doug7 Posted December 12, 2006 Report Share Posted December 12, 2006 I have been looking through the forums to see if this has been covered before but cannot find anything. I apologise if it has but both my Xenon headlights have condensation in them and after a week it is still there even after about of warm weather (well warm for N.E Scotland) and some frosty mornings. Has any one experienced this? I know rear lights have had issues with this. Secondaly every time I wash the windscreen the Xenons get it aswell. I have tried all light settings to try and get rid of this as I am going through loads of screen wash. I know it is only supposed to wash the Xenons every 5th time you wash the wind screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petsy Posted December 12, 2006 Report Share Posted December 12, 2006 the xenon unit is not sealed so you can get condensation especially in damp cold conditions and this should disappear if you use the lights. provided there isn't a pool of water at the bottom of the unit then it should be ok. as for the headlight washers, suggest you get your dealer to check it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuprabob Posted December 12, 2006 Report Share Posted December 12, 2006 I read in the manual that it should wash the headlights, the first time and every 5th time when the lights are on but on my R32 it seems to wash the headlights every time when they are on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadowman Posted December 12, 2006 Report Share Posted December 12, 2006 I have occasionally noticed very small patches of condensation in my Xenons but they have always cleared very quickly. And it was a very fine mist as opposed to proper water droplets. If yours are very wet inside and not clearing it would probably pay to get them checked out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHA Posted December 12, 2006 Report Share Posted December 12, 2006 Mine wash everytime as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug7 Posted December 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2006 Spoke to my Stealer and have got the car booked in next week to have the Xenons checked as there are droplets of water inside the lens and also he says you can set the Xenon washers to various different settings. Hopefully I will find out how to do this and let you know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack_is_Back Posted December 12, 2006 Report Share Posted December 12, 2006 [ QUOTE ] ...also he says you can set the Xenon washers to various different settings. [/ QUOTE ] Probably so, as I'm quite sure mine do not wash every time. I haven't had to refill the washer bottle in about 2 months/2,000 miles if that's any help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SL26UK Posted December 12, 2006 Report Share Posted December 12, 2006 I got condensation after wash the car on Monday, but have since dryed out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemod Posted December 12, 2006 Report Share Posted December 12, 2006 This is the story according to VW from ELSA [ QUOTE ] Air humidity tends to settle on cold surfaces. When switched on great heat is created in the headlamps which is released via the vents (open system). If the headlamps are switched off, they cool down and cold, humid air is sucked in via the ventilation. The air settles as condensation on the coldest point from the inside on the glass. On the headlamps this is mainly the glass. This is a normal physical process. This has always been the case, but has been less or not at all noticeable on the old type of glass. In stationary or when driving the condensation passes off. But the condensation may recur. Whereas the light passage area of the glass dries quickly when the light is on and especially when driving, this takes sometimes longer around the edge and the customers suspect a fault. Technically this remaining steaming-up is insignificant. But what are the reasons for this slow thawing? On modern headlamp systems with clear glass the light is not aligned by the lens any more but through a lens system and a reflector. The light beam hits the centre of the glass and it takes therefore longer this the edge of the glass warms up. As a result, the thawing is slower towards the edge of the glass. [/ QUOTE ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRobin Posted December 12, 2006 Report Share Posted December 12, 2006 ....A big thankyou, mikemod! That answers everyone's concerns very well . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedywheels Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 [ QUOTE ] This is the story according to VW from ELSA [ QUOTE ] Air humidity tends to settle on cold surfaces. When switched on great heat is created in the headlamps which is released via the vents (open system). If the headlamps are switched off, they cool down and cold, humid air is sucked in via the ventilation. The air settles as condensation on the coldest point from the inside on the glass. On the headlamps this is mainly the glass. This is a normal physical process. This has always been the case, but has been less or not at all noticeable on the old type of glass. In stationary or when driving the condensation passes off. But the condensation may recur. Whereas the light passage area of the glass dries quickly when the light is on and especially when driving, this takes sometimes longer around the edge and the customers suspect a fault. Technically this remaining steaming-up is insignificant. But what are the reasons for this slow thawing? On modern headlamp systems with clear glass the light is not aligned by the lens any more but through a lens system and a reflector. The light beam hits the centre of the glass and it takes therefore longer this the edge of the glass warms up. As a result, the thawing is slower towards the edge of the glass. [/ QUOTE ] [/ QUOTE ] The company I work for has a solution to this problem and it is already sold to a number of OEMs e.g. BMW. The unique characteristics of the Automotive Vents for lighting allow rapid exchange of air in response to pressure changes and allow internal moisture to escape. Oleophobic Automotive Vents also provide a reliable, long-lasting barrier from water, automotive fluids, dust and other contaminants. The result - improved reliability and extended product life. Before anyone asks - no, you can't retrofit them to your headlights just in case somebody thinks I'm trying to use this site for selling purposes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug7 Posted December 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 Visited the dealers on Tuesday to get my headlights checked out and all is fine on that front but the issue with the head light washers working every time you wash the windscreen took a bit longer. Eventually after two hours of waiting for a response from the volkswagen "panic help line" back came the reply that this is the way that some '07 models were designed to function and there is nothing they can do to change it, so i now carry a 2 Ltr "Irn Brew" bottle with back up screen wash solution in my boot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rs32 Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 IIRC the Xenon wash delay is adjustable via VAG-COM ? try a search in the VAG-COM forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuprabob Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 Hi Doug, I'm the same as you I'm going through screenwash like there is no tomorrow at the moment, because the lights are always on and the screen needs washed every 5 mins. The joys of winter motoring in Scotland. I must admit I do find the flashing nature of the screenwash warning light really annoying. Don't understand with all this technology why it can't tell me when I get into the car and leaving the car only. Not much i can do about it while driving down the motorway at 70mph so stop flashing :-) On my Leon a yelloy light came on and stayed on which wasn't half as annoying Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemod Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 [ QUOTE ] IIRC the Xenon wash delay is adjustable via VAG-COM ? try a search in the VAG-COM forum [/ QUOTE ] Yes, you can adjust this via Vag-Com. The only adjustments that I found were:- 1. How long the lever had to be held before the headlight washers activated 2. How long the headlight washers squirted for once activated. I never found if there was one to adjust how many times the lever had to be pulled for the headlight washers to activate. Mine is every five pulls at the moment If you flick the lever quickly the first time it doesn't give the headlight washers long enough to activate. Then you can use the washers for another four times. Then do it again, but you need to keep counting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rs32 Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 [ QUOTE ] 1. How long the lever had to be held before the headlight washers activated [/ QUOTE ] so set this to 5 seconds and it gives you a good screen blast without the lights wash being triggered Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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