Tuesday, June 24, 2008 - 10:02 am, by: Karen Farmer(Angel_wings)
Hi Guys Im hoping to get some help.. due to a crack in my left tail light, iv been getting alot of water in it. Over the weekend i swapped the lights to the black altezza lights, hoping the problem would stop. Washed the car.. and more presto..moisture!! So the seals are screwed.. My question is do i need to pull them apart, clean and reseal? I heard with the headlights you can drill small holes in the bottom to drain any water. Can this be done with rear lights also? Didnt want to just go ahead with it in case i cracked them! Thanks
Tuesday, June 24, 2008 - 05:53 pm, by: Evan Kaio(Knave)
Karen, Swap your tail lights back to the old ones and put your alteezas in a warm dry place, (hot water cupboard) for a couple of days. Also check to see if the rubber seals are ok where the lamps fit in.Do both tail lights have moisture in them?Please DON'T drill holes in the new alteezas.I have to say that I was worried about the moisture problem, so I left my Soarer outside in the rain for a couple of days. No moisture.Hope things work out. Keep us posted.
Peter Nitschke Junk Filterer South Australia UZZ30 UZZ31
Wednesday, June 25, 2008 - 01:11 am, by: Mat Bonser(Bonza87)
Karen, I bought a set of altezza tail lights too. Found that they absorb water due to dodgy seals.
Your best bet is to have a crack at them with a heat gun, pry them apart and dry it all off, then have a good go with some water resistant silicon to reseal the lights they way they should have been done in the first place.
Damn all this shoddy workmanship popping up at the moment... It's getting harder and harder to find good quality products considering what you have to pay for em
Wednesday, June 25, 2008 - 06:14 am, by: Matthew Sharpe(Madmatt)
Most of those ricer lights seem to leak like the titanic. I've seen several cars this winter (mostly riced out Honda's) driving around with water actually sloshing around in them. Classy.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008 - 10:55 am, by: Kyle Wathen(Cspot)
Peter Nitschke wrote on Tuesday, June 24, 2008 - 06:54 pm:
Curious that new lights do it too.
The Altezza’s are just another cheap aftermarket product from China, quality wouldn’t be their main selling point
I have a set too although they are the non candy-cane style that were purchased in the latest group buy, so might be from a different manufacturer. Mine leaked on two occasions – once in heavy rain and the other time at a car wash.
Although I just installed them as soon as I got them and when I read the instruction manual for them later, it actually said to put sealant around all the seals before installing.
So I would advise people do this before installing.
Mat Bonser wrote on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 - 01:11 am:
It's getting harder and harder to find good quality products considering what you have to pay for em
I’m finding that most products are getting cheaper as the big brands try to compete with all the crap quality stuff being pumped out of China.
My light (only one) was leaking as well, I toke it out put it in the oven at 50 degrades for about 6 hours, used clear silicon on the upper half of the lights, after that no leaks.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008 - 05:22 pm, by: Karen Farmer(Angel_wings)
haha i know alot of people dont like the altezza's but i think they look great personally so im wanting to keep them. Just going to have to pull it apart and dry, then reseal i guess. I got them off the most recent group buy from Rob.
Most of them will leak, so I suggest that to silicon them before wash or rain. I don't think you need to pull them apart (I didn't and they work fine).
Monday, June 30, 2008 - 02:10 pm, by: Karen Farmer(Angel_wings)
Ok so i will be resealing the lights on wednesday. The left one has ALOT of moisture in it, the right only a tiny bit. So best way to go about this without pulling the lights apart, will be to put it in the oven at 50 degrees for a few hours? This will dry all the moisture up without damaging the light at all? And then to reseal, what is the best stuff to use? Brand and name of the sillicon stuff. Thanks
Monday, June 30, 2008 - 06:12 pm, by: Evan Kaio(Knave)
Karen, Try to avoid sticking them brand new alteeza's in the oven. There is too much temptation to turn up the temperature. Stick em in the hot water cupboard over night.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008 - 11:07 am, by: Adam Lonergan(Alchemistal)
If your domestic hot water system is installed inside your house, typically it's in a cupboard and often the radiant heat is utilised to dry clothes inside the same enclosure or a neighbouring one.
Don Bagnall Moderator New Zealand Mercedes Benz SLK230 Kompressor
Wednesday, July 02, 2008 - 12:38 pm, by: Peter Nitschke(Pen)
The thing is, it really needs air flow to evaporate the water out properly. I used a hair dryer through one of the lamp sockets and the moist air could exit through one of the other sockets. Note, low heat or cool only setting for the hair dryer.
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