Moisture in altezza tail lights

KrissyKCMU · Post by **KrissyKCMU** » May 4th, 2006, 6:07 pm

I've got moisture in my altezza tail lights. I've been reading through some of the posts and some say seal the tail lights and some say drill holes in them, which one works the best and which one should i do? Thanks

Bochek · Post by **Bochek** » May 4th, 2006, 6:45 pm

if theres moisture in them, then drill holes, i assumme, otherwize seal them to prevent moitsure from getting in.

Bochek

neutral · Post by **neutral** » May 4th, 2006, 6:52 pm

I have that prob with one of mine. Planning on removing the assembly, getting the lens off by heating the sealant with a hair dryer, then resealing. I don't trust the hole drilling idea fwiw.

mxmaz · Post by **mxmaz** » May 4th, 2006, 6:52 pm

Wouldnt drilling holes allow more moisture to get in? I guess it would allow moisture to drain, but not all of it. Personally i would take them apart and clean off the old silicone and then reseal them with some new silicone.

Joey's mx · Post by **Joey's mx** » May 9th, 2006, 8:14 pm

drill holes...did you ever notice stock headlights and taillights have breather holes in them?? They are there so the lights can breathe!! air has to be able to get in between the lens!!

solo_ryder · Post by **solo_ryder** » May 9th, 2006, 11:01 pm

You can try that, also if you are ina hurry to get the moisture out put them ontop of a dryer vent for the night. or youy can try to reseal them.

Bochek · Post by **Bochek** » May 9th, 2006, 11:12 pm

ooo i so got the answer to this one, put one of thoes silica jell packs that you get in shipping materials.

you know, the ones that are there to absorb moisture.

that should do it.

Bochek

Jacbs2007 · Post by **Jacbs2007** » May 9th, 2006, 11:16 pm

Dehumidifiers work great for getting the moisture out. I did that with mine awhile back but never got around to resealing them.

KrissyKCMU · Post by **KrissyKCMU** » June 23rd, 2006, 6:44 pm

Drilling holes in the bottom worked, Thanks.

Grants · Post by **Grants** » June 24th, 2006, 7:17 am

Well done Krissy. Unfortunately there wasn't any replys that actually said what to do to help you. Just a lot of guesses. Glad it worked out for you just the same!

* Note for future - "drill hole in bottom". [/quote]

coolshyguyhere · Post by **coolshyguyhere** » June 25th, 2006, 12:57 am

i got the same problem with mine i think i am goig to do the same thing as she did

KrissyKCMU · Post by **KrissyKCMU** » June 25th, 2006, 1:11 pm

It worked good for me, it took a few days though for it to completely clear up. If they were really bad, like mine, and you wanted quicker results, I used a hairdryer where I drilled the holes.

jschrauwen · Post by **jschrauwen** » June 26th, 2006, 2:06 am

Joey's mx wrote:drill holes...did you ever notice stock headlights and taillights have breather holes in them?? They are there so the lights can breathe!! air has to be able to get in between the lens!!

True, but if I remember correctly, I don't think the altezza's have the small 90 degree rubber vent tube that's present on the front and rear lights of the OEM units.

KrissyKCMU wrote:It worked good for me, it took a few days though for it to completely clear up. If they were really bad, like mine, and you wanted quicker results, I used a hairdryer where I drilled the holes.

Now that all of the moisture is out, I would recommend that you try a complete sealing around the altezza's. I used a silicone on a very hot day and just let it wick it's way around the seam by slowmly rotatiing and adding new silicone as you go. A bit of a tediuos process, but once done you should never see any more fogging issues. I did mine last summer outside during one of our hotter days and it helped greatly to keep the silicone in a more fluid state to get it to flow all around the seam. If the drilled holes and the seam is not resealed I think you may still encounter more fogging. But you can always test that theory next time at the car wash.

ninjajim4 · Post by **ninjajim4** » June 26th, 2006, 8:31 pm

maybe the car washes north of the border have weaker water pressue or something, but i could NOT get a good seal for the life of me with silicone, with two sets of altezazas. i drilled some holes across the bottom too and have not seen a hint of fog for months now, which is completely unprecedented.

i will have to snap some pictures, but i drilled holes across the bottom, on the black backing part, not the clear lens, so it's well away from being exposed.

ariesdude · Post by **ariesdude** » June 27th, 2006, 2:06 am

ninjajim4 wrote:i drilled some holes across the bottom too and have not seen a hint of fog for months now, which is completely unprecedented.

Its actually logical - because sealing them would just trap the atmospheric humidity inside the lights and they would fog up again and again - drilling holes is like opening the window a tiny bit on a rainy day to get rid of windshield fog.