Waterproofing headlights

[lewis]

I swear every time I go out my headlights get water in them and I have to pull the blulbs out, shove a rag in to soak it up and then dry it with a hairdryer by blowing hot air down a pipe to the inside, pretty mouldy inside already.

I haven't had a good look as to where the water might be coming in, but if anyone knows and has a method for waterproofing them im all ears.

Cheers

[geeves]

Some people have tried a bead of silicon around the bulb but Im not convinced its a good idea as it gets quite hot in there. Also the side light and headlight are connected internally so you need to do both. This is one place the Mus are better as you can get fully sealed lights for them although they are not as bright as a proper halogen.

[4x4SWANNY]

Glue up ever hole and bit ya can with acidic crue silicone.. I am a glazier by trade and the acidic silicone is the best..Its what i make fish tanks with..
The heat is not a problem Geeves.....Make sure you get the vent holes too there the main culprit.
puting metholated spirits in the head light while drying works well too it mixes with the water and evaporates faster..

[lewis]

Cool, so will I need to go to a trade plumbing place or something for this acidic silicone or could I pick it up from bunnings?

[geeves]

read to pack It will either be neutral cure or acid cure. The correct stuff smells like vinegar

[gomulletgo]

I'm in the same boat here, 89 bighorn (square shape) headlights have water and condensation in them. It looks like quite a mission to get the headlights out, so by the time I have gone to that trouble I'd like to do something to make sure they don't have this problem again, above silicone is talked about to seal the lights, my concern is does that make bulb changing hard? Is it possible to drill small drain holes in the bottoms of the lights? I have done this previously for plastic indicator lights and it worked a treat. I'm not sure about drilling glass though. What have others out there done? What definitely works? Lots of rivers where I am so this needs to be sorted. Cheers

[slightlydodgy]

dont use the sealed beam local sparky refuses to sell them as most come from china or india and don't focus properly

[geeves]

cant get a sealed beam for the ubs55 bighorn. The unit incorporates the sidelight.
Tricks I use for drying mine. 2 foot length of 4mm pvc hose to suck out the worst of the water. Dont swallow!
Leave bulbs out and warm entire light with 500 watt flood light mounted about 6 inches from headlight. If you can use a compressor or air bed pump to blow air into the lamp its faster. Caution! instructions on floodlight say do not place within a meter of anything. I can not afford to replace your car of house if it catches fire. Use this method at own risk. I have tried running a hair dryer down a hose into the lamp but the hair dryer died before the lamp dried. These methods do not require taking the lamp unit out.
The silicon does act like a glue but its not a strong bond. Just adds 2 swear words to each side.