Some friends bought or washed the car, or when they entered the garage for the first time in the morning, they found that there seemed to be water or fog in the headlights of their car. Is this thing necessary?
Why is there water in the headlight?
First of all, we have to take a look at the reason. In fact, there are normal reasons and abnormal reasons for headlight fogging or water droplets.
Temperature differences cause moisture to condense in car lights
This relatively normal phenomenon means that although the headlight is designed to be waterproof, it may not be completely sealed due to heat dissipation considerations.
There will be something like a ventilating rubber tube on the back of the lamp, so that the hot air can be discharged, which can make your headlight stable to use.
So as long as there is such a ventilation pipe, the moisture in the air will enter the headlight through it, and this kind of fog will appear on the lampshade.
Condensation is more common in winter or rainy days
This situation is mainly caused by the condensation phenomenon caused by the temperature difference between hot and cold, especially in winter or rainy seasons.
This situation is relatively normal. If you drive for 5 or 10 minutes, the temperature difference between the inside and outside of the car lights will disappear, and the fog will basically disappear.
Car lights are not tightly sealed, causing water to seep in
There is another abnormal situation. For example, after driving and washing the car on a rainy day, you suddenly find that the headlight cover is full of water droplets or water vapor. In this case, it is very likely that the car light seal is not tight.
On the one hand, this kind of loose sealing means that the halogen lamp was not properly handled when it was changed to a xenon lamp, or the workmanship was not up to par when it left the factory, or the sealing gasket may have aged after being used for a long time.
Of course, the relatively small chance is that when our car has a slight collision, we do not see these small cracks, and the original shape is revealed as soon as the water gun is flushed.
What problems can water in car lights cause?
If there is water mist or water droplets in the car lights, except for the ventilation design considerations of the car lights and the condensation phenomenon caused by the temperature difference between hot and cold as we mentioned earlier, it is basically not a good thing.
Affects the transmittance of headlights and weakens the light
First of all, there is water and fog, which will affect the light transmittance of the headlights. What I said is a little biased. Lets look at a piece of glass. Which one can be seen more clearly with or without water droplets?
The light will be refracted or scattered when there are water droplets, and it will be compromised. The brightness, clarity, and even the shape of the light may be different, which affects safety.
Causes a short circuit in the circuit inside the car light
And if there is a lot of water, and your headlight design circuit happens to be connected to the bulb and the lamp cavity, it may be short-circuited, and the headlight will not light up when it is turned on.
You're usually fine, but if you're driving on the highway at night, and suddenly someone does this without turning on the lights, it's quite risky.
How to judge whether it is normal condensation or insufficient sealing?
So the most critical thing now is how do we judge these two phenomena or how do we distinguish them?
It doesnt matter if the water mist is relieved for 5 or 6 minutes
In fact, it is relatively simple. When you see fog or water in the car lights, you turn on the headlights, as I said before.
It basically starts to ease after five or six minutes of driving, which is basically no problem, and it completely disappears after ten to twenty minutes.
But if you drive it for two hours and it still looks like this, there's something wrong.
If the water droplets inside the headlights are particularly large, please send them for repair
And if the water droplets inside are relatively large, you can look at its traces, like a waterfall, flowing from top to bottom, and there is a pool of water at the bottom.
Basically, the temperature difference will not cause you so much water, unless you are in a particularly humid place like a swamp, in which case you will probably need to repair it.
What should I do if there is water mist in my car lights?
So when it comes to cultivation, how do we deal with this kind of problem?
If there is slight water intrusion, open the sealing cover and let it dry.
Don't worry too much if there is relatively minor water in the headlights. Just let it escape on its own, then check the seal and see if there is any impact on the circuit and headlights.
In other words, you drive the car under the sun and open the hood, unscrew the sealing cover for replacing the bulb behind the car light, just let it air dry, and then screw the sealing cover back on. We all do this ourselves. Determined.
Seriously flooded, go to 4S shop for repair
If it looks like a swimming pool full of water, I suggest that you go directly to the 4S store to replace it with a new one during the warranty period.
If I say it's a seal, I'll fix it again, but you may not be able to figure it out clearly, so I'll just say it's a quality problem and just replace it with a new one.
If you are out of warranty, it is best to find a professional auto repair shop, and ask them if they have repaired this kind of headlight before.
Different models of car headlights have very different structures. A repair shop that has experience in repairing headlights of the same model will be more reliable. They can remove them, drain them, and then re-seal them.
Cannot be baked
Let me tell you something extra. If water enters the headlight, it cannot be baked. You may think that it can be dried like a hair dryer.
The water has been blown dry, but the headlights contain a lot of plastic and rubber materials. Over-baking will accelerate aging and even make them unusable on the spot.
I can't tell you who's responsible for the damage at this time. It would be better to air-dry it honestly.
What does the car trouble light mean?
The car headlights are actually very critical. When we buy a car, we have to check whether the lights look good. A certain German car manufacturer even uses this thing as a highlight of selling cars.
In fact, in addition to the car lights we see outside, there are also countless lights on the center console inside the car.
I have prepared a chart for you. What is the fault when this light pops up? What does it mean? That light pops up, do you want to do some maintenance?
This light pops up. Are my tires out of pressure? Just like what this icon means.
Keywords: headlights
You just need to reply directly to the keyword "headlights" in our "Spare Tire Talk", and my little chart will be waiting for you over there. It is very practical and can be saved or forwarded to friends you care about.
"Spare Tire Talking Cars" will give you a section of practical car tips of more than 60 seconds every day. Come to a section every day to understand cars easily. Today's keywords are "headlights" and "spare tires talk about cars" waiting for you to play.
