puddener

Hello,

I recently bought a 03 Skoda Superb elegence TDI. Inside the LHS headlight there appears to be dirt or water on the lens. I was wondering is it possible to remove the plastic lens and clean the light internally as I don't want to have to buy another.

Thanks,

John

KenONeill

There are 2 real possibilities here, condensation and a leaky seal.

Condensation should sort itself out (or at least get better) if you go for a 1 hour or so run with the dipped beam on.
Most sources will tell you that (on most cars) a leaky seal means a new unit. It may be possible to heat the unit gently, unglue the lens and reglue it, but that means leaving the glue to cure for a day or so before refitting.

puddener

Got a chance to have a proper look at it last night. Marks inside the lens look like they were caused by heat. Its hard to explain but maybe the car was left stationary with the fulls on for a long time. Anyone experience similar.

KenONeill

Never seen anything like you describe, but it's plausible, particularly if the car is or was fitted with over-wattage (100W or higher) bulbs.

puddener

I'll try and get a photo when/if it stops raining. Its not really a problem just a little niggle that once i spot won't leave my head. Might as dealer. I'd say with xenons on full and fogs you be talking serious heat in the headlamps.

KenONeill

Can't see why. Xenons only dissipate about 30W of power. They're bright because of the high light temperature and high electricity to light conversion efficiency of the plasma arc.
As I say, over-wattage conventional filament bulbs are a more likely suspect.

Happy Driver

Interesting as I have the same problem on my 03 superb with xenon's and yes - it is a little annoying when the car has been cleaned and polished to see the mark you cant remove - on the headlight units.

I doubt it will be xenon's (i have just had to replace one of mine) and as my car was a company car under lease, I doubt they will have changed the bulbs to 100w.

A puzzle and an annoying one.

Once I have the computer up and running at home, i will take photo

Could it be a fault with the headlamp unit on the 03 superb... ?

leslie.ellis

Hi: I had an 02 Octavia ( I know it's a Superb you have) and when I got it the side light part of both lenses had damp and condensation in them (I think because the car had been lying outside for a while) I bought 2 new lenses and a couple of weeks the damp came back which was really annoying)

KenONeill

Em, the "sidelight part" of the A4 facelift headlights is the main/dip area. The round bull's-eye bit is redundant or a foglight, depending on model (or possibly options).