SpyderSwede

Washed the car off just with a hose sprinkler in the sun , ok I know not to clean the car in the sun..... rather surprised to see condensation , spoke to Porsche : "perfectly normal" "they all do that sir " anybody else had a similar experience ?
It dissapeared after a couple of hours ....718 Spyder

iliveoncaffiene

It is normal. They are not airtight on purpose. (Had the same thing on another 718)
Only start to worry if it doesn't dry out in a few hours (or by the next day).

halfmonkey

Do you know why Porsche designed their light housing for this to be normal? I ask because I've never owned a car where this is normal as all of the light housings, front and rear are sealed on all of the cars that we've owned. If I see condensation, that would mean to me that a seal has failed or a crack in the lens has occurred.

iliveoncaffiene

I don't have an expert's answer to that question but I have a good guess (and quick google will come up with a variety of reasons).
What I think, however, is that the alternative (requiring the lamps to be airtight) is worse: I'd rather design my headlights with good ventilation which allows for expanding/contracting air (and moisture) in a wide range of temperatures; instead of requiring them to be airtight, and then having to fix that seal or replace the whole headlight when it inevitably does break or become open to the elements.

halfmonkey

I see your POV but I'm still with why have them designed to be vented when they look horrible when condensation builds? Again, all of the cars we've owned have been sealed and we've never had a problem even on my dad's old truck that still uses the hot traditional old school headlights. The newer LED lights are cooler in temperature and I think the heat sinks are outside of the light assemblies so I don't see what the benefit would be to vent the light housings. The drawback I see is obviously an ugly looking build up of condensation where people think your car is broken because the light housing has a leak. I think it cheapens the look of the car when it has condensation especially if you just washed it and you're driving down the street on a sunny day.

Mercuriell

I don’t think there’s anything ‘normal’ about moisture in light assemblies - Inevitably leads to corrosion of electrical fittings and it doesn’t affect all P lights - I had it on a rear light on my 992 and close inspection found it to associated with a non-traumatic crack in the lens - presumably as a result of faulty moulding ...

iliveoncaffiene

Well, I believe it's also listed in the owner's manual so.... go have it out with Porsche if you feel differently

hf1

This is weird and first time I'm hearing of lights that are not sealed. Can you quote the parts in the manual where this is explained? Is this a new invention by Porsche? Makes no sense...

iliveoncaffiene

If you google it, there are countless topics on this. Either it's a huge, widespread issue covering multiple model lines, over countless years - or it's intended and normal.....

The only online manual I could find quickly online was an old Cayenne one, but here on page 335:


Also this from the 991 manual (page 222):

rooster17

Had a 718 CS for a couple years. It did it all the time depending on conditions. The forum I frequented also had this conversation and most everyone had the same thing. I would imagine, depending on where you live, you might not ever see it though.

ipse dixit

http://knowhow.napaonline.com/moistu...0condensation.

https://www.carlightblog.com/2018/10...o-worry-about/