Valenti Taillights - Condensation?
 

I've had my tail lights for about four months now, drove to school today and noticed a little condensation in the driver side tail.

Am I the only person with this problem when it comes to these tail lights? And is there any way to fix it? :(

EDIT: Got this tail light replaced by Modbargains free of charge. No problems anymore. :)

Here's a picture of it.

Just a quick update: I contacted ModBargains, and they've said they're going to send out a replacement. Talk about quality service!

If you over tighten your tail lights, you run the risk of getting condensation. You are squishing the gasket and flexing the rear plate of the tail light, this will cause condensation to potentially happen to EVERY make of tail light

Aren't the gaskets supposed to squish a bit to cover the little area next to the screw? I tried not to over tighten mine, but I also wanted them to be secure, which they were not until I tightened them all more.

yes, they are meant to squish a little, but some people went HAM on their bolts and over tightened them a ton

Ok I think I did not over do it. I stopped when they felt tight/I couldn't turn more without really trying.

I definitely didn't overtighten anything, I had a hard enough time getting them snug, I didn't have a deep socket to get around the bolt, haha.

mm well hopefully you can get it figured out, a lot of people have resorted to DIY gaskets.

Also, love your car, great colour combos

Never had an issue with condensation for the 5 months I've had them on the car. You're lucky you bought through ModBargains... I had to wait 4 months to get replacements for my dead signal lights.

where did you buy your lights from? I am having the same issue

Have had condensation in mine for about a week. Never had this issue with my stocks or old Valenti 1st Gen. Is there any fix or should they just be warranted?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk

Warranty if you can. Gasket Ninja on here.

Only thing I can think of is gasketninja replacement and putting the headlight in a box with silica packets to dry any remaining condensation out:

http://gasketninja.com/
(get the one with the 3m adhesive for $35)


[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eF62JXlSufM"]How To Install Gasket Ninja Tail Light Gaskets - YouTube[/ame]

Well, a good practice to do is to clean the area first before installing. Just did mine recently and noticed that it had a lot of crap around the stock gasket and the socket that hold the unit.

Clean it out with some tissue and water to make sure I got out all the dust, sand, etc. and I use tighten it enough to were I can't move it anymore with pressure.

It's not just about the crap. It's the gasket themselves. Valenti cheaped out on that part for some reason.

I compared the gasket from OEM to Valenti and it's half of what OEM is and it's thin.

What I did to solve my condensation issues and eventually water issue is to take the gasket from the OEM and "doubled up". Haven't had an issue since.

Good point. When I compared the Valenti I got a few weeks back, the Gasket looks a tad bit bigger than the OEM gasket. Maybe they came out with a 2nd version or something with a "Better" gasket.

Hopefully it doesn't leak or condense, or Might have to look into Ninja Gasket.

No problem with my Valentis...
 

Not one occurrence of condensation with my Valenti tail lights... and I'm in the PNW. That said, my rig is garaged at night so maybe that is the difference; no constant exposure to moisture.

Back in the day my headlights on my Toyota had a hole in the back that had a cut-off curved-down rubber hose. I dont know why but they were never 100% sealed because of that hose. Hazing with time and mild condensation during certain times of the year was normal.

Two months with mine and no issue. Mine came with gaskets bigger than OEM.

Thread Necro!

I have condensation in only one of my Valentis. I feel like I have tightened them both down equally, just hand tightened. Unsure why I got it on one side. I’d like to first get the condensation out, without removing the taillight (because I soldered in the 3rd brake light and modded the flasher, my first time soldering and I don’t think I’ll have enough slack if I cut out and solder again, nit to mention I shrink wrapped and then taped the shit out of it for a good clean install)

can’t even remember the overseas site I bought from to try a return.

Anyone have an idea on how I could get it out of these, AND how to prevent again? I tried packing damp rid In the back of the cavity to no avail. Wondering about a hair dryer or even a dehumidifier in my trunk. The car will be sitting in dry garage over the winter so maybe it will get better? But I’d still like to prevent again.

Th and y’all!

I think the main reason for condensation in the Valenti tail lights is that the bolts are not torqued properly. They should be hand tightened and then torqued to 39 in.lb. I have had mine on ~1 1/2 years with no water leaks or condensation.

Installation instructions:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...ostcount=14623

Keep in mind that 39in/lbs is actually far looser than normal hand tight from a ratchet!

Actually it's not. I was surprised after I hand tightened the bolts to what I would consider tight enough how many more turns it took to get to 39 in.lb of torque.

OK, Thanks guys. Im going to check the torque, any thoughts on if the condensation will clear out of there while it sits a couple months in the dry garage? Or am I stuck taking em off and Drying out?

Doubt that as 39in/lbs is a little over 3 ft lbs. Most 3/8 drive ratchets are over 6 inches long, so under 6 lbs or pressure on the ratchet would be tight.

39in/lbs is attainable with a screwdriver...

If they're over torqued, they may have damaged the gaskets and/or bent the metal that the studs go through. There was a TSB on how to fix them somewhere...

If you have a spare oven or know of someone with an oven they don't bake in, you can place the tail lights in there on a low temp for 10ish minutes and it will remove all condensation.

OP,
Google is your friend. https://www.google.com/search?q=how+...hrome&ie=UTF-8

I have owned just about every brand tail light for our platform except for Intec, Valenti Revo V2, and Buddyclub. and each of them had either condensation or a problem with the plastic warping (Tom's clear lens). The only way I fixed the condensation was buying the new foam gaskets from the 2016 model, and then putting molding clay where the tail light meets the trunk on the inside of the trunk. Running Valenti for 1 year and 1/2 now and no problems so far.