[Shotimes] New Headlamps

[clubairth@bellsouth.net]

Christina:
 I went through this about 4+ years and 65K miles ago, here is what I did:

 Purchased 2 new headlight assemblies from Ford. About $100 each back then.
I TOTALLY sealed the new headlamps with flowable silicone, including the
factory vent holes. This is sold as a windshield sealer because it will flow
into the gaps much better than the regular thick silicone in a tube.
Added a dual relay harness to get full voltage and amperage to the
headlights. Plus save the headlamp switch and dash wiring!
Finally used the non-DOT  legal 90W/100W high power bulbs from J.C. Whitney.
Did a home aiming job on my garage door using instructions/measurements from
the Helm manual.
I finally can see at night! It's not a HID setup but is so superior over the
stock setup!

 I live in South Louisiana so we get plenty of rain and humidity. The lenses
are still clear as a can be after all this time. It also seems the
replacement headlamps don't yellow as badly as the factory units.
 I was worried about heat buildup with the high wattage bulbs but have
driven as long as 12 hours straight with the lights on and no problem. The
headlamps do get pretty warm to touch.
.
.



> My question to all of you is this, I've had lots of
> trouble with my headlights, corner lights and even
> tail lights getting condensation in them.  The
> condensation hasn't ruined the bulbs or wiring or
> anything, but it sure wreaks havoc on diversifying the
> beam of light coming from them at night time.  One of
> the biggest reasons for wanting to improve the
> headlights is that I do have a hard time seeing at
> night time and the SHO I had really yellow lenses
> and I'm sure it didn't help the situation any, so I'm
> trying to do all I can to increase the light output
> through these new lenses--without resorting to the new
> fangled expensive headlamps that George and others are
> going to.
>
> My question for the group is, how to seal up the
> lenses prior to installation so that they don't get
> condensation in them.  Or does the heat produced by
> the lamps mixed with the humidity inevitably cause the
> condensation and it is a lost cause, so there needs to
> be an escape for the liquid to exit from when things
> dry out?  Most of you know I'm moving to Washington
> where it is even more rainy than here, but I was
> hoping that if I got them sealed good and tight there
> wouldn't be any "liquid" inside of them to condense.
> I figure a clear silicone would work well, but I
> didn't know if there was a better product out there
> for the job.  The old lenses come with a rubberized
> gasket, but I'm not sure if that's just to aid in
> fitting properly or not.
>
> Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
>
> TIA.
>
> Christina