Timm's E63 and E64 Clearing Condensation from Lights
All lights get condensation sometimes - but, for goodness sake, look at the state of that
The fog lights and side repeaters are much the same. I’ve stuck a hairdryer in the front lights and that cleared it for a few
days but it soon came back. I need to make a bit more effort this time - so let’s start with the headlights first.
What we need is an air tube to get heat into the light and give it a bit of time to fully clear the moisture. The one shown
below is just a short length of cardboard tube (around 3” in diameter) with a step cut into it - that will do nicely.
We need to remove the main-beam cover, it’s a bit awkward, you press where my thumb is and this will release the catch.
This is a great opportunity to drop the cover into areas of the car that will not release it without a certain amount of
blood-letting, so keep a firm hold of the little blighter
And it’s out....
To cause a little confusion I am now moving on to the LHS light after taking the cover off the RHS light, that’s continuity
for you. Anyway, stick the tube into the main beam cavity - the shape of the stepped tube directs air directly into the housing
Rear Light Clusters
Mine are fine, but just in case yours need doing they are pretty easy to do, remove the carpeted cover:
Stuff the missus’ hair dryer into the tube a set it to full speed and half heat - we are going to leave it there for around 30
minutes. Although the condensation will disappear within a few minutes it will come back straight away if you stop now
(it did for me). It really needs the full 30 minutes or more - long enough for the whole light assembly to get hot to the
touch. The headlight units are not air-tight, they have condensation drains and we need to give enough time for the hot
air to draw all the moisture out and through the drains.
Fog Lights
While those sizzle away we will move onto the fog lights, these can be dried by heating the enclosure from the outside - the
first thing to do is to remove the front trim, this pings off easily with a trim tool levered here:
The fog lights have drains that exit via a strange pipe stuck to the outer edge - these need to be removed, and the
easiest way to do this is to pinch them with your fingers and pull them off - be careful not to let it drop behind the light
as you will need to remove the lower covers to get it back
Push the light backwards against the spring clip and then pull the front edge out. Twist the bulb-holder and remove it from
the light housing. Dry out the housing with the hair dryer for a few minutes and stick it all back together.
After drying refit the drains and push the trim back on, that’s those done!
Side Repeaters
One of my side repeaters had a few drops of water in it, these can be dried in a couple of minutes with the bulb removed
First, use both hands to hold the chrome strip - push it inwards and then backwards and it will come out:
After drying out the headlights, use the hair dryer from this direction for 10 minutes or so:
Twist the indicator bulb housing anti-clockwise and remove it, and then use the hair dryer close to the aperture to clear
moisture from the housing. The light housing has drains at the lower edge and the air flow should be enough to clear any
moisture after 20 minutes or so.
All done, Time for a Cup Of Tea
All looking dry and shiny again, and this time, staying that way for a lot longer!