Lights gone within 3 weeks =(

[Jmii]

Brought the Seat about 3/4 weeks ago. Gotta say love it, feels faster then the VW Bora and Sodka Fabia I had before this. All with the same engine's 1.9 TDI (red DI).

well after a week of having the car I noticed condensation inside the lights glass, a week later one of my half lit lights had gone (the first click twist on light's) then the week after one of the proper lights went (2 clicks twist) and tonight the other side has gone....... so I drove home with fogs for lights full beam still works...

Is this a common problem? Is there an easy fix? will it stop it from happening again?

worse comes to worse I could get HID lights fitted? I was looking them up on ebay how come some are priced at buy it now 8 quid and then others at 90 quid?
are they water proof?

Sorry for so many questions got a long trip next weekend and don't wanna be stuck with no lights.

 

[mhill]

First "click" is side lights second is dipped head lights, Ive had two sets of HID kits of ebay sent from china both have benn under £30 each and have been bright, crisp & reliable with no problems though not a patch on OEM.

 

[Torquemonster]

My mk4 Sport goes through more bulbs than any other car i've ever owned.
Dunno if it's the rock hard suspension,or just rubbish bulbs.Saying that,i've not had any go for about 3 months now,so that's a record.The condensation is normal.You get it free with every mk4.

 

[jtonline]

The condensation issue is a well documented one. I doubt, therefore, that it's the cause of your lights failing, unless you've got water sloshing about inside them.

The plastic lenses of my lights misted up from the day it left the factory, but are less prone to do it since i drilled a couple of small vent holes in the rear of the light housings.

 

[RichieRich]

i didt get any condinsation with my old mk4 beeza's i suppose i must have been the odd exception

 

[cupra.al]

i used to get a tiny amount of condensation in one of my headlights since i fitted my hids i dont get it anymore not sure ifs because theres a small gap at the back of the headlight where the wire goes to the bulb between the cover and the headlight or what it is.
im not bothered how just happy it dont happen now.

 

[AndrewJB]

i used to get a tiny amount of condensation in one of my headlights since i fitted my hids i dont get it anymore not sure ifs because theres a small gap at the back of the headlight where the wire goes to the bulb between the cover and the headlight or what it is.
im not bothered how just happy it dont happen now.

Yeh the small hole at the back stops it ! i fitted my HIDS and its gone

I emailed Seat Uk ages ago about the condensation because i had gone through about 3 sets of bulbs in a couple of months and there reply was the condesnation wouldnt cause this

 

[Jim H]

There was a thread on Briskoda commenting that these new high % (80 or 90%) bulbs have a very short life. Some people find they only last less than 3 months, I can't remember if they were the Osram Nightbreakers or the Philips XTream bulbs. I would post the link to it, but it looks like Brisky's Servers are down ATM.

To clear condensation I would either tale the bulb out and use a heir dryer to dry it out or remove the Headlights altogether and place them on a radiator or in the airing cupboard.

I'm sure you will read, if you do a search, that there are some Legal issues around retro fitting HID Xenon lights to cars.

 

[cupra.al]

There was a thread on Briskoda commenting that these new high % (80 or 90%) bulbs have a very short life. Some people find they only last less than 3 months, I can't remember if they were the Osram Nightbreakers or the Philips XTream bulbs. I would post the link to it, but it looks like Brisky's Servers are down ATM.

To clear condensation I would either tale the bulb out and use a heir dryer to dry it out or remove the Headlights altogether and place them on a radiator or in the airing cupboard.

I'm sure you will read, if you do a search, that there are some Legal issues around retro fitting HID Xenon lights to cars.

mots were never a problem on my old car when i had the same hid kit on my old car.

 

[mymorph]

condensation was really really bad on mine, drilled some holes in the back cover in the end and it worked.

 

[g8rvn]

I have actually taped a small bag of that silica gel stuff that comes with electrical stuff etc on the inside of the back cover, that seems to also have helped a little bit

 

[mymorph]

yes, forgot about the silica, got a little sachet of the stuff inside too. left the ligths on full beam with covers off to dry out before placing. its was always much much worse in the winter and really annoyed me

i wished i hadnt got so annoyed over it really as this last week or two my wifes torn a hole in the rear bumper , then a few days later her friend opened her door which got caught by all this wind we're having and slammed the side, putting 2 big dents in the side