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Headlight Moisture

B

Blulanche

SM 2003
Full Member
Joined
Sep 23, 2002
Messages
253
Location
Richmond, Virginia
O.K. I can't believe that this has not been addressed yet. I did a search and found where some have had problems with moisture in the FOG lights, but I am getting it now in the headlights. The fog lights were fine.
I was travelling through West Virginia (a state that evidentally believes it is best to just let snow MELT off the road, as oppose to plowing it. It's OK though, I had an AV >:D ) Anyway, when I stopped for fuel, I noticed substantial moisture in the headligts.
When I got back I stopped at a dealership to inquire about it and was told that the lights get SO hot that they are vented, and therefore moisture gets in. Sounds like a lot of malarky to me.
Opinions anyone??
 
Coincidence?

Friday was the first time I noticed condensation in my headlights. Maybe it has happened before and I never noticed? I have headlight covers on most of the time, but had them off Friday night driving home in the dark.

With my luck, the dealership will blame install and removal of the covers as the cause.

I will keep a closer watch now.
 
hey, whats up everyone. i actually have the same problem, in both headlights and fog lights. The dealer said he would replace the fogs( it was very evident) but not the headlights :8: He asked if the fog goes away when i turn on my lights, i said no, it fogs up when i turn the lights on!!! Then he read my a B.S. story from a "gm handout" that said moisture in the headlight is normal and acceptable to a certain point. what a crock :7: I'll be writting a letter to gm to get this one resolved.
frank
 
I guess I better check my head lights again. I've noticed the fog light moisture in the past month.

Question - if the dealer replaces the fog light, does that affect the amber DRL's I have right next to them? Are they separate units?
 
If moisture in the headlight is supposed to be "normal", how come my Av is dry? I think I smell another GM rat. :8:
 
I noticed condensation in the headlights and foglights the day I took the AV I eventually bought for a test drive. I spoke with the service manager and he told me the same thing, the lights are vented and some condensation is normal, however, if it becomes bothersome he will replace them.
 
I just drove my AV off the lot for the first time yesterday, and when I was leaving the dealer I noticed condensation in the headlights. I will be taking it back to the dealer after the Holiday to see what gives. Will report what they say. (Love the AV so far but only driven 50 miles)
 
never noticed condensation in any of the lights before. today i was doing the Silver Star install and removed the amber lamp above the headlight to ge to the pin that holds the assembly in place. when i switched the bulbs the S.S. did not lock in place tightly. so i installed it anyway just to have the bulb fall out of the assembly. there are three torx screws right where the bulb is inserted. if you tightened these at about 1/4 turn increments this should solve any loose bulbs. maybe even condensation. if the seal is not tight the condensation will enter the assembly.
after all that was done i had condensation in the assembly above the headlight. i did it whil it was wet/ slightly drizzling outside. apparently the assembly does not like moisture of any kind. i put the bulb back in and the moisture remained in the assembly. so i lieft it out so it would dry completely. should be okay now. :B:
 
went back outside to check for moisture in the light assembly. it is all gone now. at least i hope it is. time will tell.
 
:eek: ?We had the same trouble with the Pontiac Montana and the fix was to drill a drain hole in the bottom of the lens

Did not work!!!

Yes another GM rat!

Happy new Year!

We returned the vehicle in on lease expiry and they then replaced the lens before resale.

I think we should stick to our guns on replacement!!
 
I bought my Av almost a year ago now and found the same problem with moisture in the headlights before I drove it off the lot. I was told that this was normal, that they were vented, etc.

The lights still fog up when they're cold, but they do seem to clear when they're on. No problems with them in the past year (>20,000 miles now).

 
Yes, I just noticed this for the first time yesterday when i took her to get washed! Its on the exact same spots on both the headlights. I am contacting my dealer tomorrow............. see what they will say. Iam also going to take some pictures for u guys who havent experienced this problem yet. So you will get a better understanding. I am going to take the pics now.... so they should be posted in a couple minutes.

I really want to hear what all of our dealers have to say..... variations of BS lol. Dont get me wrong, some dealers are real nice, like mine. We will see tomorrow!
 
On the Fog light issue I was told that running the 50watt fog (885s) will take care of this. I never had this problem and have not seen it wil the new foglights. Not sure on the headlights have not seen this.
 
Mine has done this from day one ......I asked the dealer again yesterday about it, they still say it's normal. :mad:
 
I had the same problem with moisture in the headlamp and fog lamp assemblies showing up about two months after I purchased the AV. I brought it back to the dealer and they changed out both assemblies and haven't had any moisture since. It turned out some of the earlier models had leaks in the seals. I hope this helps, but if I understand it correctly, aren't these supposed to be sealed beams?
 
Somehow I managed to go 1 year without condensation in my fog housings....all of a sudden I notice the passenger side fog/drl housing is fogging up on me.....let's see what the dealer has to say when I bring it up to them at my next service visit.... :B:
 
DoctorT

Sealed Beam refers to the older style headlights where the bulb is built into the housing. (Round, rectangular or square).

When a Sealed Beam Headlamp goes out, you just remove the whole light and get a new one.
 
Noticed today condensation in both front turn signals. Haven't seen any in the either the head lights or fog lights. Does each kind of light have its own topic?
 
I took my baby to the dealer today for some "due on deal" work and I also am having some other issues looked at...Anyway I mentioned the condensation in the fog/drl and my service guy immedeatley said they are getting replaced. He said that some of the first runs had bad seals and GM redesigned the seals and have a new assembly. So any condensation is bad and will progressivley get worse. I would suggest you all check and BTW no weep holes exist.

Howard
 
I have had the Moisture in on my 04 AV for a few months so last week I went to the dealer to get it repaired under warranty. Service Consultant looked at it and said no problem I need to have some one from the shop come out and look at it first though. So the head of the Service Department came out and looked at it and said, "No that's Normal just turn your lights on as you drive and park it in the sun. It'll dry right out." Not wanting to argue with someone with limited mental Capacity I left and called my sales person who said no way that?s not normal I'll get it taken care of. He called me back having hit the same wall. So I called GM Warranty Assistance and spoke with Jack Ayers 866-932-4368 Ext. 35128 He got it straightened out for me. The file number assigned was 1-97848958 he currently works 2pm - 9pm M.T.
 
Ipicked up myAV from the dealer today and noticed what looked like hairline cracks on the headlight lenses.The service manager said that they were seems in the plastic and would only be a problem if there was condensation in the headlights and he would replace them. As soon as I got home from the dealer I got out of the truck and noticed the headlights were fogged up!!!The condensation went away shortly afterwords. I will be calling the dealer tomorrow.
 
my fog/drl light on the driver side is half full of water.. my passenger side headlamp has condensation... from reading all the posts looks like I need new fog/drl lights....my question is ...  is it hard to change the assembly?? ???
 
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