Tom Perkins

Evening all,

I have a 2005 3.0TDI A8 SWB. I bought the car a few months ago and there was moisture gathering in the drivers side rear lights (both of them).

A few weeks ago I removed both, dried thoroughly and then re-sealed really well using silicone sealant. The sealing gaskets (if that's the right term) seemed to be in good condition on both lights. I then re-installed and re-stuck and sealed up the black cover panel that sits on the side of the boot lid channel (the one where the strut sits) to try to avoid any more moisture getting in.

When I removed the lights they were working fine and when I re-fitted and tested they all worked fine.

We're now a few (very wet) weeks on and the outer drivers rear light has gathered a little moisture again (god knows how) and the indicator has now stopped working.

Any ideas on the next steps? Is there any fixes for this (maybe taking apart and something to do with contact cleaner and dielectric grease?) or does it need replacement?

If it does need to be replaced, is it worth paying out for Audi, or used on eBay, or maybe even replacing LED's as I've seen on another thread (although this is probably way beyond my skill set).

Any thoughts appreciated,

Thanks in advance,

Tom

Dan McBoost

hey Tom.

I have a set of outside rear lights that are not perfect, but all of the LEDs boards are all good. I have them since my inners were falling apart and after replacing the insides, the outsides did not match, so I bought a set of mint outsides used.

I was saving them since the electronics were still good, but if yours are shot, I would sell the left and right outsides together (not splitting them) for $100 plus like $10-15 for shipping.

Tom Perkins

Thanks for the offer Dan but I'm located in the UK, presumably that makes shipping too expensive?

Roman Bashirov

I had same problem with right corner light. I take + - from output of board in left tail light and soldered it to right.
If you also want to clear errors on cluster - I can help you.

byablun

I have the same problem on my 2005 audi a6. Most likely the same lights. I have moister in mine and my rear lights only don't work sometimes when it's freezing outside. I've read on how to fix it without replacing it since we have to replace the whole light which sucks. I was told disconnect the lights and spray some electrical spray in the connection and reconnect. Should fix the problem. I still haven't taken mine apart since I haven't had the problem come up again since it got nice outside.

chokboywonda

I have some lights that are damaged but I'm sure the insides work fine pm me for my number and we'll sort something out

Tom Perkins

Thanks for the suggestion Roman, I've gone ahead and ordered a new replacement since I need to drive the car and don't have time to try to modify the internals. My electrical skills are severely lacking so probably the safer option anyhow.

Do you still have moisture getting into your modified lights?

Tom Perkins

Thanks for the offer but I've gone ahead and bought a new replacement unit.

Are your rear lights now sorted (i.e. no moisture getting in)?

chokboywonda

My problem on these were one had a crack in it and the other one would not fit due to the bit that holds it into the car had snapped off so that little ball could not sit in and hold it tight to the car if I remember correctly. I kept them for spar parts.