Technical Punto Mk2 headlight removal

[meirion]

I have the usual Punto problem of water in the headlights. Must I remove the bumper to get them out as it says in the
Haynes manual, or is there a simpler way? I need to reseal them.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[MR.COATES]

From experience with Haynes manuals, they don't usually suggest to do anything the long way around.

So chances are if it says to remove the bumpers, there's gonna be a good reason why (cause removing the front bumper is a total pain!!).

 

[D.White Motors]

If I was you I wouldn't bother taking the headlamp out because you can't get to the lens properly anyway! There are modified backs for the punto and stilo for that matter to cure the problem. Is your vehicle under warranty? would be done for free! What I do is remove the drainage tubes from the lamps and throw them in the bin! Never had a comeback yet!

 

[klaus23]

is it water or condensation?

It's easy to get at the back of the headlight through the engine bay... usually there's a small amount of water in the back of the cover that is clipped shut. Wipe it out and smear some vaseline on the edges to waterproof it.

The left headlight (when you face the car) is easy - but the right one is sandwiched in near the relay box and is a pain to get at.

or, as d.white said, get modified backs - hadn't heard of those but will take a look on the web

 

[meirion]

Thanks all.

 

[the big bad ian]

Punto Mk2 water in headlamp problem and more

Please bear with me on this long story as there is a very good point to it, also this is my very first forum post .

I have had my Mk2 Punto Sporting 1.2 16v (in Yellow lol) from Aug 07, it previously belonged to my mum from new… It is my first car, and what a car to have as your first!!!

I had an accident in Sept 08 where a guy smashed into the rear driver’s quarter panel and I had to send it off to be repaired. On getting my car back, the Arial was bent, the tweeter speaker and wing mirror housing cracked, the side skirt falling off, and water in both headlamps… I was, as you can imagine, not impressed…

I sent it back to get the side skirt back on, and a new tweeter cover. I put the Arial back in shape and my mates dad (a mechanic of many years) dried out the headlamps and they were fine for ages…

At this point call me a pillock for this, as many do, but I drive with my lights and front fogs on nearly all the time, even in bright day light as I think they are the best looking headlamps around… this does mean constant bulb changes hahaha…

But yeah, the headlamps were water free for ages and then they started misting up when washing the car or when it rained… I know the parts guy at the main dealer Campbells very well, and he had no fix for this…

What I believe it is, is the rubber seals on the cover for access to the bulbs… They are water abosrbant (but when old not as much), and in old age crack and deform... At the moment it is only the drivers side that is misting up... I put tissue paper behind the seal for the main beam/side light/indicator (the first time it worked for ages, but its now happening again) and this tissue paper gets very wet… It is the cheap seals (that you cannot buy without a new headlamp) that are letting water in… (PLEASE make sure no tissue paper is left inside the light, this could be a fire hazard!!!)

Although effective I think a hair dryer is too hot to dry it out… I use tissue paper on a pair of forceps to mop it out, and then leave the covers off in bright sun, and it clears out perfectly…

I have only just renewed the tissue paper behind the seal for the second time, and have done it for the headlight/fog light seal now as well, so I’m waiting to see if this idea is good or not…

Long story short, unless you buy a new headlight (expensive and it will happen again if you have the car a long time) this I believe will be the best method… It has worked before, and it means changing the tissue paper regularly, this might very well be a money saving and bang-on method… I can also confidently say it is the seals letting water in, unless you have a blatant crack in the light, or the main housing has sprung a leak, so check for these first…

Let me know what you think about this, as I say I am curently testing for the second time, but it has worked for me before... I might be talkin crap, you never know!!! lol

 

[richie.guy]

Best fix in 3 stages:

1 - Drill 4x3mm holes under the lights to vent moisture (it will condense in the bottom of the units thanks to gravity, then steam up when it gets hot and mist the lenses up)
2 - Put silica get packets in the rears of the lights (tape them to the rear covers)
3 - Run a bead of silicone on top of the original seal for the rear covers and re-fit

Silica gel packets will need rejuvenated every 6 months or so, just remove them and bake them to dry them out again and remove collected moisture.

 

[richie.guy]

From experience with Haynes manuals, they don't usually suggest to do anything the long way around.

From my experience they do. And half of the time they tell you to do things which aren't necessary.

OP - bumper needs to be removed to remove lights.

If I was you I wouldn't bother taking the headlamp out because you can't get to the lens properly anyway! There are modified backs for the punto and stilo for that matter to cure the problem. Is your vehicle under warranty? would be done for free! What I do is remove the drainage tubes from the lamps and throw them in the bin! Never had a comeback yet!

I've had 2 seats of 'modified' backs and a few friends have had them too, they haven't worked.