Valenti Taillights - Condensation?

[YamahaR86]

Originally Posted by xFury

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.

[xFury]

Originally Posted by YamahaR86

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.

[PNW FRS]

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.

[Irace86]

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.

[Babel]

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

[Daver]

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!

[RickyBobby]

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

[Poodles]

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

[RickyBobby]

Originally Posted by Poodles

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.

[Daver]

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?

[Poodles]

Originally Posted by RickyBobby

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.

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...

Originally Posted by Daver

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?

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...

[dvniemela]

Originally Posted by Daver

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?

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.

[RickyBobby]

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

[KungFuWaffle]

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.