Water in LED Headlights (DRL not working)

Oct 6, 2020
9
1
Good morning,

I have a Leon 2016 Technology FR with LED lights.

I've noticed before condensation forming inside of my headlights, nothing too major though until the other night during some bad flooding, both headlights had water inside and my front right headlight stopped working completeley.
I left the car parked overnight and when I went to it in the morning, the indicator and dipped beam had come back to life but the DRL and High Beam still aren't working. So yesterday I went and drilled a small 1mm hole in both lenses to try and help sort out the condensation problem and allow water out but to no avail. So today I've left it parked in the sun with a hairdryer in the back of the unit to dry it out.
So if after leaving it drying out today if it still doesnt work I was planning on dropping the bumper and getting the unit out to check all the connections are dry and properly plugged in,
if that fails yet, I was searching around and found it isn't expensive to pick up a second hand driver side DRL module, would just buying the module and replacing my old one work or are they specific to a unit?
Thank you in advance.
 

UnworthyBean

Active Member
Dec 6, 2019
48
26
If you drilled the hole in the lens then I'd imagine as soon as it rains then you're likely to get more water in than will evaporate? The LEDs don't get hot enough so in the colder months it will just build up.

I'd bite the bullet and get a whole new light tbh
 
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BoomerBoom

Active Member
Jun 1, 2018
690
249
If you drove through flood water deep enough to submerge the headlights then you very nearly wrote the whole car off, so a lucky escape really if it's just the headlights.

Drilling holes in the lens wasn't a good idea, as mentioned above. Get some clear acrylic sealant and fill both holes in asap, without getting it all over the lens.

To remove water or condensation from the headlight then take the rear caps off and either park the car in sunlight all day or, in the UK, stuff as big a bag of rice or other dessicant as you can get in there at try to keep it warm if possible. Change the bag every day until all the moisture is gone.

Replacement headlights for your car are £800 each, so not a cheap option.
 
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martin j.

Active Member
Feb 11, 2007
1,996
889
Fife
I had one headlight partially fill with water during really wet /snowy weather, garage suggested it was condensation-until they saw it- although all light units working it was a new headlight under extended warranty. When at Kia we changed many headlights due to leds failing, not repairable units as led sections were sealed, I doubt they will come back to life so start calling the breakers?
 
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Oct 6, 2020
9
1
Nah at no point was the water level higher than half way up the alloy, the light units are now fully dried out, no condensation or remaining water but still no luck with the DRL, I’m out of warranty on the car so I doubt I’ll have much luck getting it replaced.
I’m aware the two LED bulbs for the DRL are on the back of the module, would just trying to replace the module itself be worth while?
 

BoomerBoom

Active Member
Jun 1, 2018
690
249
Hasn’t it been said that Seat think the headlights are good for the life of the car?

I'd agree that the LED chips themselves should be good for twenty years life, it's the electronics that drive them and the housing they are placed within will struggle to reach seven.
 

ZK_FR150

Active Member
Apr 16, 2016
221
32
Think you maybe able to remove the module and replace it, I'm sure I've seen someone do it on here previously.

You can also take the caps off and drive it around for a few days, the heat from the engine will dry it out and stick some of them silica sachets you get with shoes into the back of the light or a pingi dehumidifier pouch.

If all else fails and you need to replace the light, apart from scrappers and you want brand new then buy from Autodoc and use the app for extra discount - cost of one is currently £400 but was around £320 when I replaced mine a couple of years ago.

Even in warranty Seat didn't want to know, even though I quoted the last the life of the car from the manual so I just bit the bullet and replaced the light.
 
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Oct 6, 2020
9
1
Think you maybe able to remove the module and replace it, I'm sure I've seen someone do it on here previously.

You can also take the caps off and drive it around for a few days, the heat from the engine will dry it out and stick some of them silica sachets you get with shoes into the back of the light or a pingi dehumidifier pouch.

If all else fails and you need to replace the light, apart from scrappers and you want brand new then buy from Autodoc and use the app for extra discount - cost of one is currently £400 but was around £320 when I replaced mine a couple of years ago.

Even in warranty Seat didn't want to know, even though I quoted the last the life of the car from the manual so I just bit the bullet and replaced the light.
Aye I was speaking to someone from the forum earlier today, they had previously disassembled a spare unit out of curiosity, they believe that just replacing the DRL module would probably be the next best step.
I’ve already had the back caps off and a hairdryer in the back, there’s no longer any moisture inside, just the light still isn’t working sadly, was just being hopeful that it’d come back to life ?
 

Mr Pig

Active Member
Jun 17, 2015
2,614
906
Have you tried unplugging and reconnecting everything you can? Including the module? Long shot but..
 
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Oct 6, 2020
9
1
Have you tried unplugging and reconnecting everything you can? Including the module? Long shot but..
I’ve unplugged the leads for the main beam, but it’s a bumper off job for getting around to the module so I’ve not had the time to do it yet, was gonna give it a shot on the weekend as it could just be a loose cable as you’ve said. Not getting my hopes up too high though hahaha
 
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