What would be causing my headlights to fog up?

[iamvinny]

My old headlights were foggy as heck, it seemed irreversible, tried a DIY kit and tried to have it professionally done, was OKAY for a bit but then got worse. Now I picked up a second hand pair of headlights that were crystal clear, installed them today and here is what I've noticed, and it's on both headlights however one is worse than the other.



What could be causing this? I do have an issue I'm in the process of fixing where water is leaking into the boot of the car into the spare wheel cavity with can cause some moisture inside the car (eg; at night the windows start to fog up) so for now I've used a towel, about to completely seal it off or buy new rear gaskets for the tail lights but I can't see how this would cause the front headlights to go all foggy. Any thoughts/suggestions? Thanks!

[ZIPPIE Type-S]

Foggy as in condensation inside the head lights, or are they going cloudy on the outside of the lenses??
Lol i need to change my tail light gaskets also, my left tail light looks like a fishbowl... Got the gaskets, just need time to change them...

[iamvinny]

Foggy as in condensation inside the head lights, or are they going cloudy on the outside of the lenses??
Lol i need to change my tail light gaskets also, my left tail light looks like a fishbowl... Got the gaskets, just need time to change them...

Glad it isn't just me I've seen quite a few RSX (USA DC5) have the same problem too, think it's pretty pathetic Honda allowed it. With my old headlights, the housing was cloudy and very dense. With the new one's its more like condensation on the inside, like moisture is seeping in somehow but they were dry as a bone today.

[ZIPPIE Type-S]

its a very common problem with the tail light gaskets, there is adhesive only on one side of the gaskets.
When you fit them use contact adhesive on the other side of the gaskets for an assured seal.
Are your haedlights OEM or after market???
they may require sealing up where the lense meets the body of the head light assembly...

[iamvinny]

They are OEM, the guy I bought them off was buying aftermarket headlights thats the only reason he was selling them. I think you could be right, but it was about 4pm, what would be causing the condensation in the light do you think?

[ZIPPIE Type-S]

It's obviously water in the head light getting in somewhere, it is evaporating and condensing on the lenses. try removing them and using silicone or sikaflex at the joint between lens and housing..
a good way of clearing up the condensation in the headlights is to remove the rear cover of the headlight and turn your lights on, including high beam, then place a towell over the headlight to keep the heat in, the moisture will escape from the vent point...

[iamvinny]

Thanks I'll give it a try

[ZIPPIE Type-S]

hope all goes well, happy to help...

[iamvinny]

Funny thing today I thought I'd check on the headlights and of course, they're now crystal clear - all the condensation is gone lol :P I also noticed a bit of a dirt inside the housing too as if dust has seeped in so I may need to remove the housing, give it a light wipe down, put it back together and then use a sealant to stop any more moisture or dirt from finding its way into the light.

Called my local mechanic who has done a fair bit for me on my car (they're good with Honda's) so I'm taking it in tomorrow and he's going to take a long at the front and rear lights as well as compare them to my old headlights to see what he can do, I'm hoping it's just a case of cleaning them out and putting a sealant to avoid further issues then I'll be a happy man. Going to organize to have the rears done at the same time because I think it'll just be a matter of new gaskets and sealant also. Some US guys have actually drilled a hole in their boot cavity so the water just drains but I really don't want to do that, would rather no water in the first place.

EDIT: Another bit of weird info, I have about 3 min of no cars usually when on my way home so I put my lights on and on high beam also, pulled up to my house and went to the front to check and no condensation, weird. They could really use a good polish though!

[ZIPPIE Type-S]

More than likely the dirt got in there with the water,, Dirty rain...
when he does your tail light gaskets, dont use silicone sealant on the new gaskets, one side has adhesive already applied, use contact adhesive spray on the other sides of the gaskets...
Just give the headlights a hand polish first with a mild polish before you go for the restoration kit...

[iamvinny]

More than likely the dirt got in there with the water,, Dirty rain...
when he does your tail light gaskets, dont use silicone sealant on the new gaskets, one side has adhesive already applied, use contact adhesive spray on the other sides of the gaskets...
Just give the headlights a hand polish first with a mild polish before you go for the restoration kit...

Cheers, will do I'm not going to use a restoration kit, wasted enough $$ with that on my old headlights. Just going to polish these ones up as much as possible and regularly as they looked really good today.