JakeG37

Well I sent my brand new OEM headlights to 180Customs to do some modding for me (Iron mans, halo's, new lenses and custom paint) and I have condensation in both headlights mainly focused near the turn indicators. One of them has some condensation around some of the edges around the light. Is it safe to say they failed to reseal the lights properly? i spent $1k on these mods and I cannot help but feel like I paid for some shoddy workmanship.

I watched a video on how to use OCI butyl rubber glue to reseal lights with similar issues. How do you ensure that you dont have moisture inside the housing when you reseal it? When i got the lights they appeared void of any moisture. I dont want to be without my lights for another two weeks in shipping time for them to make good on this unless I need to. Anyone fix a similar issue, and if so, how did you do it?

micafd3s

iTrader: (2)

first make sure the bulb sockets are seating right or are turned in all the way..
moisture could be getting in that way..
also make sure that they are not prints from inside the lens that could appear to be condensation..
if shes not your daily.. i think its best to just have it sent out for them to make good on their warranty..
if anything else were to happen with it.. the warranty might be voided since youve tampered with it..
knock on wood.. havent had condensation issues with mine.

JakeG37

The lights came to me free and clear of moisture and no "prints" on the inside part of the lens. This is my daily driver since I do not have another car. I kept my old headlights that were left over from the sand damage repair to my car. I sanded them down and polished them back to a pretty good shine. They have spider cracks deep in the plastic but thats due to how old they are. I hate to remove and send them back to 180customs but I may need to do that. I made sure all the plugs were tightly installed before installation.

micafd3s

iTrader: (2)

if its deemed an issue on their part..you should be able to claim express delivery round trip for your trouble...

JakeG37

Here are a couple of pics. Not sure if they show the haze/condensation very well but it will give you an idea. Could any of this be off gassing from the custom paint? I did notice a fair bit of odor from inside the housing when i got them.

mezzo

iTrader: (7)

Id call Alex at 180 and speak with him directly regarding your issue. I don't know the particulars as to why you have that issue already with them being just worked on but I would hope you and Alex can work something out.

I have a set of custom lights being delivered tomorrow and installed the following from 180; Alex has been nothing but receptive and courteous through out the entire process.

With such a large investment, id call first before going any further.

JakeG37

Ill call them tomorrow. Very disappointed right now with the result. Me changing a bulb should have nothing to do with this issue. I know I properly installed the cover afterwards, its an easy process.

micafd3s

iTrader: (2)

how about drying it first and see if it comes back.. before you send it out

JakeG37

Well it seems like it dried to a haze. Dont think there is condensation now. So the only way I would know how to fix it would be to remove the plastic lens and wipe down the inside. I wonder why they dont just use OCI butyl rubber glue instead of relying on the old seal which, in this case, seems to have been a failed re-seal attempt.

JakeG37

Just got word from Alex at 180 and it doesn't look good. He said the pictures show signs of haze from heat dissipation and this type of issue does not normally happen until after years of use. He is trying to figure out what they can do to take care of it. If the outside lens is damaged as he says, I cant see anything other than replacement being a solution. They were BRAND new never used headlights before they modified them.

beachbum718

This is why I would never modify my lights.and also invest Ina car cover the blocks UV rays and heat.it will prolong your paint and lights,plastics...

JakeG37

Well my car is garaged when at home, but at work I do not have an option. If this was such a problem, I think there would be a larger discussion about this and I would have opted NOT to modify the lights the way I did. I wonder if the black housing causes too much of a heat build up. If so, then just adding the angel eyes/iron man and clear HID lens should be fine on their own. There must be more to this or 180customs would not be in this business anymore.

Black Betty

iTrader: (60)

Jake I had the same thing happen years ago. Paid top dollar for paint only, the alleged 3 day turnaround took a month, one of my lights developed condensation just like yours, I was told to send them back again (on my own dime) and they'd see what they could do. I didn't have another month to waste (they promised they'd really have 3 day turnaround this time. Honest!). I was told a refund was out of the question even though they allegedly had a "warranty". It still has condensation to this day. Good luck getting a satisfactory resolution from them.

JakeG37

Im waiting to hold judgement until they tell me what they are going to do. If it was just condensation, I could take care of that myself. However, according to Alex at 180, it sounds like the plastic is damaged which is mind boggling. I really want to understand how that happens.

micafd3s

iTrader: (2)

not sure how this can happen on a brand new set..


had a ducati 998 that notoriously would have this hazing issue with their headlamps...
the way I was able to get rid of mine was to clean it with rubbing alcohol.. it took several years for the hazing to come back..
did this with those big qtips that you can find sold in a medical store.. dipped it in the alcohol generously and inserted it in an open socket..
then rubbed... maybe you can give this a shot on one and see if this works for you..