Water/condensation in tail light assembly

MiniMagnum · #1 01-20-2010, 10:49 AM

I have water or condensation in my driver side tail light housing asembly. Is there anyway to remove the assembly, clean it out and seal it as it is reassembled? Or has anyone found some nice aftermarket replacement tail light assemblies?

erich82 · #2 01-20-2010, 10:58 AM

You can reseal it, but it will probably come back. Is it still under warranty? If so, have the dealer replace it.

**UN4GTBL** · #3 01-20-2010, 11:24 AM

There is a TSB for that which if you still have warranty you can get it replaced.

otherwise there are a few different aftermarket lights that you might be interested in. i've also seen stock tail lights go for cheap on ebay.

Sky · #4 01-20-2010, 03:48 PM

Removing the assembly is easy as pie. It's even in the owners manual IIRC as you have to remove it to change out the bulbs. They're just held in with a couple of clips. You could try putting silicone around the sides to seal it. Aftermarket units are cheap and plentiful also should it come to that, plus you could get some bling-bling LED units

HICal · #5 09-15-2010, 12:49 AM

I resealed mines with success. The trickiest part was drying out the assembly prior to applying the sealant.

Calibershark7 · #6 09-20-2010, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HICal

I resealed mines with success. The trickiest part was drying out the assembly prior to applying the sealant.

I have the same problem, but there is actually an inch of water accumulated at the bottom of the assembly. How did you go about drying it out and how do you get it off the car to do so? I know I've replaced the bulb in there once, so it has been taken off, but it was a couple of years ago. Plus, my car is only under the extended "ultimate" powertrain warranty and I'm not sure the tail light assembly is included in that. I asked the dealership to mail me the specifics of my remaining warranty, but that was just this morning. I know I need to get the water out soon so I don't run into any trouble.

**UN4GTBL** · #7 09-20-2010, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Calibershark7

I have the same problem, but there is actually an inch of water accumulated at the bottom of the assembly. How did you go about drying it out and how do you get it off the car to do so? I know I've replaced the bulb in there once, so it has been taken off, but it was a couple of years ago. Plus, my car is only under the extended "ultimate" powertrain warranty and I'm not sure the tail light assembly is included in that. I asked the dealership to mail me the specifics of my remaining warranty, but that was just this morning. I know I need to get the water out soon so I don't run into any trouble.

you can take it out the same way to replace the bulb. IIRC the instructions are in the owners manual.

just let it dry overnight. while it out you could always run a bit of silicone around it to try and seal it.

b0bberRT · #8 09-27-2010, 10:39 PM

Mine is the same way... and also only the driver's side. I had the same problem with one of my Depo headlamp housings after I got back from the sandbox in May. Cooked that in the oven at the lowest setting to dry things out and then re-sealed it with silicone. Will be doing the same with my taillight this weekend.

**UN4GTBL** · #9 03-04-2011, 09:00 PM

you could attempt to reseal the lights with some silicone.

maybe look at some junkyards and see if there are any *dry* tail lights there or on ebay for some cheap lights to replace yours with.

although, they are not *that* expensive from the dealer, i think i got a new drivers side one for $120-ish CDN.

Germaneon · #10 03-08-2011, 10:28 AM

Seems as if that water/condensation problem is common for the Caliber. Only 3 month after I purchased my brand new Caliber I realized condensation in my passenger's tail light. It was replaced under warranty.