Lighting - Exterior Lamp Fogging
Classification: EL03-031FReference: ITB03-051F
Date: February 21, 2012
EXTERIOR LAMP FOGGING
This bulletin has been amended. The Applied Vehicles section and the first paragraph of the Service Information section have been revised. Please discard all previous versions. This bulletin supercedes ITB08-019A.
APPLIED VEHICLES: 2001-2012 Infiniti, All Models
SERVICE INFORMATION
Occasionally customers may notice water vapor or fog in the exterior lamps. This is generally NOT due to a defect.
The following information illustrations and flow chart are provided to help you in determining if an incident for water/condensation in lamps is normal or not.
All current exterior lamp assemblies are vented to the atmosphere (not sealed).
^ This is necessary to allow for expansion and contraction of air from temperature "variations" (warmer or colder) without damage to the lamp.
^ Moisture in the air sometimes "travels" into and out of the lamp assembly through these vents.
^ Certain environmental conditions may cause moisture to condense.
^ The fogging/cloudiness should disappear over time when the lamp is in a dry environment.
Fog may temporarily form inside the lens of the exterior lamp assemblies based on environmental conditions or sudden temperature changes (such as in a car wash or parked on a cold sunny day). This is normal. See Figure 1.
NOTE:
This condensation can appear anywhere on the outer lens typically at its coldest location.
If the moisture trickles, drips, or pools it may not be considered normal and the headlamp assembly may have a water leak path. See Figure 2 for an example.
If large drops of water collect inside the lens refer to the flow chart above to find the next step to take.
SERVICE PROCEDURE
Should a customer note water in a lamp assembly please use the following flow chart to determine if the condition is normal or requires lamp replacement.