car help?

[AbsolutChaos]

Hey guys~

Just wondering if any of you have any experience with condensation in car tail lights...my car has that problem. I found out about the condensation when I failed my yearly safety inspection. The guy I talked to at the inspection place suggested removing the taillights and wiping them out--but I don't know how to do that. I also went online and read that this is a common problem with my type of car, and it probably just requires a re-sealing to prevent reoccurence.

Just wanted to see if any of you have any experience with this and can teach me how to do it--it's either that or spend an obscene amount of money (that I don't really have right now) to get the whole back tail lights replaced.

I need to get it done soon, since my inspection is now overdue, so any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance...

[pzarquon]

Re: car help?

To pass your inspection quickly, presumably the "open and wipe dry" solution is the best one in the short term.

What kind of car do you have? Most light assemblies are relatively simple to open, because you'd have to change the light bulbs occasionally. If you're lucky, inside your trunk, perhaps behind a thin carpeted panel, you'll see the back of the taillamp assembly and some big ol' wingnuts. If you're not lucky, it may take more digging, and perhaps a screwdriver or small wrench to open.

If your taillamp assembly isn't designed to open, though (for example, you can only pull out the bulb from behind), drying the interior may be a bit more complicated. You could just pull out the bulb, leave the trunk open, and leave your car parked in the sun one afternoon... and just be sure to get your safety inspection soon after putting everything back, else the moisture will return when things cool or after the next rain.

[AbsolutChaos]

Re: car help?

I have a '97 Acura Integra. It's a 2-door hatchback. There's some kind of plastic piece covering the inside of the trunk where I think the tail lights housing is. I presume I'll have to remove that. There are some kind of plastic round pieces that don't resemble wing nuts, but perhaps it's under this plastic piece?

I called over to Acura and talked to their parts department; they have the extra seals that I need to replace for a long-term fix. I'm gonna go ahead and buy them as these are supposedly the last two, and otherwise it will have to be back ordered. Then maybe I can shop around and find somebody to do it for cheaper, because the dealer of course charges a fortune and has inconvenient hours.

[Linkmeister]

Re: car help?

I have a '97 Acura Integra. It's a 2-door hatchback. There's some kind of plastic piece covering the inside of the trunk where I think the tail lights housing is. I presume I'll have to remove that. There are some kind of plastic round pieces that don't resemble wing nuts, but perhaps it's under this plastic piece?

That would be my bet. My 84 T-bird had similar plastic whatsits within the hubcaps, complete with phony lug nuts. I had a flat once and couldn't figure out why the lug nuts didn't do anything when I was trying to turn them with my lug wrench. The AAA guy showed up and pried off the phony cover in order to get access to the real things.

[pzarquon]

Re: car help?

Yeah, those round pieces could be covering the screws or nuts, and just be simple cosmetic plugs that pop out, giving you access to whatever you need to mess with (if anything) to get that overall cover off.

I Googled and found several aftermarket taillamp assemblies for the 1997 Acura Integra. Like most such assemblies, they look fairly modular and easy to remove/replace. I just hope you can get "inside" to where the moisture is... though I expect they also dry out on their own eventually, weather permitting.

[lurkah]

Re: car help?

As a temporary fix for the immediate need of passing that safety inspection, other online solutions recommend removing the lightbulb socket from the taillight assembly (what you'd need to do in the future for changing out any burned out bulbs) and using a handheld hair dryer to blow heated air into the tailight cavity to help evaporate whatever condensation is left. Once the safety inspection is taken care of, you can then replace those expensive gaskets that you just purchased, but also while you're at it, visually inspect the taillight assemblies for seams (or heat cracks) where moisture might possibly get in and then carefully seal those areas (disposable surgical gloves work well for this ) using clear silicone sealer available just about anywhere, including your favorite Longs Drugs store.

[AbsolutChaos]

Re: car help?

Thanks for all the help and advice. I hope to institute some of your suggestions as soon as I can.