Fiat 500 Lamp Fogging and Condensation

Occasionally you may notice the head lights or tail light assemblies on your Fiat 500 fog up or have condensation on the inside of the lens. The question then comes up if this is normal or indicative of a problem in the lamp's sealing. We'll take a look at the official way of evaluating this concern so you know if you have a problem or not, and save you the inconvenience of an unnecessary visit to your Fiat Studio's service department.

The inside lens of an exterior lamp can fog with a layer of condensation after you turn off the lights, and the lamp has been rapidly cooled by cold water, such as rain or a car wash, etc. Depending on atmospheric conditions, you may also notice in the morning the lens has fog after the car has been parked outside overnight. This is common when the previous day was warm and humid followed by a clear, cool night.

This will normally clear up once conditions allow the condensation to change back into a vapor. Turning on the lamps typically speeds up the process. If you are concerned there is a problem, though, here is how to tell.

First, park your car inside and dry all water from the outside surface of the lens. Then operate the lamps for 20 minutes. If the condensation/fogging has begun to clear from the lamp lens after 20 minutes with the lamps operating, this indicates the lamp sealing has not been breached, and the lamp does not need to be replaced.

If the condensation/fogging has not begun to clear after 20 minutes with the lamps operating, or the lamp has large amounts of water droplets visible on most internal surfaces, this shows there is an issue with the lamp sealing that has allowed water to enter the lamp. Typically when that is the case, moisture in the lamp will always be present and will never seem to disappear. A lamp that exhibits internal moisture permanently should be replaced.

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Source: Chrysler LLC