Headlight vent caps

[kaloman]

Hi all,

Not sure if this had been answered before, but are the vent caps behind our headlights supposed to be off or on? I have this feeling the vents aren't made to be covered.

Just a brief background, my headlights are moisturizing when it rains out. Haha. I had them retrofitted and it's not the seals. Seals are fine. The engine heat isn't drawing out the moisture as I had hoped.

Thoughts? Thanks guys!

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Some of those caps have an inner lip to set them a certain depth and allow air, other can be slotted. I haven't looked at the 5th gens ones yet.

 

[Etremo04]

They are supposed to be on and allow air flow at the same time. The vents have edges at the bottom to prevent the cap to be pressed all the way down. Also the caps have a little filter inside.

The headlights will get moisture if the vents are clogged. Check if something is blocking the air.

If you still have moisture in your headlights, check this out Removing moisture in a headlight! How to... - YouTube

 

[kaloman]

I did notice the inner lip that prevents the cap from going in all the way. From an airflow and moisture perspective, moist air moves to dry air by way of diffusion and diffusion improves with airflow (heated dry air also helps). A hot or even warm engine bay should draw out any moisture from headlight assemblies, if they're vented properly. Wouldn't venting improve without the caps?

Considering a completely stock headlight assembly, I believe our lights are designed to vent properly with the two capped vents. However, maybe with a retrofit, and a projector taking up more air volume within the headlight, it changes the airflow profile within and ultimately affects venting. At least, for me, being in a humid climate makes it even worse.

So... I guess I'm wondering, is there any downside to removing the rubber vent caps permanently? I don't think most other cars have vent caps do they? They don't seem to be in a location where water can flow into. Sorry if I'm over thinking this, but condensation is an effing pain.

 

[Glennjones2005]

Hi,

I’m here on behalf of my Dad. Got the same issue as everybody else regarding moisture in the headlights, been quoted £600+ for replacement Tried accessing the light to change the bulb but there’s a vent in the way? Can barely get my hand in there. Every video we look at on YouTube etc, there’s no vent on their lights?

Please help