Re: Wet , pitted headlights

[Sam Massey <samm@asysa.demon.co.uk>]

>>My '83 Urq with european type headlights had some water inside. Is there
>>supposed to be a  rubber boot over the bulb connector?  Seems like there
>>ought to be. Over the years the front surface has gotten some small dings in
>>the glass from sand etc. . Has anyone tried to polish out these small
>>scratches or pits?
>>
>>Thanks for the advice -
>>
>>-Rich
>>'83 TQC
>>Concord NH
>>

>My 87 5000cst with the low profile(expensive) headlights has one of them
>full of condensation. Has anyone had any luck removing the light and drying
>it somehow and resealing it? I really don't want to buy a new one, but in
>this condition night driving is no fun.

>-Steve

I had this problem on an old VW, (water swishing about with no obvious sign of entry).  It will eventually cause the silver lining to rust, and can fail the MOT test in the UK if it gets too bad.  There was no way I could afford a new unit, and in my lazy youth could not be bothered to look for a used unit. I'm not sure if the unit's are similar (I havent checked my present Audi's arrangement) but I took the rubber bulb holder and bulb out, and inserted half a roll of kitchen roll (or toilet roll) and moved it around the lamp with a pencil (or similar) to mop up the water and condensation. Be sure not to leave the roll in (or your lights will become toooo bright!)  

How about running some insulation tape around all of the seals, for other yet dodgy temporary fix!

Best of luck 

Sam