Still battling fogging issues in my ecodes...

[CyberPMG]

I'm going to go back and research some more, but I'm really getting fed up with the condensation I'm still getting in my ecodes.

I was able to score on eBay a brand new driver's side S4 Bi-Xenon ecode headlight. I did the o-ring mod and added the desiccant pack to control moisture. Transferred over my upgraded lens and all bulbs and ballast. That headlight remains perfectly dry and clear.

The passenger headlight is still my older S4 Bi-Xenon headlight. It's had the o-ring mod and the desiccant pack added. I can still get nearly full condensation when driving in solid rain for a long time (like my 40 minute drive to work). The desiccant pack is doing it's job as the headlight will be fully clear the next day (after parked in the garage overnight).

I'm thinking I may need to redo the o-ring, but I'm still at a loss. I even tried to duct tape over the adjuster screws as well as cover over the connection of the back cover to the housing.

I've looked around to see if I could find a replacement for the passenger housing, but no luck (the ones in Germany won't ship to the US... and too expensive!).

Any thoughts on how to fix this?





Oh... and I should be hitting 1/4 Million miles by the end of the week.

[DoThisMyWay]

I had to use a little teflon tape over a new o-ring to stop the fogging in on of my bi-xenon housings. The other side was cured with only a new o-ring.

[evo_ski]

On mine I also used butyl rope in the crack between the clear lens and black housing all the way around the headlight. I also added it in the crack on the back between the ballast and ballast cover/holder or whatever you want to call it. My headlights didn't have the two screws that latch the back ballast holder to the headlight and by adding two screws in there it seems to give a tighter seal. Every now and again I get a little bit of fogging, but it is much better.

[CyberPMG]

I've added silicone where the clear front cover connects to the black back housing. I still have the latch but thought that either the latch is getting weak, the back cover is cracking up and letting in moisture, or a combination of the two. That's why I tried using duct tape to cover over the adjustment screws and the whole back (at least where the back cover attaches to the housing). Could still be the back cover.

Since likelyhood of finding a passenger Bi-Xenon ecode is next to impossible, I think I'm going to first try to spray something onto the back cover (like PlastiDip) to fill in any cracks that may exist. I'll also redo the o-ring. Then I'll see what happens. Just frustrating trying to track down the cause.

[EUROaleksey]

what did u do with devil eyes? i remember being jelly over them

[Peacob]

what did u do with devil eyes? i remember being jelly over them

Oh stop :-P

[old guy]

How timely. We have had a lot of rain lately in western Maryland and my left side headlight began to fog over really bad. I worked on it this weekend to see if I could cure the problem. Yesterday the repair was put it to the test. I drove on the Interstate in an absolute downpour for over an hour. It appears that the problem has been cured.

I pulled the headlight out and used some closed cell foam rubber to plug off the lower housing vents. I used the rubber tip on my blow-off gun to pressurize the housing from the upper vent. Pressure was set extremely low, as low as I could get it with my regulator. I sprayed the housing with a mixture of water/car wash soap and looked for bubbles. I found two small leaks between the clear lens/black housing seal. One on top of the headlight and one on the bottom. I used silicone windshield sealer on those.

I also found a leak around the round parking light seal. The parking light bulb housing had a parting fin line that was preventing the seal from doing its job. Scraped off the parting fin and that leak was cured.

One of the bulb access doors was leaking around the seam weld on the rubber gasket. I ended up coating both of the access door seals and the parking bulb housing seal with a moderate coating of bulb grease.

I also replaced both desiccant packs. So far no more fogging!!!

[CyberPMG]

^^Nice work... so it looks like I'm on the right track to hunt this down. Probably won't get to this until Friday or Saturday. Will come back to follow up with what I've done and the results.

[CyberPMG]

The o-ring was replaced. Good thing I did as the existing one was noticeably thinner. I also noticed the back cover is all cracked up. I've sprayed sealant on the back cover (ballast removed). Letting it dry now and will test later. Any idea where I can get just the back cover for the Bi-Xenon headlights? I think the cover is the same for both the ecodes as US spec.

[EURO_DOLL]

I've gone through this way too many times with my joey modded OEM ones.

I use liquid electrical tape around the O-rings of my OEM headlights. Gets in the cracks better than anything else I've tried, and it's easy to peel off as well.

[diagnosticator]

I'm going to go back and research some more, but I'm really getting fed up with the condensation I'm still getting in my ecodes.

I was able to score on eBay a brand new driver's side S4 Bi-Xenon ecode headlight. I did the o-ring mod and added the desiccant pack to control moisture. Transferred over my upgraded lens and all bulbs and ballast. That headlight remains perfectly dry and clear.

The passenger headlight is still my older S4 Bi-Xenon headlight. It's had the o-ring mod and the desiccant pack added. I can still get nearly full condensation when driving in solid rain for a long time (like my 40 minute drive to work). The desiccant pack is doing it's job as the headlight will be fully clear the next day (after parked in the garage overnight).

I'm thinking I may need to redo the o-ring, but I'm still at a loss. I even tried to duct tape over the adjuster screws as well as cover over the connection of the back cover to the housing.

I've looked around to see if I could find a replacement for the passenger housing, but no luck (the ones in Germany won't ship to the US... and too expensive!).

Any thoughts on how to fix this?





Oh... and I should be hitting 1/4 Million miles by the end of the week.

Install a thicker cross section O ring. When I discovered the O ring issue with the S4 bi xenon housings leaking water into the headlight housing, I found water drops running down the vertical adjuster shaft, so the O rings where clearly the cause. If you remove the headlight, then dry the interior completely, with the headlight housing sitting on the ground, use a garden hose without a nozzle, and flood the top of the housing for a few min. Then dry off the top of the housing and remove the vertical adjuster shaft and look for water running down the shaft and water on the bottom of the housing under the shaft. If there is water there, and I predict there will be, install an O ring with a tighter fit then recheck the seal by flooding the top of the housing again and confirming no more water leaking past the O ring. After the housing is sealed from water leaking inside, make sure all of the water is dried out of the inside, it collects in the bottom where it is not easily visible.

Contact 'lowestA4', here on AZ, Jens lives in Germany and will be happy to assist you obtaining a e-code headlight, Jens specializes in headlights. And ships to us affordably.

[CyberPMG]

When I took off the o-ring and placed it next to the new replacement one, you could clearly see the replacement is thicker than the one it was replacing. That should solve one issue.

The back cover was seriously cracked... almost completely in half. I used what I had available to work on a temporary solution. I have a can of Flex Seal - that "As seen on TV" commercial that provides a rubber coating over anything. I took the ballast off and removed all wires and rubber gaskets. Did a cleaning of the cover, then went to town with the sealant over the complete outer surface of the cover. I also sprayed over one area inside where one crack came through. I let the whole thing dry in the sun for a few hours. Put everything back together and use some black duct tape to wrap around the edge of the cover and onto the ballast.

Took it through a car wash, and no fogging was evident. May have rain wile driving to work tomorrow, so that will be another test. So far, this seems to be working.

Diagnosticator, thanks for the info. I'll contact lowestA4.

[Ruski]

Just installed B6 S4 bi-xenon ecodes yesterday. Drivers side is a newer Valeo built in 2008, while the passenger side older 2004 built.

I did the o-ring mod with graphite lube on both lights before the install. However, last night i noticed light fogging on the passenger side already, so looks like i will be battling the same issue you have CyberPMG.

I live in a condo so getting access to a hose and flooding my headlight to diagnose leaks is going to be tough.

Subscribed to the thread and will post if i find any resolutions. Going to wash the car this week and see how the lights hold up!

P.S. Not sure if anyone else has experienced this but i noticed that the T20 screw that holds down the gear assembly of the area where we do the o-ring mod has eaten through some of the plastic thread and it no longer screws on fully tight. I might try and pickup a thicker size screw and see if i can get a better seal there. Anyone else experience this?

[CyberPMG]

Wanted to give an update. Since I've replaced the o-ring and sprayed the back cover with sealant, I've gone through several car washes and driven through several rain storms (some with very heavy driving rain). The headlight remains free of condensation. Happy days!

[Ruski]

Just posting my update:

After i re-did the o-ring mod, applied a fair amount of graphite lube onto the gear shaft, everything had been perfect!

I just drove through some serious downpours and two car washes over the past ~3 weeks and have experienced no fogging issues!

Very happy with the results, hopefully they hold up. Good luck to everyone else still battling issues!

[diagnosticator]

Thanks for the updates!