S2000 Under The Hood S2000 Technical and Mechanical discussions.

Water in Tail Light Housing

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Old Mar 5, 2006 | 09:40 PM
  #1  
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Default Water in Tail Light Housing

Somehow water got into my tail light housing. If I park my car outside during the day whatever water is in there evaporates from the bottom and clouds the whole enclosure. The tail light fogs up like the mirror in your bathroom after a hot shower. I don't know how the water got in there, but it is not escaping. I have a evaporation/ condensation cycle going in the one tail light. Please advise me on how to correct this problem.
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Old Mar 5, 2006 | 09:44 PM
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i actually have the same thing going on with my tail light. Do you have it in both housings or just one side. Mine is the left tail light.

Anyone else know what to do about this?
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Old Mar 5, 2006 | 09:48 PM
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Only way to solve this problem is to get the water to fully evaporate and then find out where the leak is coming from...

To get them to fully evaporate, remove the tail light and place it insde near a sunny window with the sockets facing upwards. Give it 24 hours and it should be clear.

Now to find the leak, thats the hard part
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Old Mar 6, 2006 | 10:46 AM
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I had the same problem with my 02. Just one side but I was afraid the second one wasnt far behind.

The dealer replaced both under warranty!
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Old Mar 6, 2006 | 11:40 AM
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What about just putting them in the oven and opening them up, clean them, then re-seal them good?
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Old Mar 6, 2006 | 11:40 AM
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how about getting some of the things that come in new pill bottles and new wallets. the packets that say "do not eat" tie some strings on them and leave them in there for a few hours in the sun. then compression test it at very low psi.
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Old Mar 6, 2006 | 11:45 AM
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Howdy do Andrew. You have a leak in your tail light gasket. If your cheap like me you can remove the tail light and dry it out. It may seal it may not. So first attempt:

1) Open the trunk and gain access to the light. Honda uses three types of connectors to hold down the lining. Most likely your model will use "A" or "B" The A's look like a large button and can easily be pried out. The"B's" are smaller and look like a button within a button. You need to pull up the inner button first. Then the whole will come out. I know this sounds confusing but it will be readily apparent when you open the trunk and check out the fasteners (by the way he 3rd type holds the spare tire cover trim-you'll seethe difference).

2)Access now being gained you will find 4 nuts and four connecters (2 and 2). Remove the nuts and pull te tail light slightly out. Then squeeze the connectors to remove them (don't just pull on them as they are locking). A quick look will tell you what needs to be pushd on to disengage.

3) Now is where the 2 choices come in.......
You will find a gasket that fits between the metal car and the plastic tail light. Examine it for rips or tears. You may even be able to see the original leak path(sometimes they get kinked at the factory as they are paper). If the gasket is OK then simply take the light into the house and let it dry (or a sunny window as previously mentioned). Once dry it can be returned and snugged into place using the four nuts. If however the gasket is damaged then it shoud be replaced.

4) The gasket for a 2002 rear tail light is shown in Illustration 15 of the Honda parts guide. It is available from Majestic Honda (1-800-341-4113) and will cost you $9.17. The specific part number is 433360.

5) When reinstalling make sure the surfaces are smooth and free of crud.

Utah
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Old Mar 8, 2006 | 03:35 PM
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Thank you all for your input. I will put on my detective hat and do some investigating this weekend.

Thanks again for sharing your wisdom.

Andrew
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