a_n1979 on Wednesday 25th October 09:24

Thank you. That sounds like my kind of plan. Probably at best a temporary fix but will at least give me a chance to ponder a long term solution.

[d_a_n1979]

Gad-Westy said:

d_a_n1979 said:

Gad-Westy said:

2011 f11.

The other half used the car the other day and mentioned to me that the dash had warned of an o/s indicator fault but they were all working.

I noticed later on that the o/s headlight was full of moisture and cloudy.

It’s an adaptive xenon.

What are my best options here? I’ve seen the repair videos but must admit I’m not mad keen to embark on that or perhaps if I did I’d rather do it on a secondhand light unit in isolation so the car can still be used in the meantime. Is there any way of drying it out temporarily?

I assume a new light unit is euro millions money?

On my FiL's F10, we dried them out with a heat gun (hair dryer is fine) and then I taped some bags of silica gel onto the inside of the top lid with strong tape and they kept them dry for ages; you do need to swap them out to begin with as they soak up the residual moisture. But they do work

Edited by d_a_n1979 on Wednesday 25th October 09:24

Thank you. That sounds like my kind of plan. Probably at best a temporary fix but will at least give me a chance to ponder a long term solution.

From memory; a) they're a sod to remove and b) a sod to reseal...

You need to ensure there isn't any water sloshing around inside that could damage the electical board in there etc...

The headlights on my FiL's F10 stayed clear until he sold it a good year on... Swap them bags out every few months and they're fine

[P700DEE]

I had this on my F11, used to remove the top access port and run without when dry. This was however after ruining the control circuit board that sits beneath the light. You can swap circuit boards, the O/S without headlight removal but the N/S you have to remove the headlight. It is a bumper off job but was easier than other cars I've done.

[Gad-Westy]

P700DEE said:

I had this on my F11, used to remove the top access port and run without when dry. This was however after ruining the control circuit board that sits beneath the light. You can swap circuit boards, the O/S without headlight removal but the N/S you have to remove the headlight. It is a bumper off job but was easier than other cars I've done.

Thanks. At the moment, cluster is not showing any warning so I hope the PCB is okay. I'll try drying it out first and see how it looks on that front. Luckily this is the O/S if it comes to that.