OT ---- Leaking headlight assembly

I have a 2009 Mazda CX-7.

One headlight assembly has a leak resulting in moisture accumulation in the lens.

If I can dry out the lens, I can use silicon caulk to seal the top part of the lens where I feel the water is coming in from.

Cost of a new assembly is way too high at $220+.

I thought of blowing hot air thru the hole for the high beam lamp.

Hole is only about 1/4 inch which is too small for using a blow dryer or silica gel to dry the lens.

Any one have any other ideas ??

Shame on auto manufacturers for making things pert near impossible for customers to fix.

They should have never gone from glass to plastic, but we know why the greedy &*#! did so.

Have a good evening.

On Tue, 10 Jan 2017 20:03:21 -0800 (PST), Andy
wrote:

I have a 2009 Mazda CX-7.

One headlight assembly has a leak resulting in moisture accumulation in the lens.

If I can dry out the lens, I can use silicon caulk to seal the top part of the lens where I feel the water is coming in from.

Cost of a new assembly is way too high at $220+.

I thought of blowing hot air thru the hole for the high beam lamp.

Hole is only about 1/4 inch which is too small for using a blow dryer or silica gel to dry the lens.

Any one have any other ideas ??

Shame on auto manufacturers for making things pert near impossible for customers to fix.

They should have never gone from glass to plastic, but we know why the greedy &*#! did so.

Have a good evening.



It is quite simple, they could not get the same wind tunnel results
with the good old $5 sealed beam. They started with retractable
headlights and real "slick" designs but some folks said this did not
help the 5-10% of the freeway driving that happens at night. (air
resistance is not much of an issue at 35 or less)
Then some bean counter figured out these $250-300 headlights would be
a cash cow on the back end.

Andy wrote:
I have a 2009 Mazda CX-7.

One headlight assembly has a leak resulting in moisture accumulation in the lens.

If I can dry out the lens, I can use silicon caulk to seal the top part of the lens where I feel the water is coming in from.

Cost of a new assembly is way too high at $220+.

I thought of blowing hot air thru the hole for the high beam lamp.

Hole is only about 1/4 inch which is too small for using a blow dryer or silica gel to dry the lens.

Any one have any other ideas ??

Shame on auto manufacturers for making things pert near impossible for customers to fix.

They should have never gone from glass to plastic, but we know why the greedy &*#! did so.

Have a good evening.

When I had trouble with a rear light cluster, it was
the gasket material which made a poor fit. I think I'm
seeing a gasket or O-ring kind of material here in this
picture, but I can't be sure.

http://www.motorauthority.com/image/...port-headlight

Mine was so bad, it used to collect water. I cannot remember
now, whether I broke down and drilled a drain hole in that
thing or not. I must have, because near the end of the
life of the car, I don't remember playing with it any more.

I wouldn't do anything like that on the front.

Paul

On 10 Jan 2017, Andy wrote in
microsoft.public.windowsxp.general:

Any one have any other ideas ??

Look in Control Panel | Programs | Add Features to Windows. That will
definitely take care of your problems.

On Wed, 11 Jan 2017 20:30:23 -0000, Nil
wrote:

On 10 Jan 2017, Andy wrote in
microsoft.public.windowsxp.general:

Any one have any other ideas ??

Look in Control Panel | Programs | Add Features to Windows. That will
definitely take care of your problems.

This calls for the Raindrop "screensaver".

--
Bah, and indeed, Humbug

"Andy" wrote in message
...

I have a 2009 Mazda CX-7.

One headlight assembly has a leak resulting in moisture accumulation in
the lens.

If I can dry out the lens, I can use silicon caulk to seal the top part of
the lens where I feel the water is coming in from.

Cost of a new assembly is way too high at $220+.

I thought of blowing hot air thru the hole for the high beam lamp.

Hole is only about 1/4 inch which is too small for using a blow dryer or
silica gel to dry the lens.

Any one have any other ideas ??

1. Try a wick. The quarter-inch hole should be wide
enough for you to push in (around a pipe cleaner) a
thin strip of polypropylene or cotton fabric, that will
absorb moisture and can be replaced by a new dry piece.

2. Most makes of car seem to have their own web
pages for users' solutions to problems.
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

Andy wrote in
:

I have a 2009 Mazda CX-7.

One headlight assembly has a leak resulting in moisture accumulation
in the lens.

If I can dry out the lens, I can use silicon caulk to seal the top
part of the lens where I feel the water is coming in from.

Cost of a new assembly is way too high at $220+.

I thought of blowing hot air thru the hole for the high beam lamp.

Hole is only about 1/4 inch which is too small for using a blow dryer
or silica gel to dry the lens.

Any one have any other ideas ??

Shame on auto manufacturers for making things pert near impossible for
customers to fix.

They should have never gone from glass to plastic, but we know why the
greedy &*#! did so.

Have a good evening.




A few months after buying my then new 1996 Maxima, I bumped a steel
garbage can into the rear lignt. making a 1/2" round hole in the
housing. The housing contained the rear light/stop light, the turn
signal, and the running light (I don't know who would drive with just
running lights). I didn't want to replace the entire housing, but
during the rainy season, it collected about 1" of water that would not
drain, The lights worked, but the water kept sloshing around. I
finally broke down and bought a new housing (only $80 then), because I
was worried the water may damage all the electrical connections.

I like Don Phillipson's wick idea, but if you have condensation drips,
rather than just a puddle, it will be difficult.

Here's two things you could try;

1) Connect a 1/4" OD surgical or vinyl tube to a funnel, and use your
hair dryer to force hot air inside the lens.

2) Use a space heater and set it in the engine compartment, aimed at the
rear of the lens, and keep it on util the condensation is gone. Or, set
the space heater on the outside of the car, aimed at the front of the
lens. Once the condensation is gone, let it cool down to be sure it
doesn't still have humid air inside, and if all gone, seal it up.

Good luck.