Rear Light Assembly Filling with Water

[Jollus]

Hi guys,

Just looking for some help, rear passenger lights assembly appeared to have water in so took it off and when opened I emptied like 1/4 of a pint of water out. got the assembly dry in the airing cupboard and noted that the light fitments were mainly fine but the bottom tail light bulb looked a bit worse for wear and the metal contacts on the assembly were slightly rusted. However I cleaned it all up and got a lot of the rust off and when tested with a new bulb, works OK.

The only place I can think the water got in is by breaching the seal around the bulb holder plate. I dried the seal up and put it back in on top of some instant gasket. Once dried and put back together I re-fitted to the car, now it seems like waters getting in again as I can see the misty fog in the lights stopping me from seeing in.

My question is does anyone think Its the case of buying a new bulb plate with the seal around it? Or the light assembly as a whole. The light assembly is pretty much sealed and I cant see any minor cracks on it so unsure how this waters getting in.

Has anyone had this issue before?

Thanks for your help.

[K.I.T.T.]

I'd say it's definitely the seal - sounds like it's possibly perished. I know the bulb holders along with seals are readily available as replacement parts, but I'm unsure if the seals are available on their own. Try eBay - I was looking for a spare set up bulb holders a while ago and there were some new OEM ones for not much money.

Ash

[Jollus]

Cheers Ash, not a lot available on eBay as far as I could see. Most of the bulb holders don't come with seals or their mostly driver side ones which I don't need. I rang the stealer's and they say its £20 for the bulb holder unit with the seals included, seal kit (4 seals) available on its own for £9. I know there's a seal on the outter of the bulb holder and a seal on the rear where the electrics plug in but dont know where the other 2 seals are. I thought it was best to replace the bulb holder as-well as some of the electrical contact points are rusted from the water. Will let you know if the water returns when I get my replacement Wednesday!

[RUM4MO]

The extra seals will be to seal the car at the points where the fixings pass through.