2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10
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2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10 F10 Technical Topics Wash, Wax, Detailing and Cosmetic protection/repairs Tail lights - water seal? construction?
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      11-15-2021, 06:48 AM   #1
Surly73
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Tail lights - water seal? construction?

Just wondering if anyone has any hard data on how F10 LED taillights are constructed and sealed? I know that lots of bad thinking is out there on the Internet about moisture in lights but I can't tell exactly how these are assembled, nor can I find an opening that looks like a vent of any kind. More details:

I have a pair of Euro-spec amber turn signal tail lights I purchased second hand that I really like (for whatever reason, I feel turn signals should always be amber). One of them seems to take on water sometimes. The rubber seal between the body and the light seems fine, and isn't an ingress point anyways, but water gets inside the housing and is very hard to drive out since there are no removable bulbs or any other ports to open.

I *thought* I had found that one of the plastic welds along the top had gone bad and thought I had a permanent fix - I purchased some thin CA glue and ran it along the top plastic seam (the actual outer lens, not the interface between the lens and the grey rear cover) and I saw it wick into the plastic and "go clear" along the suspect area. It was fine for two years I think, but it's got moisture in it again now.

I'm not sure if this is a "baked" assembly like, for instance, E39 headlights and to separate the two halves you have to bake it in an oven and it will let go? There should be vents, and maybe they're plugged (or filled in by a misguided previous owner trying to fix the leak) but I can't locate anything that is a vent for sure.

Anyone done any work on taillights and know anything specific?
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      12-19-2021, 02:52 PM   #2
laserman2431
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I think they're sealed
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