Water in my tail light?

[davecoon13]

So about a month ago I noticed some water droplets on the inside of my left quarter mounted taillight. Now there is 1" of water sloshing around in there, and we haven't even had much of any rain. I have looked online at several junkyards to see if I can find another taillgiht assembly. From what I can tell there is no crack in the lens. My right side lens has a small crack but no water inside it.

Is there a good way to get the water out without replacing the light? Because I have the ARE Cap, I think I have to remove the ARE cap before removing the lens assembly.

If I take the light out and drain it and dry it, is there a way I can seal the openings with silicone or something to prevent reinfiltration of the water?

[YBajaSteve]

well I can tell you the light slides straight back, so hopefully u shouldnt have to remove the ARE, but thats just hoping since Ive never owned a cap. Water sometimes gets into light housings because there is something clogging the path the water is supposed to flow, maybe u have some junk around the housing? I can show u the back of the housing, theres not many places water would get in. Lemmme go get a pic.

[YBajaSteve]

its really sealed off, maybe one of ur lights isnt sitting in the correct position and its letting water in?

i would definetly try drying it out and then just making sure its installed correctly with the bulbs all nice and snug, before buying a new one!

[davecoon13]

Hey Steve, I see you sold your Baja, did you get a decent price? Are you still in Northern Virginia? Maybe I could hire you to do the blue dash conversion on mine.

When I had to replace a bulb before on the other side, I had to remove the ARE because it puts too much downward pressure on the light to slide it out easily. The cheapest junkyard price I found online was $85 with shipping. The dealer wants $160 for a new one. I hope I can just drain it out in time for the safety inspection. Then I don't care if it gets water inside it again. I just need to make sure it is dry before freezing weather strikes or the lens will definitely crack.

[YBajaSteve]

yeah i got what i was asking for pretty much. Im very happy with the sale. yeah im still around NoVA till the end of Oct, id be willing to help ya do your dash if you really wanted! its a quick job. Oh and yeah those taillights are really tight on there, even without the cap, ive thought there was no way i was going to pull it out, but then after working it a little while, i got it. maybe urs are just super tight on there too? and i definitely agree about having that water freeze, it would be done.

[davecoon13]

My wife backed into something and cracked the other tail light so now I am gonna be replacing both this weekend. Local salvage yards had no Bajas. I found a website called
http://www.car-part.com/ which searches places nationwide and you can even compare prices.

If you order the lights from the dealer, the trim is unpainted, so I wanted a Silver donor vehicle to match my trim. I found one light in California and one in Nebraska or Oklahoma, and they were shipped to me. I have them ready to install.

[davecoon13]

I installed them both last weekend without issue. And I did *NOT* have to remove the ARE thank goodness.

replaced the lens, bulbs, and complete assembly for the one with water in it. Those bulbs were tight. I had taken the car in for a safety inspection, and the garage replaced one of the bulbs on that one, but evidently the did it crooked, causing the rubber seal around the bulb to not be tight and I think that is how water got in. Anyhow, that lens is now ruined and stained. I have 2 new taillights.