Leaking/dirty rear lights

[ItsAnArse]

Hi all,

I've done some searching but haven't been able to find an answer. Basically the clear lenses on the rear lights have come away from the rest of the light along the bottom edge so the lens and lights are filthy, water can get in there.

I need to take them apart to clean and then reseal. If no one has any suggestions I'll be sure to put pictures up of my adventures :lol:

 

[red]

People have asked about splitting them to modify them, this post was made by a guy that started doing LED conversions on them.

They are put together using ultrasonic welding or some similar method so aren't actually bonded with adhesive so there isn't anything to actually heat/soften so they can be separated easily.
I have removed a few of them when I used to make LED lights so it is possible. I used a sharp knife and basically forced it round the joint to split it open. Some places would split well but others wouldn't come apart and resulted in splitting the actual fitting or worse, the front lense.
The second issue is getting them to seal again afterwards. I stuck them back together with TigerSeal which is a very strong but flexible sealant/bonding agent as it was the only thing that would actually stick them back together. As the mating edges are very thin/small you have to be careful that whatever you stick them together with doesn't squeeze in to the inside of the fitting.
Even when they did stick together, the heat the fittings absorbs in the sunshine makes them warp in the heat potentially breaking the seal and causing them to leak.

 

[ItsAnArse]

It went well to start with, got one done and cleaned fine. Then the second one was tough (boot lid key hole side) and I cracked the lens on the corner.

Pics soon.

 

[mmc757]

Most likely they are made of polycarbonate and the right answer would be a polycarbonate cement. There are a couple other plastics it might be (Primarily acrylic) so find a way to test the cement before committing to it.

 

[ItsAnArse]

Super glue seems to have done the job. The original glue (it does look like a glue) is quite thick and would suggest it's similar to good old AirFix model making polystyrene cement.

 

[ItsAnArse]

A few shots from the job

 

[yippeekiay]

:thumbs:

 

[red]

They certainly cleaned up nicely! Hopefully they seal well too.

 

[ItsAnArse]

Few weeks on, awful. Fogging up like my E36 headlights now

Grrr, need someone to manufacture new ones

 

[John Woodward]

There always seems to be some on Facebook, there's 3 Puma part's groups plus the Facebook marketplace.
You could also try some small sachets of Silica Gel, worked on headlight that kept getting condensation inside