Fogging headlamps on 98 & up Intrepids

Is you new generation Intrepid suffering from condensation buildup in the headlamps? If so I would like to hear from you. My '99 passenger headlamp is severely fogged up and Chrysler refuses to replace it because according to them they haven't received enough complaints to warrant a recall. I removed the lamp assembly to bath it in CLR and was blown away by the number of leaks. It is supposed to be a watertight assembly. So I would like to hear from anyone experiencing this problem. Please e-mail me direct at snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.ca and tell me the year of your car and a photo if possible. I am going to collect enough names and send the information to Chrysler. At $400 CDN I don't feel I should have to pay for their shoddy workmanship. I am only interested in hearing from Intrepid owners. I know the Neon's also suffer the same fate, but a recall for a Neon will not help me.

Thanks for reading

Max Donoghue Kingston, Ontario

Reply to
MD
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Great way to ruin the headlamp...

No, it's not. This headlamp, like most others, incorporates a system of vents and drains the object of which is to allow the headlamp to breathe. The "semi-sealed" headlamps that were the first generation of North American replaceable-bulb headlamps had MUCH worse problems with water accumulating and refusing to go away. Sometimes the vents and drains aren't good enough at the job they're supposed to do. After you remove all the existing water, one way to help reduce the problem is to remove the rubber O-rings from the bulb bases before reinstalling them, which improves headlamp breathing and therefore reduces condensation problems.

The headlamps on your car were designed in Belleville, Ontario. Perhaps you ought to take a swing by (not a swing *at*) the company that designed them.

In all seriousness, if you feel the problem is significant enough to impact safety, you need to write to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (

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) as well as to Transport Canada (
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). The US agency has no legal authority in Canada, of course, but most North American safety recalls are triggered by that agency's actions.

DS

Reply to
Daniel Stern Lighting

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Reply to
Bob Hatcher

Thanks Bob,

Looks like I got the dud again. How's the tranny holding up?

Reply to
MD

If you can demonstrate that yours is repeatedly fogging, it sure seems like the dealer *should* replace it for you. Even if there's no recall, warranties exist to take care of the occasional bad part.

At the very least you can try Dan's suggestion of getting it dried out thoroughly (assuming the reflector is not damaged from the persistent water), making sure all the vents are open and any vent tubes are in place, and additionally removing the O-rings around the bulb to improve ventilation.

Reply to
Steve

Was wondering if one of the vehicles gets treated to a garage overnight and the other doesn't.

recall,

persistent

improve

Reply to
Art Begun

Interesting point Art. Mine is outside overnight, no garage here. Wonder if you park yours in a garage Bob?? Went to Belleville over the weekend and was really pleased to see the "ventilation" hole the dealership drilled into the lamp assembly did nothing but make it worse. Driving in the rain caused the lamp to fill with lots of water. Droplets were clearly visible the next morning. I think I am going to remove the o-rings around the lmap holders as prescribed and run a bead of silicone sealant around the entire assembly. And plug the hole the dealership drilled in the FRONT of the lamp!!

Reply to
Max

EEK! This is *NEVER* the correct fix. Shame on the dealership. There is a vent kit that can be installed on problematic headlamps, but just drilling a hole is never the right way to do it.

That'll help, but only if you plug that "ventillation" hole the stealer drilled...

No no, don't do that. The reflector "shiny stuff" isn't compatible with silicone, which outgases and can severely attack the reflector. If you must apply goop to a headlamp, the correct stuff is windshield *urethane*, available from an auto glass shop.

DS

Reply to
Daniel Stern Lighting

Reply to
mic canic

I was experiencing heavy fogging of my left headlamp on an Intrepid. It would appear in the fall and disappear in the late spring, gradually getting worse over time. The heat from the light would help evaporate the water in front of the bulb but as it got worse this was less effective and it began to affect the light. The high beam was affected more, since that bulb isn't on much there was always a lot of water in front of it.

At one point I tried to dry as much of the inside with a towel, and gently blew in lukewarm air with a hair dryer. It didn't last long.

The manual says that occasional fogging is normal, so I expected resistance when I took it to the dealer for warranty work. They replaced BOTH lamp units (even though I had not had a problem with the right lamp. I'm glad they did; the warranty expired about 2 weeks later.

Reply to
Greg Houston

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