So lately I took my XK to the dealership to have some body work done (covered by the insurance) because of a number of dings and scratches done to my baby...some people just don't give a sh*t about other people's cars when they park!

The body work was great, no trace of the injuries left! That's the good news. I'm more than cautious about that dealership though, as from my (admittedly limited) experience with them, I come with an issue and leave with another one! So this time, as mentioned in the title, it's fog/dew that's stuck in the rear left blinker and just won't get out!

I guess they had to take the bumper away to paint it (it had a scratch on it) and had to remove the tail light unit to be able to do so...and that's maybe when, due to surrounding moisture, some water seeped in...I don't know but that's a possible explanation. I know it wasn't there before, but sadly I can't prove it to them... But anyway, the important question is: how do I get that water out? Has anyone here faced the same issue?

Thanks a lot for your tips, guys!!

 

Are the corners still intact, or did they break? Also what year? The early cars have thin lenses and they split perfectly at the amber/red meet point. Hard to see unless you press down on the lense to reveal the split. If you can get it open to exhaust the moisture, the process can be sped up by using a blowdryer. Once dry, wrap them with clear Lamin-x to seal it up.

 

As said, remove the light to check carefully for any splits in the plastic as I suspect that the dealer has broken the light when removing it. If you find a split, you can fix it with some liquid epoxy. I then put a few of the small silica desiccant clear plastic pouches in the red brake light section and left them in there as you cannot see the pouches from the outside. These quickly dried out the whole fitting as all the sections are internally connected and the silica keeps the whole fitting dry.

Richard

 

The tip of the corner did indeed break a while back (while changing a bulb...because Jag's manual says there's one screw whereas there are 2!! ), but I've glued it back. And there was no moisture seeping in before this trip to the dealership, so this location wouldn't ne my #1 suspect.

Ah and BTW it's a 2006 model, but I don't see a split between the red and white parts... I also had in mind the idea of using a blowdryer...but it's just that right now I don't know where I can get the water to come out from...

I'll take the whole unit out tomorrow and will check for any hole/crack...it's not like I have other options anyway!

 

How can you get such a pouch in? Can the transparent part be separated from the base on which the bulbs are mounted?

 

Once you have removed the fitting you can just remove the bulb holders with a slight turn. The rear/brake light bulb holder opening is plenty large enough to push the small silica pouches in and shake them out again. However, I've left a dozen of them in there as you can't see them in the red section and they will keep it permanently dry in there.

Richard

 

Oh, that's true...I hadn't thought of that, thanks!

 

Little update...did it on Monday. That's what holidays are for, aren't they?

So I took the unit off (dammit, that top nut is a b..ch to unscrew!! ) and dried it up with a blow dryer.
I noticed no crack (the tip had broken off, but I glued it back on and the split is not located where it could cause water to seep in anyway), but I did notice there's quite a bit of a gap (I could slide a nail in there easily!) between the transparent part that's on the outside and the opaque one on which the bulbs are mounted (on the side facing the trunk lid) ! I tried to press on both parts to fit them tightly into each-other, but that didn't work. But it looks like that gap is running all the way down, so basically if water gets in...it should also come out.

Anyway I don't know if it was like that before going to the dealership...all I know is I never had a problem there before. Now the weather is dry here so I can't get to see if it'll come back...but if it does, at least I know where the water is coming from!

 

Wrap the entire taillight lense with clear Lamin-x, seal the lense to housing seam with a sealant. Why wait for moisture to appear, ruin your day and be upset? The dealer wont honor it. Preemptively save yourself the trouble.