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Sonar projector headlight fogging up

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Old 04-22-2007 | 07:21 AM
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Default Sonar projector headlight fogging up

I just bought these new head lights and I love how they look but unfortunately it's been raining here and they've been fogging up. I've checked on the search to see if there's any way keep them from fogging up without having to put them in the oven and reseal them. I've put black multi-weather, non-shrink silicone around the edges and every hole I could see before installing them but they still fog up. Does anyone know any alternative way to fix the problem?
If not, does anyone have step by step instructions on how to do the oven technique?
Trying to avoid this way if at all possible. I'm scared of melting my lights!
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
Old 04-22-2007 | 09:05 AM
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Here is a link to a previous post that steps you through heating them up pulling them apart and putting thme backtogether in the over,

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/vie...573&highlight=

Hope it helps,
Old 04-22-2007 | 11:06 AM
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Default Sonar projector headlight fogging up

Thanks Evilxb but I stiill dont know what glue to use to reseal them to prevent them from foging up the link talks about how to open them up which is cool but when they reseal the oem head lights they used the same oem glue to put them back together which in my case the glue the seals my projector head lights suck what to do.
Old 04-23-2007 | 08:28 AM
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Can anyone out there tell me what you guys did to prevent the Sonar projector headlight from fogging up these are my lights http://ssuperstore.com/product_info....roducts_id/304
Old 04-23-2007 | 08:42 AM
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seems alot of people use RTV to seal their headlights, i didnt do it on my set, but did it on a freinds set. the 3rd set of headlights i bought, dual projector/halo type i used RTV to seal it and they havent fogged but just once and havent since. I didnt bake them, just ran a bead of RTC around the seam of the housing and the clear front.
Old 04-23-2007 | 10:53 AM
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Hmm never heard of RTC or is it RTV is it like silicone ?
Old 04-23-2007 | 11:23 AM
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Hmmm did a little research on GE - RTV 118 Silicone, Clear, Flowable I hope this is it http://www.web-tronics.com/rtvadhesives.html if so this might just do the trick . thanks RALLY X
Old 04-23-2007 | 06:46 PM
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no has asked if he pulled the stickers from the vents so moisture and condensation can escape.. if you change a bulb when its humid you will trap moisture inside leaving the housing foggy if they are completly sealed.

Dont forget they are there for a reason.
Old 04-23-2007 | 07:26 PM
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stickers from the vents ? Are you talking about the stickers that covers the signal lidhts holes?
Old 04-23-2007 | 07:29 PM
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you should have a tiny sticker on the bottom of the housing, or in the lower backing, I dont remember excatly where they are, I remember I had that problem at first, I took out the housing to reseal them, but I foun those un did them, they cleared up in a couple days, and the issue has not resurfaced a year later.
Old 04-23-2007 | 07:52 PM
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sorry, meant RTV, not RTC,
Old 04-23-2007 | 08:00 PM
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So what you are saying is to remove these stickers to let air in right? Hmm weird never saw them when I was sealing them up I guess I was to excited to see my babys on with HID's I'm going to check this out THANKS for the help Baged xB
Old 04-23-2007 | 08:26 PM
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No worries Rally X. It's because of you I have an idea on what to use to reseal them. Usually every body says bake them and reseal them with the same glue it came with. But That's the OEM glue. The lights I have are aftermarket. If they are foging up it's because the glue or silicon is not as good as the original. It seems like baking them might not work using the inferior material that it comes with. Thanks Rally X for letting me know about the RTV silicone glue. I had never heard of it before. This should get me going in the right direction.
Can you tell me if this is the right one to get? I have included the link to the one I found. GE - RTV 118 Silicone, Clear, Flowable
http://www.web-tronics.com/rtvadhesives.html

p.s I'm surprised that no one has talked more about the fogging up issue with these headlights. But appreciated all the help guys.keep them coming
Old 04-23-2007 | 08:36 PM
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No problem!!!

fogging of sonars is a usual thing, so people kinda let it die, lol. Mine fogged up real bad, but the weird temps here kept making it worse, so i gt a differ set of projectors. RTV can be bought at any hardware store, or auto store, i bought mine at NAPA, it has a gray/silver look to it. comes in many color, depending on its useage.
Old 04-24-2007 | 02:32 AM
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Can someone tell me about the screwdriver method ? Or is this just
Old 04-24-2007 | 03:34 AM
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I baked mine in the over at like 215 for 10 mins. Cracked them open, removed the orange reflectors and tinted them black. Put them back in and resealed the light with clear window caulk. Reheated just a bit and made sure they were firmly seated down. Not a single problem since.
Old 06-05-2007 | 05:49 PM
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Well it’s safe to say that Baged_xB was right except that the Sonar projector headlights did not have any tiny stickers on the bottom of the housing or in the lower backing part of the head lights that I could see, what I did find was 3 plastic caps on each head light one for each light (high beam, low beam, turn signal) six clear caps in all for both head lights ,At first both head lights would fog up I would remove the turn signal light bulbs to allow the head lights to dry out all the moisture and condensation . But eventually they would fog right back up especially at night or when I would wash the box, So since I didn’t know what these caps were for beside maybe allowing some air to go in I decided to do an experiment I removed the three caps from my right head light which was the one that would fog up the most and see what would happen and sure enough 2 hours later the fogging stopped and I thought to my self could this be what Baged_xB was talking about? Could these plastic caps be vent caps? I guess the new Sonar projector headlights didn’t have stickers anymore they have plastic caps now, so I ran my lights like that for awhile and every thing was cool until it rained one day ,I said to my self know we are going to find out if the plastic caps are vent caps or not I woke up the next morning to see what happened what I saw was a pleasant surprise my left head light had fogged up but not my right one it was still fog free!!!! I said to my self the plastic caps are the answer!!!!! I removed the caps from my left head light and I haven’t had fogging up problems since I can know say I have tight looking Sonar projector headlights with HID’s that don’t fog up. Its been almost 2 months now and still no fogging
Old 07-09-2007 | 01:02 PM
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Um...well here's my problem with that man. Water gets into your headlights and it builds up. When the water evaporates, it creates the fogging. If you leave vent holes, you're just letting water get in and leaving it room to get out. The thing is, water shouldn't be in there in the first place. You're okay now but trust me, it's a temporary solution. I'm telling you this because I had the anzo projectors for my tC which are notorious for fogging. I did the following and trust me it worked for over 4 months. Take out the turn signal bulbs so you create this venting hole that you speak of. Turn on your head lights (which yours are HIDs just like mine) and let the water evaoprate and escapes. Then take some silican gel things and tape them onto a zip tie and stick them into your head lights and let them sit for a few hours. After you're sure all that is out, replace all the bulbs. Try to make sure that all the rubber grommet things that go behind the light bulbs line up to keep it water proof. I know the bulbs for the HIDs are long so that makes it hard but if you have to- cut a hole behind the rubber seal and run the bulbs through it. then put some caulk around it. I know it's ghetto and a pain but trust me-- it worked and I didn't want to bake anything either.
Old 07-09-2007 | 05:05 PM
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My right one fogged up a couple weeks ago. I removed the lights, and drilled a 1/8" hole in the lowest point, and removed the caps as well. Reinstalled the lights and let the car sit outside in the sun, along with the turn signals removed to expedite the evaporation preocess. A couple hours later and the fogging was gone.
Old 07-12-2007 | 12:59 AM
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Oh boy ... I hope I don't have this problem ! I got the same Halo's as xBizzle. Going to install them this sunday with the help of a friend. It really takes the excitement of getting the new lights away only to find out they may turn out to be a headache. Wish me luck. I will post if they fog or I have any problems. I got them at SSuperstore.com as well. JB



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