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Guest Bobster
Posted

Hi,

 

My wife's C3 has on three occasions in the last two years, developed quite bad condensation in the headlight. I had been removing it by taking out a headlight bulb with the use of a mirror, and then carefully inserting a homemade device which consisted of a cardboard cone attached to a short piece of garden hose. The hose went into the headlight and a hair dryer was attached to the cone and switched on. It took about an hour to clear and the cardboard got uncomftably hot.

 

However, the headlight has just condensed up again and I have found a easy way to cure it. I heated up one of those wheat filled heating pads (I used a large one) in the microwave and taped it onto the light with masking tape; after 20 minutes the area under the pad was clear and so I heated it again and placed it on the next section of light which also cleared. A lot quicker and safer!

 

I am considering attaching a silica gel bag to a thread and hanging it in the light via one of the bulb holes; the thread would allow it to be extracted and dried out.

 

It is a pity though that lights nowadays seem to do this (my C5 had the same happen), yet years ago we never had such problems.

 

The C3 though is a delightful car and we both thoroughly enjoy driving it.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bob H.

Guest CitTone
Posted

Obviously prevention is better than cure, and when I replaced the misted headlight on our C3 (the leveling motor was seized) I noticed that the seal rubber on the access plate of the old light unit was badly compressed, and the probable cause of the leak.

 

If you must re-use the same seal, it's probably an idea to reverse it so that the sealing face you use is clean and flat, add some silicone bath sealant or petroleum jelly, possibly even pack it out if it is really badly compressed, but definitely make sure it is seated properly when securing the clip!

  • 2 weeks later...
Guest Bobster
Posted

Obviously prevention is better than cure, and when I replaced the misted headlight on our C3 (the leveling motor was seized) I noticed that the seal rubber on the access plate of the old light unit was badly compressed, and the probable cause of the leak.

 

If you must re-use the same seal, it's probably an idea to reverse it so that the sealing face you use is clean and flat, add some silicone bath sealant or petroleum jelly, possibly even pack it out if it is really badly compressed, but definitely make sure it is seated properly when securing the clip!

 

Hi, thanks for the tip. The light lightly steamed up after a few days, so I parked it in the full sun for a few hours and removed the back light panel. This hopefully allowed the moisture to evaporate out and gave me time to check the seal which was twisted. I straightened it up, put it in back to front with a little packing where it had stretched thin, wiped it with vaseline and put it back. All has been OK since.

 

Regards,

 

Bob H.

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