Water /moisture in headlight housing
 

Just bought a 2017 S63 and noticed quite a bit of humidity /fogginess inside the headlight housing.
Is it a big issue if this happens after a soaking rain?
The service tech said this happens every now and then but its been 4 days and still moist with condensation.

I have a 14, I read somewhere that if the moisture is excessive, they have a fix :rolf: MB Service will Drill an opening in the light housing and install a moisture removal desiccants pack.

I did not have this done, but the moisture is bad enough at times that the moisture actually runs down the inside of the light. At some point this must mess up the optics / water marks inside the housing....

There should not be any condensation at all. Try to contact another technical master. Or change the lights. I bought mine at the site https://www.uzooka.com/. I installed them and there are no complaints.

It's normal. Mercedes headlights have been doing this for years. Hand washing eliminates this most of the time.

I had this problem with my 2015, took it to the dealer, and the service guys found that there was a bulletin for this problem and fixed it at no charge.

I had the same thing on mine a few days when new and did sorry about it. The dealership explained that condensation of humid air in all headlights is a known problem, but that LED lights being colder than Halogen /Xenon take longer to eradicate that humid air from the casing, "sealed in" during manufacturing. They were right. A week later the unsightly condensation went away and has not been back since, two months later 👍

Mine is no longer holding water after that first week. I wash it regularly in a car wash (that I trust) and it has never returned. Thanks for the reply.

Hello all... Just had both Lamps repaired.

Thought I would post work performed to help those out that have a similar problem..


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...b3e9cdf785.jpg

I had my d/s checked out by MB, they said unless they're not working properly, there was nothing they would do.

To those who currently have this issue with a new car: since it's possible that after the first week or two of headlamp use, the condensation goes away never to return, why not wait a few weeks and see if it goes, before trying remedial solutions?

Be careful, I had this same issue about 1 year ago. Took it to the dealer and they said there was a service bulletin for this problem and they "fixed" it. Now about 1 year later, I had a "Active headlamps Inoperable" message on my screen.

I took it to the dealer and they fixed it again under warranty. However, this was in their notes this time, so I am not sure how good their previous fix was?:


" 8818 RIGHT HEADLAMP MODULE SHORTED OUT, AND DESICANT PACK FULL AND
SEEPING FLUID W CONNECTED BATTERY CHARGER, CONNECTED SDS, AND PERFORMED
SHORT TEST. FOUND CURRENT FAULT CODE: B17ED11 The output for the low
beams has a malfunction. There is a short circuit to ground. IN E2n9 -
Right headlamp (SG-SW-R). PROCESSED FAULT CODE, R&R FRONT BUMPER, R&R
RIGHT HEADLAMP UNIT AND INSPECTED. REMOVED CONTROL UNIT AND FOUND THAT
LI82.10-P-062051 HAD BEEN PREVIOUSLY PERFORMED. FOUND THAT DESICANT
PACK WAS FULL AND HAD LEAKED MOISTURE OUT ONTO CONTROL UNIT SHORTING IT
OUT. R&R LEFT HEADLAMP AND INSPECTED AND FOUND THAT DESICANT PACK ALSO
FULL. REPLACED DESICANT PACKS IN BOTH HEADLAMP UNITS. REPLACED PASS.
HEAD LAMP UNIT, AND CONTROL UNIT. PERFORMED CODING OF CONTROL UNIT.
CLEARED FAULT CODES, AND VERIFIED REPAIRS.
*******************************************"

So did they actually replace the 2 Headlamp assemblies and installed new packs in the new lamps? Or did they just replace internals. What year is the car and was everything covered under Warr?

supposedly the service adviser said they replaced the headlamps. I didn't ask in detail what that entailed. Here is the description from my invoice.

A C/S: ACTIVE HEADLAMPS INOP / CHECK AND ADVISE
CAUSE: F
824730 REMOVE/INSTALL 2 FRONT LAMP UNITS
625 W08 (N/C)
1 222-906-22-04 HEADLAMP UNIT (N/C)
1 222-870-07-89 VOLTAGE CONVERTER (N/C)
1 000-826-13-00 PROTECTIVE COWL (N/C)
1 000-826-12-00 PROTECTIVE COWL (N/C)
2 000-826-16-00 DEHUMIDIFIER PACKETS (N/C)
611069 REMOVE/INSTALL LOWER ENGINE COMPARTMENT
PANELING COMPLETE
625 W08 (N/C)
540650 ON-BOARD POWER SUPPLY VOLTAGE MAINTAIN
(WHEN CHECKING/ TESTING AND TROUBLESHOOTING)
625 W08 (N/C)
541011 PERFORM QUICK TEST
625 W08 (N/C)
020001 STRAIGHT TIME, FOR USE WITH PUBLISHED
DOCUMENTS ONLY
625 W08 (N/C)
8818 RIGHT HEADLAMP MODULE SHORTED OUT, AND DESICANT PACK FULL AND
SEEPING FLUID W CONNECTED BATTERY CHARGER, CONNECTED SDS, AND PERFORMED
SHORT TEST. FOUND CURRENT FAULT CODE: B17ED11 The output for the low
beams has a malfunction. There is a short circuit to ground. IN E2n9 -
Right headlamp (SG-SW-R). PROCESSED FAULT CODE, R&R FRONT BUMPER, R&R
RIGHT HEADLAMP UNIT AND INSPECTED. REMOVED CONTROL UNIT AND FOUND THAT
LI82.10-P-062051 HAD BEEN PREVIOUSLY PERFORMED. FOUND THAT DESICANT
PACK WAS FULL AND HAD LEAKED MOISTURE OUT ONTO CONTROL UNIT SHORTING IT
OUT. R&R LEFT HEADLAMP AND INSPECTED AND FOUND THAT DESICANT PACK ALSO
FULL. REPLACED DESICANT PACKS IN BOTH HEADLAMP UNITS. REPLACED PASS.
HEAD LAMP UNIT, AND CONTROL UNIT. PERFORMED CODING OF CONTROL UNIT.
CLEARED FAULT CODES, AND VERIFIED REPAIRS.
************************************************** **

The water problem has not returned to my car as of yet. Hopefully it was just a one time thing. I do know the day I picked it up for delivery that prompted me to post this thread, the rain and humidity was extreme.

Looks like they replaced the entire housing as well as internals.... https://www.benzpartshq.com/oem-part...g5NjA1MDUmcj0x
Housing alone is over a grand.... Ouch..

yeah, i asked to see the invoice if it were not covered by warranty - $3600! for parts/labor. yikes!

Desiccant bags in the headlight housing...interesting. Doubt this will be the a long term solution.

The headlight in both my '16 &'17 coupes fog up. It usually dissipates in a day or so even in humid S FL.

Had the Star Emblem on the steering wheel start to flake off the Chrome coating, Covered under B2B, $2,300- for part. They could not just replace the emblem, its part of the Air Bag.

They also replaced the 4 Center Caps, starting to Peal at the edges. I strongly suggest anyone still under B2B and plan on keeping the vehicle, you go over the car with a Fine Tooth Comb. ALL trim items are covered. After B2B, CPO will NOT cover trim items.... Sorry for the OCD kicking in again...:D

I'm reviving this thread for the new guys like myself that recently joined the community, primarily because of the below but also because of the potential "dangers" of having the headlight "repair" accomplished. Thanks everyone, this is a very helpful thread. My car is getting dropped off tomorrow for it's first inspection so I'll be micro-scoping my car tonight before I bring it in

"Had the Star Emblem on the steering wheel start to flake off the Chrome coating, Covered under B2B, $2,300- for part. They could not just replace the emblem, its part of the Air Bag.

They also replaced the 4 Center Caps, starting to Peal at the edges. I strongly suggest anyone still under B2B and plan on keeping the vehicle, you go over the car with a Fine Tooth Comb. ALL trim items are covered. After B2B, CPO will NOT cover trim items.... Sorry for the OCD kicking in again...https://mbworld.org/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif"

This reminds me that I am again having moisture condensation problems in my headlights (this after they've already placed in the desicant packs and then when that failed, replaced the whole headlamp assembly.

Fortunately, the problem with my car with the headlight moisture never returned, and it's now been 20 months or so.