Moisture in headlights

45

Asked by Mark Dec 30, 2009 at 11:18 AM about the 1999 Lincoln Town Car

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

The only problem I have with my 99 Town Car is the headlamps have condensation built up behind the lenses. Is that a quick fix to this problem or do I need to purchase OEM lamps?

5 Answers

375

there are 2 basic ways to fix it. if youu have an air compressor a drill and some epoxy you can drill 2 small holes in the bottom of the headlamp not in the lens itself and but a blow gun up against one of the holes and blow the moisture out. while ur at it see if the air esccapes from anywhere else and plug the 2 holes up with epoxy and any other leaks up you find. or purchase an oem headlamp

10 people found this helpful.
175

If the lights have water in them then there is a hole somewhere. You may also notice dirt or chrome missing inside the light. They'll need to be replaced :(.

4 people found this helpful.
470

These other two answers are just plaid STUPID! Most likely neither one of the authors had or has a Lincoln Town Car. I do. There are already four vent holes with tubes in each headlamp. You have to take your headlight assemblies out to get to them. Once out, check to make sure that the tubes are not blocked. If they are, unclog them. If they are fine, then leave two off on each headlamp and see if that takes care of your problem. It's just another poor design on Ford's part. (Ref. the other responses..."Drill two holes...", aaaah, use plain STUPID).

47 people found this helpful.
210

This is what I did: Remove the headlamp assembly, then remove one of the bulbs. At that opening, I used the forced-air vent from a vacuum and let it blow into the headlamp assembly until all the moisture/condensation was gone. Incidentally, I found probably a cup of water within the headlamp assembly. I dumped out the water, then used the forced air to get the rest of the water out. [Be patient... It took about 45 minutes before all the condensation disappeared.] While the air was being forced into the headlamp, I noticed that air was escaping from the top and inner side of the assembly, so I plan to seal that up with a waterproof silicone caulk. That should stop more water from getting in. On this vehicle, none of the 4 "water vent tubes" were clogged. Seems the main problem was the top & side seals that had failed over the last 12 years, allowing the headlamp to fill with water. It's an absurdly stupid design on the part of Ford/Lincoln, in my opinion. And in addition, I still have to use a 3M Lens Restoration Kit to remove the yellowing of the plastic lenses. My 1993 BMW 525i doesn't have this problem: It's got plain, good old-fashioned GLASS headlights.

21 people found this helpful.
70

I removed the headlight for the 3rd time I had already resealed around the lens and really don't think its leaking but the heat in it seams to attract moisture from the outside when it cools so I took off the vent filter caps and just left them off now lets see what happens.

7 people found this helpful.

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