Technical Water in Rear Passenger Side Light Plug Socket

[thomashassall]

Please help me!!

Water seems to have gotten in to the passenger side back lights unit and rusted the plug fitting itself and now I have no working indicator and brake lights on that side. Normal lights and night lights still light up, but no brake lights or indicator and when I try to use the lights I get the yellow bulb warning light and the indicator clicks and goes really fast. I have tried a little rust remover but to no avail.

Has this ever happened to anyone else? Any tips?

Also, any ideas on how much to repair/fix? It's going in for a service next week, will the add on be extortionate to fix it too?

Newbie to this forum! I have attached pictures. Thanks in advance.

 

[Andy Monty]

Contact cleaner aerosol and a metal pick or pin to scrape the rust back

Fill the plugs with silicone grease and get a new foam seal from fiat

 

[DrumRollChris]

This happened to me, just caused warning light to come on though, tried to fix is and the fast ticking came on with no lights working at all! After the panic subsided I got a small tool that is basically a small electric toothbrush with a bit of emery cloth attached to the end of it, few squirts of WD40 and 5 minutes brushing all the rust off the surface and hey presto! The attachment was tiny so it managed to fit all the way down the unit but try something along those lines

 

[thomashassall]

Contact cleaner aerosol and a metal pick or pin to scrape the rust back

Fill the plugs with silicone grease and get a new foam seal from fiat

Great! Thank you. Will try this. It's going in for a service next week and I don't want them to suggest it needs a new plug altogether if it's fixable! Cheers.

 

[thomashassall]

This happened to me, just caused warning light to come on though, tried to fix is and the fast ticking came on with no lights working at all! After the panic subsided I got a small tool that is basically a small electric toothbrush with a bit of emery cloth attached to the end of it, few squirts of WD40 and 5 minutes brushing all the rust off the surface and hey presto! The attachment was tiny so it managed to fit all the way down the unit but try something along those lines

Great, thank you. It has happened before then? I have some little tooth floss brushes that are pretty lethal so I might try something like that. Thank you for your help.

 

[Andy Monty]

Seen much worse. Don't goad scraping the contact cleaner should shift most of it.. Can be had in maplin or Halfords

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/...&productId=195717&categoryId=255223&langId=-1

http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/greases/0283404/

 

[neilduck]

I had the same issue this weekend!
I cleaned off all the rust using a mini file & fibreglass pen, then sprayed with contact cleaner & replaced all the bulbs on that side.
I found this helped, but I still had problems which was caused by the female contacts being out of position, I bent these back & problems solved
I removed all the water from the light cluster unit by using kitchen roll which soaked it up nicely.

I think it would be best if in the long term I replace the light unit & the connector.

Can anyone can suggest where to source the connector from?

 

[Andy Monty]

Best bet will probably be a scrap yard..... I think the plug will only come on a complete loom from fiat

 

[DrumRollChris]

Yeah happened before, the rear screenwash hose burst and the solution was leaking down from the top brake light, right down to the bottom of the boot! Rear light assembly was in the road down.

 

[Totos owner]

On a related note, do check the spare wheel well occasionally for water. The channel for water from the roof gutter is very narrow behind the tail lights and can get clogged by leaves/twigs or other debris. The water than builds up and finds its way into unintended areas. This could be what caused your problem as well. A blast of compressed air should do the trick. Alternatively something long and thin poked up from below should also work.

 

[thomashassall]

On a related note, do check the spare wheel well occasionally for water. The channel for water from the roof gutter is very narrow behind the tail lights and can get clogged by leaves/twigs or other debris. The water than builds up and finds its way into unintended areas. This could be what caused your problem as well. A blast of compressed air should do the trick. Alternatively something long and thin poked up from below should also work.

Great. Thank you. Will have a look.

 

[thomashassall]

Thanks for all the help, guys. And so quickly as well. Much appreciated.

 

[Andy Monty]

I take my lights out once or twice a year and clean behind them

 

[JimbbobW1977]

It's a common problem of the hose splitting and filling the cluster with water.

As mentioned electric contact cleaner including all the tracks in the light cluster as well as the socket it's self.

Dried mine out with a hair dryer.

 

[thomashassall]

Just to let you all know who offered help, I have now fixed it, and lights are working fine. Used some WD40 and gently scratched off the rust and brakes came back on but indicator did not. So I fiddled with the bulbs, took them out, back in, and hey presto. Perhaps they weren't seated properly. But all fixed, so hopefully it's ready for its service and MOT on Friday. Thanks again guys. Much appreciated.:slayer:

 

[Andy Monty]

Just to let you all know who offered help, I have now fixed it, and lights are working fine. Used some WD40 and gently scratched off the rust and brakes came back on but indicator did not. So I fiddled with the bulbs, took them out, back in, and hey presto. Perhaps they weren't seated properly. But all fixed, so hopefully it's ready for its service and MOT on Friday. Thanks again guys. Much appreciated.:slayer:

now blather all parts in silicone grease or you will be doing it again in a few months