Fix for headlight moisture

[accuab]

I know a lot of people with a 97-03 Grand Prix has or will have this problem- moisture in the headlamp lens. Some people feel that drilling a hole in the bottom to let it drain or removing the bulb and letting it dry is a fix but neither is permanent. There is a fairly easy fix with a little time and very little money involved in the situation. I have done this myself after having this problem and had very good results with it and I know anyone else could do it as well. The problem with the lenses is that GM put a poor seal on the lens that will fail over time.

Here's what you do:

Separation:

Some people feel it is best to put the lens in a 175 degree oven for about ten minutes to soften the seal. I didn't and had good results but I believe warming them would make it a little easier.

First, remove the lenses from the car and unbolt the capsule from the bracket. Next, you have to separate the clear from the black part. There is a groove in the black piece that the clear lens fits into that has the seal in it. I found best to start with a small flat head screwdriver and slowly wedge it in between the two pieces all the way around making sure not to damage either side of the lens. Don't force it because it is made of plastic so it will give. After working with it a little, swap to a larger flat head screwdriver to get more leverage and separate the two sides apart. You will probably find at some point where the seal is very bad that it will give fairly easily and allow the two pieces to split. Then work all the way around separating the two pieces completely. Keep in mind that the bottom side will not be seen so if you need to dig in a little, do it there.

Preparation:

In order to get a good seal when putting them back together, you must remove all of the old seal or the new will not form a perfect seal and you would have wasted your time. Take your time on this and make sure it is right. A hobby knife with a flat tip works very well around the edges and a flat head screwdriver works well in the groove itself. You just have to make sure not to dig into the plastic. Clean both the clear as well as the black piece and check it well after you have done it.

Assembly:

I chose to use a windshield sealant that is also designed to seal lamp assemblies to seal the lens back together. It is a flowable clear sealant so it can seap into parts that you may not have filled adequately. It is also flexible to some extent to it can withstand the shock of vibration going down the road without the negative side effects of a hard sealant. However, if you put too much, it will go inside the lens and leave a clear looking bubble or run depending on how you let it sit to cure. I found on mine that no clamps or straps were necessary but some assemblies may need them to hold tightly together to cure. Using whatever sealant you decide, go around the groove in the black piece using adequate but not excess to seal the lamp, keeping in mind that the groove is mostly filled up by the part of the clear lens that fits inside of it. Then press the clear lens into the black piece making sure that it fits completely down into the groove all the way around. Excess sealant will probably squeeze out of the groove on the outside of the assembly. Take this time to smooth out the bubbles with a wet finger if necessary so they don't dry that way. Since the sealant is clear, it will give the black trim a nice shine to it as well as protect it. Check for any gaps in the sealant and add some as needed. The sealant I used needed 1 hour to dry and 24 hours to fully cure. After waiting the hour to dry, I added another bead of sealant on top of the dried seal for extra security. Smooth this one down as well. Let the assembly cure for the 24 hours. You are done and ready to reinstall your moisture free headlight on the car.

I also did a resurfacing of the lens at the same time because I found that it was much easier to do with the lens completely off. Once the sealant is dried for one hour it won't move, so if needed, you could reinstall the lens and drive it. However, personally I would wait the full cure time so that no problems could arise. Working steadily, it could easily be done in under 3 hours, maybe even 2. If anyone has any questions about this, feel free to ask me and I will assist you in any way possible. This will save you having to buy new lenses for this problem and not getting light on the road due to moisture catching it at the lens.