greginfinity

Old thread bump time! I just noticed I have condensation in the reverse light section of the trunk lid light (drivers side, clear part). There may be some condensation in the rest of the light too but it is hard to tell. Has anyone successfully re-sealed a light housing? Just let it be until it dies and get a new one? Thanks!

aTOMic

I did mine (inner drivers side) last fall. The whole top had warped 2-3mm away from the housing. Poured out the water, let it sit out in the 100 degree sun, epoxied, reinstalled. Now the clear parts look like their days are numbered though, cracks spreading (been there for years, though).
-Tom

greginfinity

I had water in my inner rear brake lights too and just took them out now. When I got it off the car, I tipped it upside down and water came pouring out the top. As I hunted down the source of the leak, I discovered that the whole outer portion of the light was coming off. With delicate prying, the whole thing came off. There is still some condensation in the reverse light, not sure where that came from specifically but I am going to let it dry out. I will attempt to seal it back up, and will let you all know how it goes!

greginfinity

So after letting the unit sit in front of the dehumidifier for a day, and then application of Scigrip 16 (formerly Weld-on 16), the unit is as good as new! We will see how it holds up, but that solvent bond seems incredibly strong.

crm297

I had this problem and I managed to find a reasonably priced second hand unit to replace it.

It was a bitch to fit. There are three nuts on the back of the unit that adjust how far the light unit is held away from the tailgate. I suspect that if these are not properly adjusted the pressure on the plastic light units will crack them around the edge, thus causing the fogging. I spent around 2 hours trying to get everything lined up so that the edges of the unit were not touching anything.

Then, while comparing the panel gaps with the light unit on the other side of the car I noticed it had started to fog as well. Grrrr...

Not wanting to go through the whole process again I tried something different. I removed the light unit and made 3 small drain drain holes in the underside to allow the water to drain out, which it quickly did. I then sealed up the edges of the lens with some clear silicone sealant. It may not last for ever but it has done 6 months so far. There is slight fogging sometimes, weather dependant, but it is way better than before, the lights work fine, and the repair cannot be seen.

Bigbottlebob

Well, one of the "fog resistant" lights has failed as well. (18 mo and 5 k miles after install) and 5 LEDS are no longer functioning.
Audi will not warranty as it has been > 12 months, so they quoted $750 to replace (probably with another leaking POS light assembly)

There should have been a TSB on this long ago.