Front Fog light condensation probs.

[Audi Gav]

After leaving my car for a week whilst on holiday I noticed both front fog lights (the round type set into the spoiler) have very bad condensation in them. There is moisture in both of them and signs of rust below the bulbs. The glass on each have no signs of cracks so I assume the seals have gone on both of them. I then looked at a few other cars of the same age and noticed some have the same problem. Has anyone else had similar probs? Is it maybe a well known defect? I have a month left on warranty and wonder if this would be covered by Audi.

[bez101]

After leaving my car for a week whilst on holiday I noticed both front fog lights (the round type set into the spoiler) have very bad condensation in them. There is moisture in both of them and signs of rust below the bulbs. The glass on each have no signs of cracks so I assume the seals have gone on both of them. I then looked at a few other cars of the same age and noticed some have the same problem. Has anyone else had similar probs? Is it maybe a well known defect? I have a month left on warranty and wonder if this would be covered by Audi.

prob not u can try them for nothing iv had a few go like it and seen loads there very cheap on the bay and very easy to change

[toff]

As Bez says, there's probably not much you can do but you could give this a go:

1. Bring both fog-light housings inside, open them up and stick them in the airing cupboard for a day or so (or give them a good warm blow on the inside with a hairdryer).

2. Make sure all the seals are still good (replace if not) and then put them back together whilst they are still warm and put them back on the car.

What this does is ensure that you're not trapping any moisture inside the fog light housings.
I recently changed a bulb in my rear light cluster and I noticed the next day there was condensation in the lamp cluster.

I realised that day before it had been damp & wet - so effectively I'd trapped moisture in the cluster which turns to condensation on a hot day (because it can't escape).

So the hairdryer trick is worth a try if the condensation is bugging you! I'm gonna try it myself tomorrow.

Al.

[Turbokiisseli]

The H11 bulbs have a seal on them that is supposed to seal the housing. However, with alot of aftermarket & cheap-p bulbs, the seal doesn't work correctly as the 3 prongs that lock the bulb in place fit the housing too loosely, leaving the seal loose as well.

[Nigel Audi A3]

My 2011 Audi A3 S Line Black Edition suffered severe condensation in the front fog lights. So I carefull removed the black plastic grill that surrounds each foglight as advised by the owners handbook. To remove the black plastic grill push a flat plastic card between the black plastic trim and the bumper on the bottom edge at the same time as pulling the black plastic trim upwards and outwards, working from the centre front towards the wheels. Once removed you will see 2 torque screws holding the fog light to the bumber. Remove these screws and disconnect lead to the bulb holder. Then remove bulb, and place foglight in oven 110º Centigrade. Over a couple of hours the foglight will dry. I then used 2 cotton wool buds taped together and poked this through the bulb hole to clean watermarks left on inside of foglight lens. When cleaned, I reinserted bulb and refitted back to car having reconnected plug to light bulb holder, and refitted torque screws and refitted black plastic fog light trim.