W246 Excessive condensation in one LED headlight uni

[g6pun]

Hi everyone,

New to the forum and have just bought a facelift B180 AMG with Night Pack for the wife. It's a great little car but one thing really annoys me:
there is excessive condensation inside the passenger headlight unit and nothing is getting rid of it.
I understand the LED headlights are sealed units - where is the best place to drill some holes into the housing?
If this doesn't work, what's the best way to remove the headlights to have a better look?

Thanks!

 

[Jigglyjohnson]

Hi everyone,

New to the forum and have just bought a facelift B180 AMG with Night Pack for the wife. It's a great little car but one thing really annoys me:
there is excessive condensation inside the passenger headlight unit and nothing is getting rid of it.
I understand the LED headlights are sealed units - where is the best place to drill some holes into the housing?
If this doesn't work, what's the best way to remove the headlights to have a better look?

Thanks!

No no no do not drill any holes as u will damage the light and it will let water in and damage the led light units and are expensive. Remove the front bumper and inspect for any damage if none present see your local mb dealer and see if there are headlamp diecsecant packs available to put in the lamp

 

[Numair Aidroos]

Hi everyone,

New to the forum and have just bought a facelift B180 AMG with Night Pack for the wife. It's a great little car but one thing really annoys me:
there is excessive condensation inside the passenger headlight unit and nothing is getting rid of it.
I understand the LED headlights are sealed units - where is the best place to drill some holes into the housing?
If this doesn't work, what's the best way to remove the headlights to have a better look?

Thanks!

Get silicone pellets pack, if there is an opening in the hood to the lamps, place these packs there, water will be absorbed. Then you will have to manually seal them with dry silicone and apply a few lines of silicone gel around the lens. I do not think MB has any seals for these new LED lamps, just to be sure check with the dealership. And if your car is still warranted by the vendor or dealership, claim this lamp with them as a replacement. If the SAM fails on this, its an expensive bill.

 

[Ted]

It’s possible that the car has been jet washed and this has forced water past any seals. I’ve used a hairdryer on the lens in the past to get rid of condensation, admittedly not as much as that.
As @Aidroos says, if you can, remove anything in the headlight that will let the warm moist air out it will help.
Expect to have to repeat this at least a couple of times as the lamp cools down overnight or the weather gets cooler, and you need to get the damp air out.
If it returns as bad as it is, it looks like it might need a replacement unit I’m afraid.

 

[Numair Aidroos]

It’s possible that the car has been jet washed and this has forced water past any seals. I’ve used a hairdryer on the lens in the past to get rid of condensation, admittedly not as much as that.
As @Aidroos says, if you can, remove anything in the headlight that will let the warm moist air out it will help.
Expect to have to repeat this at least a couple of times as the lamp cools down overnight or the weather gets cooler, and you need to get the damp air out.
If it returns as bad as it is, it looks like it might need a replacement unit I’m afraid.

Excellent second opinion. And to ad more this is the 5th case on this forum I have come across about the leakage issue on head or tail lamp.

 

[mioba]

Not uncommon. Some mercs have drying packs to go in the back. Its a circumvention and not a cure.
That amount if condensation will alter your beam pattern and fail an MOT i would say.
Remove the bulb holder and get a air drier in there.
Look for any slight cracks on the lens and check all seals.
General consensus is remove lamp and reseal.

 

[Numair Aidroos]

Not uncommon. Some mercs have drying packs to go in the back. Its a circumvention and not a cure.
That amount if condensation will alter your beam pattern and fail an MOT i would say.
Remove the bulb holder and get a air drier in there.
Look for any slight cracks on the lens and check all seals.
General consensus is remove lamp and reseal.

It is a headache to keep up with manufacturing defects and durability issues that consume personal time.
Great advise for OP, there is no other way around this fault.