HELP! Can the inside of these headlights be cleaned?

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TuFerLife

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Hey gents,

I posted a couple weeks ago about how to fit some 2013 projectors in my 2011 raptor and y'all pointed me in the right direction, so I'm back with another question...

Bought these "take-off" headlights, and I think I might have bitten off more than I can chew...

This is what they look like from a distance of 2' or better...

33328878-14C6-46B8-9F01-7D520CDE31C2_zpsuo2jcazj.jpg

But when you get closer, this is what you see...

2310BB5D-1697-4D26-8DAD-48393B83C2F0_zpsfhp2yy0a.jpg

I'm absolutely sick to my stomach. So I'm at a loss for words... I don't even know what to do. I wish I could just put them on and be content, but I'm too meticulous...

Any suggestions?
 

Yukon Joe

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Wow. That sucks.
Ford is replacing these under warranty for that much water intrusion.

Only way to clean them is to open the head up. Inky way to do that is to cut it open and reseal it with silicon.

If you want to tackle the job yourself, there are a few how to threads on retrofitting heads or you could send them off to @RSiWORKS or @Raptor Retrofit and ask them to clean them and possibly add some upgrades while you have them opened up.

Yukon Joe :baby: :baby:

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TuFerLife

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Thanks Joe... I'll reach out to those guys and see what I can find out.

Keep the suggestions coming...
 

Yukon Joe

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Thanks Joe... I'll reach out to those guys and see what I can find out.

Keep the suggestions coming...

I was just thinking.... possibly you could drill a 1/4" hole our a bit larger on the back of the head in a low point. Add a bit of diluted all purpose cleaner and shake the head around. Then drain the cleaner out of the hole. Add a water and running alcohol solution to rinse it. Maybe do the time twice, the second time with more Isopropyl Alcohol in the solution. Be sure to use the 90% if you can find it at the store.

You could try this before you either shop it off or open it yourself. Might not get it completely clean, but should be better.
You could also use the turn signal hole instead of drilling one.

I also don't know what the water would do to the electronics. Probably nothing, but keep it in mind. You'll want it completely dry before you plug it back in.

See the recent thread about the use of desicant to dry the inside by @ducatisps.

Yukon Joe :baby: :baby:

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TuFerLife

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I was just thinking.... possibly you could drill a 1/4" hole our a bit larger on the back of the head in a low point. Add a bit of diluted all purpose cleaner and shake the head around. Then drain the cleaner out of the hole. Add a water and running alcohol solution to rinse it. Maybe do the time twice, the second time with more Isopropyl Alcohol in the solution. Be sure to use the 90% if you can find it at the store.

You could try this before you either shop it off or open it yourself. Might not get it completely clean, but should be better.
You could also use the turn signal hole instead of drilling one.

I also don't know what the water would do to the electronics. Probably nothing, but keep it in mind. You'll want it completely dry before you plug it back in.

See the recent thread about the use of desicant to dry the inside by @ducatisps.

Yukon Joe :baby: :baby:

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http://www.fordraptorforum.com/showthread.php?t=44744

Thanks again joe... I emailed RSI and he suggested hot water... So I started with that, and we'll see how it goes. But he mimicked he same technique of pouring in the turn signal and swooshing around the lens. I did take your advice and got some silica packs so we'll see how the drying process goes...

Right after I poured water...

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About 30 minutes after...

795CD17C-5AF4-402D-8F79-5EF8F86440FF_zpscgqhhguo.jpg

I'm waiting to see how it dries now... But I might have to do like you said and use some cleaner. I'm not sure straight water will attack the residue enough...

I'll keep you posted.

-Taylor
 
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TuFerLife

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They've gotten better. Still work to be done. This is after two tries of doing it with water and using both an air compressor and desiccant... I can not get the water out of there fast enough to keep water spots from forming.

F1EE11DC-20C7-4B4E-851B-29144768C877_zpso1pqtyb3.jpg

My brother in law got me DI water that is so pure it should not leave water spots in it... So I'm about to try that out. And if that doesn't work, then I'll try some rubbing alcohol...

It does seem to be a process, but if it keeps me from baking the headlights it will all be worth it...
 

richmeyer

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I used denatured alcohol on my recon tails that had water intrusion. Worked pretty well, no spots. Well, until they leaked again...
 

Raptor Embroidery

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I tried the same thing with my anzo headlights to no avail. After they got moisture, water spots were left all over the inside of the lens. No matter how well you seal them, they will still accumulate moisture. The only way to prevent it in the future is to install 2 silica gel packets. One in the bottom and one somewhere in the middle of the light. They can be hard to remove once you put them in there so I'd recommend tieing a piece of string to them and hanging them out of the sockets. I heard you should change them every year but I'm not 100%.

I am working on retrofitting my anzo headlights and have already cleaned the lenses well. It's much easier when the headlights are open.

Since our heads for our trucks are so big, I wouldn't recommend putting them in the oven to bake them open. The next best way is to put them in a large sized cardboard box, lenses facing down and heat them up with a heat gun, high setting for 15 minutes.

Follow my thread if you need any more help with opening headlights. I opened the first set in the oven but it was way too sketchy for me. I'll be opening the next set in a box with a heat gun.

http://www.fordraptorforum.com/f65/raptor-embroiderys-anzo-headlight-build-45338/
 
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