Technical Condensation in Rear Light Cluster

[Andrew56]

Has anyone experienced and sucessfully cured condenation in a rear light cluster. The yellow indicator light shows the most visible condensation, but there is water at the bottom of the unit where the electrical connections to the bottom bulb are corroding.

My options seem to be:

1. Buy a new unit from Fiat (for £74.00)
2. Get one from a scrapyard (which may exhibit the same symptoms)
3. Drill a hole in the unit to let any water collecting out
4. Try to dry out the unit with say silica gel (not easy because of the way the internal parts are sealed). Then try to seal the unit against further water ingress. It is not clear how water is getting in, but I suspect it may be between the part holding the bulbs and the rest of the unit. Perhaps a smear of silicone sealant after screwing the 2 parts together, which would be removeable when future access is required to change a bulb.

I am favouring starting with option 4. The car is a 2006 1.2 Dynamic. Does anyone have any comments?

Andrew

 

[johnlad27]

I experienced the same problem last night, had around two inches of water in the rear light. Again like you pointed out the options, I think I'm going to put the abarth rear lights in, £99 for both sides.

 

[Andy Monty]

This the passenger side by any chance?

 

[Andrew56]

It is the passenger (near side) Andy. I have quickly looked for leaking rear wash wipe tube - and there is no obvious issue. I will examine this in more detail later when the car is dry. In my case when the boot is opened water on the rear screen tends to drain into that area due to a slight camber on my drive.

James

 

[johnlad27]

This the passenger side by any chance?

Yes mine is the passenger side, the bottom section is filled with water whilst condensation is forming in the above two sections, especially the indicator. Why what's the problem Andy?

 

[Andy Monty]

As Andrew says look take the rear cluster out totally and strip it as if you was changing a bulb (see guides section)

then close the boot lid with the cluster removed and get a friend to opperate the rear wash wipe

stick your finger in the hole and feel for running water or extra dampness

it could be the washer hose has burst above where it goes into the boot water runs down the loom and into the rear cluster

 

[johnlad27]

I took the cluster out today, drained the water out and check everything over. There was no water coming in from the hole for the connector. But inside the left hand side of the boot, behind the carpet, so I'm guessing that it's the hose as I don't get water onto the rear screen very much. Will investigate at weekend more. If the hose is split what bore size is it?, same as washer jet hose at front?.

 

[matty seasider]

get some gold fish in there lad lol

 

[johnlad27]

**** off you

 

[Andrew56]

Andy - I think you are pointing us in the right direction - Thanks.

Difficult to tell in the dark, but there is some slight indication of damp under the left hand side boot carpet - testing with a dry tissue. My rear washer works OK - but I did wonder a few days ago if the pressure had slightly changed - but then concluded I was imagining it!

Sounds as if the fix may be difficult. I saw your post describing the non standard tubing - and a repair assumes one can reach the relevant area. The tubing under my bonnet is very tight -so I doubt there will be an excess in the tailgate area.

Will let you know how I get on.

Andrew56

 

[Andy Monty]

it is a total pain as its wrapped within the loom

im not sure on the bore of the pipe but it is small (been ages since mine split)


if i was to repair it again i would have the boot carpet and lining out ((dont forget your spare wheel well will probably be swimming))

then try and source some kind of connector

either this type



or these



you can get them really small we have a few at work
http://www.johnguest.co.uk/Home/app...o-tube-Fittings/EQUAL-STRAIGHT-CONNECTOR.aspx
with the bottom fitting you just need to know the outer bore of the pipe

then what i would do personally is get some more hose from a industrial hose supplier

then cut the old hose in the boot where you can get to it tape the new hose to it securely.......

then pop the cream trim of and with a friend pull the new hose through into the cabin of the car you will need to unwrap the loom where it goes through the flexi hose between the boot and the car ((i used fabric sticking plaster tape to re wrap since i was desperate at the time


then between you carefully draw (pull) the hose into the car

next cut the hose in the car square and shove on a push fit connector at each end to join in the new bit of hose



Other options could be micro irrigation hose and fittings from a garden centre

 

[johnlad27]

Thanks so much andy. Gonna go down to Mike the pipe, makes brake hoses, pipes etc, so he'll probably have some kind of connector.

 

[matty seasider]

Thanks so much andy. Gonna go down to Mike the pipe, makes brake hoses, pipes etc, so he'll probably have some kind of connector.

mike the pipe?hahaha cool name wheres he at? silicone street?

 

[Andy Monty]

Just a tip to prevent water marks inside the cluster when you dry it out rinse out well with tap water to remove any screen wash residue. then shake well to remove most of the water.

Then rinse a couple of times using demineralised water eg battery top up

The pure residue free water will cart most impuritys out then dry leaving nothing behind

 

[matty seasider]

Just a tip to prevent water marks inside the cluster when you dry it out rinse out well with tap water to remove any screen wash residue. then shake well to remove most of the water.

Then rinse a couple of times using demineralised water eg battery top up

The pure residue free water will cart most impuritys out then dry leaving nothing behind

asda have an offer on demin water at mo, carplan 2.5ltr bottle...£1...bargain

 

[TallTom]

I also had my washer pipe split in my car, same conditions.

Was diagnosed with Tom91 while he was replacing the washer pump for me anyway.

In the end we put an air hose pressure down the line and split the pipe where the weakness/leak was and then we got an old piece of brake pipe (short length 1-2 inches) and heat gunned the rubber for short time till it went soft, then pushed the brake pipe up the end of it. Rubber cooled and made a perfect seal about 1-2cm long (we had rounded the edges of the pipe to make it easy to slip into the washer pipe)

No more problems and my washers now work properly!

 

[Andrew56]

An update on my original post. Thanks to Andy the problem has been diagnosed as a faulty rear wash tube - and I have caught the problem at the slightly damp carpet rather than spare wheel well full of water stage! And following the helpful tips in this thread I have washed out the rear light cluster, dried it as best I can - and it is now reasonably condensation free.

But as for the split hose - it is so wrapped up in the loom I cannot easily locate the split - and getting another tube through will be very difficult. I guess it only needs to run amongst the loom in the flexi connector between boot and car. I assume the cloth around the loom is for protection? Andy - in your original post about your severed tubing you say it is a size for which neither the tubing or connectors were stocked by your local motor factors - so I guess sourcing replacements and/or connectors may be difficult.

I will remove the top rear brake light tomorrow and check the size of the tube, and see what I can obtain - otherwise book it in with the local fiat dealer.

By the way there are often comments on this forum about the lack of a Haynes Manual for the GP. Could one of the reasons be facilities such as this forum provide much of the information previously found in these manuals - and furthermore it current and based upon real experiences.

Andrew56

 

[TallTom]

When me and Tom Fixed mine he commented that vacuum hose would be a good fit and with connectors would be easier. I will try and get a picture of mine at the weekend

 

[johnlad27]

Andrew I fixed my yesterday. The split in my hose was in that grey rubber tubing in top left of boot. If you take either end of the tubing out and you be able to see the tube in question. I gave it a pull and it had already snapped hence water in the light travelling down the loom etc. So I got some hose from a hydraulics warehouse nearby, I then split that hose down the centre roughly 1" so that gave me room to work with and it still be inside the cover. So I used the hose and pushed it tightly over the old hose on both ends, like a sleeve. I used some extremely sticky glue as a lubricant until it set, then it gave a good firm bond on each end. Then wrapped the grey tubing in insulation tape As that's all I had, so loads of that and rear washer now works like before. Tubing cost 50p, so very cheap fix. In fact I've got some left, if your anywhere nearby Blackpool you can have the remainder for free. Hope that helps mate.

 

[Andrew56]

Andrew I fixed my yesterday.

Glad you got your fixed. Thanks for the offer of some tube, but I am some distance away in Sussex.

I removed my top rear brake light to check tube size. This was very difficult as it didn't seem to want to budge but eventually shifted - and I found the internal bore of the tube was 3mm.

(As a aside my brake light was only held by one clip - the other was broken off. Never removed the light before and had the car from new. Perhaps this has contributed to my "water in the tailgate syndrome".

Found a motor factors who could supply 3mm bore washer tube, but surprisingly no straight joining connectors in their range. Instead got a 3 way connector and a bung to close off the unwanted opening.

So if tomorrow is dry I hope to replace the pipe from the cabin to the rear brake light. (Unsure where the actual split is because tube is in middle of loom - and in my case it is leaking, with just reduced pressure from the washer rather than being a clean split)

Has the freezing weather over the past month split these tubes?

Andrew56