Water in tail lights (indicator housing)

Xter21

Member
 Herts
Hi guys,

Basically, my driver’s side rear indicator housing has been collecting rain for a while now. After a few months of English weather, it was almost half full!

I’ve noticed that the passenger side has started to develop this issue as well, so I have dried out both sides completely, repositioned the lights and made sure to tighten up the bolts to make a good seal. The seals don’t seem to have deteriorated, but I’m not an expert, however.

Now, we’ve had some rain in the past few days and the passenger side is as it should be - not a drop, but the driver’s side has some water in it, again.

In this picture, you can see that there is a notable gap between the main body and the piece surrounding the tail light. It sits quite flush with the light on the passenger side. However, I don’t think it’d help even if it was as close to the main body as possible, because there are crevaces where rain water runs down and eventually drips on top of the seal.

BA688CF0-9575-4A2D-8C82-B3408F067F2F.jpeg

I was thinking of applying some sealant gel to close all the gaps and stop the water draining there altogether, but decided to ask what you guys think first!

Has anyone had this problem before? Did you try and replace the seals? Btw, mine’s an E85 facelift.

07A27C7C-9542-4BB0-916B-8307A3308FA6.jpeg

You can just about see the seal through the gap without taking the assembly out.

5618F869-2096-45B3-8AA9-0AEB2E1E80E0.jpeg
 
Double check your tail lamp isn't cracked.

https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=119014
 
Hey Doddsy, thanks for the suggestion. I did check this and couldn’t see any cracks. I’ve applied another layer of a few mm thick adhesive tape round the unit to make a better seal. Seems to be fine for now, but will need some heavy rain to know for sure!
 
No bother. Just thought I would mention it as both my lamp units cracked and one was only on the car 6 months supplied new from the dealer.
 
I have this issue on my passenger side :rofl:
No idea what it is right now, but I assumed it was the foam not being sealed tight enough to the body? There is no other entry point for the water (unless the light unit shell has been compromised in some way). Interesting what you suggest about the light surround, I will check mine later today and see whether my right side v. left side have any noticeable differences. The surround can be moved if required, so if you feel its contributing to water ingress you can always move the surrounds to close "the gap". Will also check for any cracks, again hadn't though of this!
 
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