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Passenger Taillight Moisture Issue

iboostgti335

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The moisture used to come and go but now it seems to stay constant in the light. Temp doesn't matter, its always there now. My questions is, is there a way to fix this, Or, am I better off taking it to my dealer and claiming warranty? Thank you in advance

Jeep Wrangler JL Passenger Taillight Moisture Issue IMG_4111
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CWRUYOTE

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Looks like you have the LED package.

It's time to take it to the dealership, because the tail lamp is one integrated piece, so there's no 'changing the bulb'.
 
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iboostgti335

iboostgti335

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Looks like you have the LED package.

It's time to take it to the dealership, because the tail lamp is one integrated piece, so there's no 'changing the bulb'.
Thank you, I will schedule a service appt. 👍
 

InexplicableBill

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The moisture used to come and go but now it seems to stay constant in the light. Temp doesn't matter, its always there now. My questions is, is there a way to fix this, Or, am I better off taking it to my dealer and claiming warranty? Thank you in advance
Same exact problem here with my son's "new to him" '18 Unlimited Rubicon. Same passenger side brake light unit filled with moisture. Anyone know what the cause is and the fix? I'll eventually be taking it apart because I'm that type of guy. This type of quality issue drives me nuts.
 

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Most high quality LED lamp assemblies have vented cases, when moisture builds up inside ( natural to do )and and they come on and heat up the moisture is supposed to be vented out those ports, not sure what moisture rating the JL lights have on them but it’s natural for LED’s to get moisture inside but if your getting a lot then that’s likely a broken seal and there is really no easy way to determine where the seal has been compromised, the one the OP pictured looks excessive to me, not sure if that would be covered under warranty for a 2018 unless it’s an extended warranty.
 

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sjappers

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Well I am now in the same boat. 2018 JLUR with led tail lights and passenger rear driving light no longer works. Took it in and they said it was due to moisture. When I looked you could visibly see moisture inside. Very expensive part and something you do not want to have to replace. That being said you pay a lot for the led tail light option and we all buy it since leds last longer than you will ever have the vehicle. Not a happy camper.
 

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Put one of those moisture reduction packs in it. You can buy them online or take them out of a product you buy that uses them. It only takes a few drops of water for the condensation to appear.
 
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iboostgti335

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Put one of those moisture reduction packs in it. You can buy them online or take them out of a product you buy that uses them. It only takes a few drops of water for the condensation to appear.
How would I get it inside if it is supposed to be a sealed unit? The moisture got in from a tiny crack.
 

sjappers

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Put one of those moisture reduction packs in it. You can buy them online or take them out of a product you buy that uses them. It only takes a few drops of water for the condensation to appear.
These are sealed units...you cant open them at all. If you could we would just replace the led bulbs and not all the proximity sensors also.
 

InexplicableBill

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.... Took it in and they said it was due to moisture....
When they said this, did you say "Well DUH!!" haha Sorry, this problem sucks and I spent a lot of time trying to remedy the situation. See my other reply below.
 

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InexplicableBill

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Put one of those moisture reduction packs in it. You can buy them online or take them out of a product you buy that uses them. It only takes a few drops of water for the condensation to appear.
Believe me it's way more than a few drops, as I discovered when I took mine off to attempt to fix it. Tapping the housing against a soft surface caused the condensation to form larger droplets, and those ran to the bottom. Way more than expected. And there are no openings in which you could slip a desiccant pack in there.
 

The Last Cowboy

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Did you find where the water is getting in?
 

InexplicableBill

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Thank you, I will schedule a service appt. 👍
Did you ever take it to Jeep to get a response? When I did here's what they said (the first part which I already knew) "The Bumper to Bumper warranty which would have covered this ended 14,000 miles ago with the previous owner. Too bad they didn't have the work done. And, the used dealer you bought this from should NOT have given you a passing state inspection sticker (Massachusetts) with that moisture in the tail light." My response to that was "Well DAMN! Of course they passed it, I looked up the part cost and it's $465!!" Not happy.
 

InexplicableBill

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Did you find where the water is getting in?
I think it was the top heat weld between the inner and outer plastic layers of the lens. I ran a bunch of super glue into that seam and then spent a lot of time using a hair dryer and my shop vac to pull air through the housing after removing the two breather caps on the back. My son's daily driver so I'll have to look at it tonight to see if it's held up. I got it to the point there was no more visible condensation left.
 

InexplicableBill

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Took the right rear lamp off to investigate how I might mitigate the moisture build up. Turns out the outer lens and inner lenses are heat fused and the LED cluster is within that. After taking off the mounting bracket I discovered a number of small bolts, but upon attempting to remove them I realized something was going to snap and break if I kept trying to pull things apart. So I removed the 2 little brown breather caps and used a shop vac to pull air through the housing, and kept heating the exterior lenses with a hair dryer to cause the moisture to vaporize for easier removal. Took about 2 friggin hours. Pain in the butt. In the end I floated some super glue into the seam between the inner and outer lenses, as it appeared there may have been a crack at the heat seam between them. Not sure but that may have helped solve the issue.

This first pic shows that the thin plastic hanger for the wire connector snapped easily trying to separate the connector. Garbage.
Jeep Wrangler JL Passenger Taillight Moisture Issue DSC_4276.JPG


Removeable mounting bracket.
Jeep Wrangler JL Passenger Taillight Moisture Issue DSC_4277.JPG


Moisture inside housing.
Jeep Wrangler JL Passenger Taillight Moisture Issue DSC_4279.JPG


Those brown buttons come off to reveal breather ports.
Jeep Wrangler JL Passenger Taillight Moisture Issue DSC_4281.JPG


Removed cover to reveal what I thought was the LED control board but it's actually the Blind Spot Monitor module. Clever way to hide it.
Jeep Wrangler JL Passenger Taillight Moisture Issue DSC_4282.JPG
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