TheRain

Anyone have any issues with headlight condensation? My passenger side seems to have pretty consistent condensation throughout this humid Toronto summer. Just got my 2007 in April and there was no condensation when I purchased it. I have dried it out, but it keeps coming back. Grr!

Any ideas?

VeNeNo

iTrader: (1)

I was getting condensation in my 07 fog light. If you are still under warranty they have to replace it, you should have 0% condensation in your light housing... good luck

LuvMyTSX

I wonder if it's the same issue the 1G TSX had early on. 2004 and 2005 models had a TSB for headlight condensation. Headlights were replaced free under warranty if you had this issue, if not, they put clips on them and the condensation stopped. You can look up the problem over on the 1G TSX side.

Condensation can eventually cause your bulbs to stop working, so it's important to get it fixed.

TheRain

Hmm no warranty here, I'm one a cross border shopper, so my vehicle and warranty is now "grey".
I have to get an oil change soon anyhow, so I will ask the mechanic to see if he can remove the bumper and headlight and have a look.

I assume it can be sealed if there's moisture getting in and I don't imagine it's that easy to pry off the bumper and remove the light myself, so I should let a pro take care of it......

TheRain

Can I bring this back to life for any new posters that would have an OUT OF WARRANTY suggestion for the condensation buildup?

Bodegus

Bump for a similar issue curious what others have done

mifesto

someone please elaborate what this "clip" the dealer installs....

mifesto

nevermind found the answer... acura devised a metal clip which simply fastens the two pieces together and helps keep them tight... ill have to see if that kit is compatible with rdx lights...

mifesto

tsx clips(no such thing as rdx clips) are cheap so I bought 2 sets to try it. it appears the clips are too small to fit the rdx lights.

dcmodels

You can see my suggestions here, post #11:
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=901257

mifesto

drying the lights are easy. remove DLR and highbeam bulbs and blow hot air from blowdryer. i push in dry hot air flow at low rate in one hole and it circulates and pushes out moisture air back on the other hole. within 30 minutes consdenation is mostly dried.

my issue is not the DLR or high beam bulbs, they seal decent. i have not looked at my xenon bulbs(have not had time to remove the bumper). i am not looking for minute seal issue, my condensation issue is too severe for that. i have a massive seal or even damage/crack in the housing somewhere.

fyi modern headlight may not be perfectly sealed but ONLY the breather tube is designed to be open and not fully open either (its only designed to let pressurized hot air out). many tubes i've seen as flaps that stay closed most times. breather tubes are not designed to circulate air so it will NOT elevate significant moisture buildup. so please i dont want to hear that BS.

mifesto

my current plan? i have on order a used headlight(which i hope has no physical damage or cracks). then i will dissemble it and replace the butyle seal and recook it. it will then get additional sealing with clear silicone.

mifesto

extra light dissembled. to cut through any guesses and assumptions, RDX headlight is indeed A SEALED UNIT! there is no breather to speak of(or any vent holes)... vulnerable spot may be ballast access on bottom in my opinion.

dcmodels

I understand your comments about sealing and vent tubes. I have seen such tubes on the rear light housing of my truck.

Yes, when I replaced my RDX shell with a brand new one, I looked very carefully for any breathers or vents - did not see any. BUT ...

When I looked very carefully at the high beam halogen bulb, like every other halogen bulb it has two small slots in the base, i.e., holes. I did not look that carefully, but they don't looked sealed to me, when the bulb is installed, by the sealing gasket. Hence, my comment that the shell is not completely sealed. But I could be wrong. Next time I remove that bulb, I will check, just out of curiosity.

When I was checking my new RDX shell, I was looking at the sealing goop between both halves of the shell for any voids. And again, I replaced the bottom HID controller gasket as well as the HID light gasket with new gaskets.

mifesto

too late as I already sealed it but... I do recall I took the back half and sunlight wouldn't leak through in any spot. im currently waiting to find time to remove bumper and do the rest of the work... I actually may not use the spare light but reuse the leaking original light. the sealing gasket surfaces had plenty of sealing "goop", I doubt it was leaking from there at all. I may add additional clear silicone around the sealing points simply as reassurance only. the true weakpoint is as you replaced the bottom seal for the ballast.

mifesto

so took me three hours to remove front bumper, remove headlight and seal the headlight housing as well as the ballast connection on bottom with clear silicone rubber, then install the bumper. the extra sealing on housing is for insurance but I doubt it was needed as said. the ballast connection was horrible. I don't know if it was THIS loose from factory but the gasket is as loose as a $1 hoe. there is a circulator gasket around the hole on bottom and gasket around the ballast connector; so the two gasket join up like a donut and the donut munchkin when it meets together, hope it helps you to imagine it. I put a thick goop around the "munchkin" and slide it back into the "donut". I know once the silicone cures it will significantly improve the ballast seal.

dcmodels

^^^^ for those considering a similar use of silicone sealer, remember that it "out-gasses" during cure. I personally do not like the idea of that gas entering a sealed headlight housing. I have always used any sealer in such a way that most if not all of that gas was directed outside the housing. I have had the gas "haze" the clear front cover/ glass.

At a minimum, I would allow the sealer to cure for 24 hours at room temp, before heating (using) the headlight.

When I replaced the two gaskets for the bottom HID controller, on my own new headlight shell, I used just a smear of silicone di-electric grease, both as an additional sealer and as a method to prevent ozone deterioration of the gaskets.

JMO

dcmodels

I replaced gasket parts #11 and #15, but I do seem to recall that there was an additional gasket for part #14 (the HID controller). Cannot quite remember just where it was, and I note that it is not available as a separate part. I guess I did not replace that second gasket.

dcmodels

...

mifesto

if silicone does gas out it wasn't an issue for me as I did not use the baking route. I used heat gun to melt the rubber goop then sealed it back by hand. I did use silicone after previous step was fully cured just as insurance. if any gassing occurred, silicone isn't inside and hazing did not occur.


yes mine did have #14 but it surely is not enough. I did use thick layer of silicone around it for extra measure(which I believe is the key to moisture control). also there is one more gasket donut that diagram doesn't show(donut meets with #14). previously my headlight would heavily condense driving in even 30 minutes of snowstorm. NJ has been hit with two so far since my project; mission success! not a hint of moisture

dcmodels

Good to hear - and this thread (and your fix) should prove useful for others, since while headlight condensation is not common, it does happen.

pjsblowngt

I'm kind of piling on this topic here... I have an 07 that started with condensation over this past winter. It would evaporate fairly quickly, so I was never too concerned until... now I'm having light failure. My passenger low beam will not light now. I've swapped bulbs from side to side, and both bulbs work. They will just not light in the passenger headlight. I've also switched entire light assemblies from side to side, meaning I plugged the driver's headlight into the passenger side wiring & vice versa. So I've narrowed it to either the ballast or the igniter plug inside the light. After reading this, I'm guessing my gasket on the ballast is bad, allowing moisture into the light assembly, and possibly shorted the ballast itself? But none of these parts are cheap, I'd like to be a little more certain before ripping this apart again. Does anyone have any suggestions, similar experiences, or ideas where to turn? Thank you

dcmodels

Result?

Well, you need to switch the ballast #14 between headlamp shells - switching the igniter #18 is not practical nor required. As you note, the ballast is simply bolted and plugged to the bottom of the shell. Its easy to swap - well, after you pull everything apart of course.

If the swapped ballast works, then it should be obvious the problem is a bad igniter - and you should review TSB 10-019 headlight remove igniter harness. When I moved my igniter harness from a damaged shell to a new shell, I had to destroy the old shell to get it out. You will not want to do that of course.

The TSB recommends using a special connector removal tool, to disassemble the connector on the end of the ignitor harness, that connects to the ballast box. I did not do that. I simply folded the connector boot tightly around the connector, and used a strip of masking tape. I also taped that boot to a length of safety wire (stainless 0.032 inch) for installation into the new shell.

SO I first fished the wire, then used the wire to pull the harness into place.

In your case, if the old igniter is bad, then just cut the harness to remove it. That is, cut off the connector at the ballast end, and the wiring will easily pull out of the shell. But you really need to carefully observe the routing, so that you can install the new igniter harness.

And when you replace (or put back the original) ballasts, you really need to replace the gaskets (#11,15,16), and also use sealer. Since I replaced the gasket, I used di-electric grease as sealer, sparingly only so that it would not evaporate into the inside of the shell. And also grease on the igniter plug/gasket/boot into the ballast.

pjsblowngt

I appreciate your response. When I swapped lights side to side, they both lit briefly and then the passenger one went out. I managed to pinpoint this as being the ballast & gasket. When I took the ballast off, moisture was all around it and the gasket was floppy. Luckily it was not the cable, it sounds like a pain to replace. So now I'm just waiting on the USPS & i'll be back in business. Excellent info, hopefully I won't need it again!

hues10

Wow, I just had my headlight replaced (condensation) this past weekend by Dealer under Warranty of course. Couldn't believe the part alone would have been $892 and it took them three or four hours supposedly to swap it out. I would have a hard time paying for this out of warranty because of condensation issues. On the other hand, they put me in a 2014 RDX white with Taupe FWD (same as my 2011). Definitely a softer ride. Engine has a smoother power band, but reminded me of the CRV with a V-6. Nicer Navigation though, but doesn't allow changes when car is moving.

protoRDX

Crazy dealer's prices. I remember I saw the cost of the 2010+ RDX headlight was around $500-550 on the oemacuraparts. But c'mon $892 is just crazy. This is not a Porsche.

Reluyo

Where would one find the ballast?

TacoBello

Dont be surprised. I'm sure a Porsche headlight is 3 times the price of the RDX light. While it does seem ridiculous to pay almost $900, OEM headlights and tail lights are built to a very high degree of quality. You can get cheap aftermarket lights, but honestly, you get what you pay for. It seems outrageous, but for something that endures every kind of climate you can imagine, and is beat on by rocks, bugs, ice, whatever, day in and day out, and is still expected to function like new, even after 100k miles, the price is kind of justified.

TacoBello

I assume the ballast is screwed to the back or bottom of the actual headlight housing, like on a few other Acuras I've seen over the years. You have to remove the headlight in its entirety to get at the ballast.

Whtmod07S

For my fix I had a friend of mine at a body shop, wetsand and reclear them for a permanent fix! Both of my headlamps were having the condensation issues. Since then, I have had no issues and they look great! Hope this helps.