C3 Headlamp Water Ingress

[GiveMeABreak]

Has anyone had water build up in a C3 Headlight unit?

It's been documented on C3 owners as down to the sealing foam inside the plastic cover behind the headlight unit not being put back in properly, usually after a bulb change (not guilty), causing water to get in.

Hmm, well I took the back cover off today and the foam had twisted in one part out of shape, so I have put some other foam underneath to prop it up a bit to hopefully make a tight seal. However, I am stumped as to how any water can get into the lamp! This rear cover is tighter than a crab's a**se to get at and well inside the engine bay corners where there isn't any water that I can see that could possibly get from up into the engine bay, reverse to the back of the lamp cover, reverse direction and get into the lamp housing....

Apart from 3 varieties of spider and a mass of webs in the general area - don't know where else it can be coming from. I've had a hair drier on full blast today and the lamp holders out to try and evaporate the condensation, then switched headlights on main beam for half an hour that seems to of worked, but I can see a little river of water at the bottom of the indicator section that will no doubt be turning to condensation again soon.

C3 owners have said don't bother changing the lamp (bumper off job) as the same thing will happen due to this seal! Does anyone else know of another cause?

[Gibbo2286]

I can't help with where the source of the water is but when I get the problem I use my Karcher wet vacuum with a bit of thin hose attached to suck it dry and then finish off with the hair dryer.
Maybe someone waded it through a flood, there's been plenty of those about in recent years.

[Chris570]

Mine did the same (56 plate). I was going to replace the headlight and then I checked the back and sure enough it had been put on by a clown. I put it on correctly and it took a few weeks but i've been condensation free now for 8 months.......

it's French, be patient

[GiveMeABreak]

Righto, thanks chaps, definitely hasn't been through any floods and we've had it from new - I was going to try and put some kitchen towel onto an artist's paintbrush to try and absorb as much of the water as possible, but no room to get anything down there and already booked in for skin grafts from the first attempt as it is! It must be the rubber munching spiders that have set up home in there.

[Stickyfinger]

Remove headlamp, pour in rice, leave overnight sealed up on a radiator, shake out damp rice.....

[GiveMeABreak]

Oh, I can just smell the basmati rice fumes now as the headlights cook it to perfection....

There's no room to get a thumb in the bulb port, yet alone a tonne of special fried rice!

[Gibbo2286]

How are the lens and reflector joined on that model, it wouldn't be getting water driven in through a leaky joint would it?

Water will find its way into any tiny access, the C5 hydro pump is an example, tiny breather hole in the bottom of the motor and the wet gets in despite it being inside the bonnet out of the weather.

[GiveMeABreak]

They are a sealed unit gibbo. Despite my earlier scepticism about how the water is getting in, I'm now guessing that it's likely to be evaporating moisture from a wet road or frost and a hot engine after a run that is then getting into the headlamp via the deformed headlamp cover seal.

Once I've got the rest of the water out the unit, I'll see how that seal mod holds up, otherwise it will need to be a new cover and failing that a new headlamp!

[elma]

Blooming annoying that, backwards progress from the old units with the clip in glass.

[RichardW]

I've got water in one of my 307 lights. Started after I fitted the HID lamps, but these only have a rubber seal on the back, and they're projector style, so I don't think it's coming in there, but I can see no obvious failure of the seal. Need to have the lamp out, but that is bumper off, and the bolts on the end with the 'captive' nuts in the cages are

[GiveMeABreak]

I know a flipping nightmare and I'm fresh out of skin!