carmis

Forgive me as I don't know how to search well in forums. This has been asked many times I'm sure, hoping for a simple fix! Last night as I walked to my '02 TL in the commuter lot, when I used the remote start, I noticed my drivers side was completely out. Pulled away the cowl (covering and yanked the burnt clear bulb, which was in the lower fixture/hole which would illuminate the Red light, if anythin closest to the drivers side. The bulb above it I assumed would illuminate the reverse light/glass. I get a pack of Two bulbs from my auto zone down the street (this is 8:45pm, they closed at 9:00pm)Whew! I'm done, right? ??? NEGATIVE! ! I tale a look at the other 2 remaining inner bulbs,upper and lower (closer to where the trunk latch is ) they are wet. I had forgotten when I bought the car, that It leaked water occasionally into the trunk, just above the housing. Yeah, I know, here it comes. .... so long ago (2+ years) I had wedged the rubber stripping with a plastic shopping bag somehow, into the gap, to keep the water out. (I can see you all shaking your heads, smirking at me, worse off, I deserve it!) and for about 2 years it worked! Hence, my forgetting about it. So the plastic housing, the bulbs are wet (we had 2+ days of a Noreaster up in NY earlier in the week)
yet, the filaments inside the remaining bulbs are still connected, with not even a sign of burnout or singeding. I run back into the Auutozone, they gave me a packet (like a handi-wipe) of bulb grease , told me to dry it out, then apply the grease and I should be fine.
I don't have a garage, and before I go out in the cold and take a hair dryer and cloth to it. , I simply wanted to check with you pro''s if you think will do the trick, and if not, what would you recommend be the next course of action. PS, I have a "multimeter/power/circuit " box/tool, but haven't a clue (obviously ) how to use it. So before I embarrass myself and go to my mechanic, I'm all ears! Always Grateful,
Carmis

carmis

Top Photo shows the below.described gap. Bottom photo shows passenger side lights with no gap.
Fixed IT! (SORT OF)
replaced bulb, everything was fine, except my water issue. As I was having difficulty replacing the trunk liner, I went to my mechanic,backed the car into his garage to show him how proud I was to fix iyt. after talking fir 10 minutes another mechanic on the other side of the garage yells out " Hey Carmi, toy know your tail light is out" lTurns out that lower bulb and housing was wet as well (felt dry the night before?!) Now I realize I have a gap between the trunk hood and the housing. the hard plastic liner doesn't fully cover the gap,(I will assume from the fender bender the previous owner had) hence all the water entering , so much in fact, I had to remove the bulb housings and sick out 4 mouthfulls of rain water that was sitting inside the bottom of the light housing. I just used a bendable straw, sucked and spit! My question now is, Should I simply use Gorilla tape to close the gap between the trunk ? I can't disassemble the whole bumper just to attempt to close the gap (which maybe impossible to close because of the body damage anyway) or grease the bulbs and cover the bulb housing and the gap with Gorilla tape completely? I will try to include a photo.
ANY info you provide will be graciously appreciated!
Carmis

01acls

There is a tail lamps gasket in-between the lamp and the body. You should make sure it's present and not torn. You should be able to see it or feel the rubber gasket from the inside.

The gap indicates that the tail lamp baffle (body) is still bent - pushed out. You should get an visual assessment of the situation by removing or peeling back the trunk trim panels. Then have someone run water on the out side while you are in the trunk with flash light in hand to see exactly how bad and where the water entering from. You should concentrate in that area during the repairs.

To fix the tail lamp gap you have to remove the tail lamp. With the lamp removed simple push the tail lamp baffle inwards by hitting it with a mallot or hammer and then check your progress by fitting the tail lamp to check the gap. Just apply pressure on the tail lamp to push it against the body to check the gap no need to mount the tail lamp. Once you have the gap where it's suppose to be then mount the lamp and do the water test again. If the water is still entering the you can massage it some more or add silicone sealant to fill in the minor gaps.

Note, you didn't mention if the interior of the trunk was wet or not. If the interior of the trunk is wet then the above applies. If not then disregard the above because there's no water leak. The latter would indicate that the lamp housing is crack letting water in to the lamp only and not leaking pass the lamp gasket into the lamp and the truck's interior.

01acls

To assess the lamps fitment in relation to the car simply compare the lamp to the trunk/quarter panel and do the same at the bottom but comparing to the top of the bumper... Gaps/depth./width.

carmis

Thank you so much for the extremely detailed information! ! I was so frustrated, I stopped at mechanic to ask his opinion on what tape or silicon to use before placing the bulb back. As I think I stated in my huge diatribe, I had the lights working until after 15 minutes only the burnt bulb blew out again. so, I stop in and ask him to take a quick look. Mind you both myself and my wife (who doesn't know mechanics, but is a practical homemaker and has good common sense, but she I'm said use the tape/silicon combo) looked at it and I can't believe we didn't notice.WHAT A FRESH PAIR OF EYES CAN DO!! Right away, he says "YOU DON'T NEED TAPE, LOOK" .The Gap That I (we) assumed Was From the fender bender, wasn't because of body damage, it was the loose housing! ! $
He shows me the 4 or 5 BOLTS that. surround and hold the housing flush against the body had simply come loose and a nut/washer on one had fallen off and three of the 4 or 5 were loose! THAT'S IT!! HE said remove the plastic bag and dirt, get a matcHong Nut and washer push it up against the body and tighten up the bolts!
So , I go get the lousy nut and washer and just to be sure,(before I tightened the bolts) I grease the bulb, replace it and check. Now the two inner bulbs (lower and upper-closest to the trunk latch) don t illuninate! At this point, the wife is calling me as I have to take our kid somewhere, so I left and have not yet fixed it. All FOUR WORKED YESTERDAY until the original lower bulb burnt out after 15 minutes. So I will swich the bulbs from the inner sockets, just to test them, they look fine,but I will check them in the sockets that work, but I got a bad feeling that the wires or connectors (plastick clips that hold the wires) are just shot. let's hope they are bad bulbs ,that just look good and that's all I'll have to do is replace them! Because if I have to post another reply/subject besides a HUGE THANK YOU, I'm going to spend the rest of the weekend in the local Psyc Ward!!!

01acls

Your bulb sockets could be corroded due to the moisture. You could try cleaning them with electrical contact cleaner but brake/tail lamps are such a critical lamp might be best replacing the taillight sub harness... $27 new or a little cheaper used.