Rep Power: 813

okay my passenger sidemarker is leaking water, ive been through 2 oem sets and one jspec set im using now. ive come to realize its not the sidemarker itself, since switching them still causes the passenger side to get water. i put the lenses in a bowl of water and they did not leak from the seams. so, the only other way for water to get in would be the socket and plug which is all oem and seems tight. should i tape a bag over the back side or something? im really lost why its happening and there is about 20 drops of water inside all over the lens. i can dry it out and it just comes back again.


edit: yup! the socket plug had all sorts of condensation in it. ima try to dry them out and put some dielectric grease hopefully it will block the water.

 
Rep Power: 390

I had the same problem. First use a hair dryer to dry out the sidemarker, then heat shrink the socket connection.

 
Rep Power: 266

so im guessing the sidemarkers is not sealed to the fender? If you can isolate the sidemarker from water you should be in good shape. I siliconed around the sidemarker and made sure it made a nice seal to the fender and no leaks yet...and its been pouring in NY lately

 
Rep Power: 813

i shouldve taken a pic. water was getting in through the metal contact prongs in the socket so sealing marker to the fender will not do anything. if you remove the plug with wires, the socket that holds the bulb has all sorts of wetness and it moves through the holes for the metal holder and into the lens. i think the grease around the prongs will do the trick for now. but later ill try the heat shrink tubing over everything.

 
Rep Power: 257

Thanks for posting about this gearbox. I'm fixing to install my dc5 sidemarkers soon so i'll be proactive and prevent this from happening with my set..

 
Rep Power: 813

well the grease didnt work, idk what else to try? theyre still getting foggy only the one side. blah.

 
Rep Power: 247

Might be the sidemarker. Mine leaked and I put my mouth on the socket and blew into it. It was still wet so the area that was leaking made sputters. Sealed it up and its a little better.

 
Rep Power: 813

ya mine is wet in the socket too so maybe water is getting in from the back of fender but i dont see how. i just put the stock si ones back on cause i couldnt get the other ones to stop fogging. it would fog in about 5 mins after installing. maybe it needs a little vent hole to equalize with the outside air. eh, why is this such a big problem.

 
Rep Power: 390

I find it hard to believe that the heat shrink tubing didnt work, I used three different sizes, one that fit snug on the back socket connection, one that shrunk to the wire size, and one inbetween. No more fogging for me. Then wrap it in electrical tape if you really wanna waterbomb proof it.

 
Rep Power: 813

well idk it got a whole lot worse when everything was sealed up. fogged almost as soon as i put it back together. so i took all that off and so far no fogging. i guess ill just take em out every so often and dry out the water.

 
Rep Power: 266

well did you make sure the inside was dry before hand...idk you might want to try some hot glue if your up for it and see if that helps...idk im just throwing out crazy ideas

 
Rep Power: 258

I used the ek4/9 sidemarkers and have had no probs. So if you decide to get some diff markers you might want to look into those.
I also didnt have the harness so i had to ghetto rig the bulbs to the inside using rubberbands and medical tape. But havent had any probs.

 
Rep Power: 390

^

 
Rep Power: 813

well this shouldnt be a problem anymore, ive decided to retro some amber superflux led markers in there and seal the whole thing with epoxy.

 
Rep Power: 258

well I hope it works out

 
Rep Power: 813

oh it will, i have one that should be done today, they are way brighter than stock 194 amber bulb.

very time consuming to cut it and mount, but its a near perfect fit and the marker looks clear from the outside.

 
Rep Power: 0

nice man... always leave it to you to do a retro for something... looking clean man...

 
Rep Power: 813

one down one to go!!! might actually put this one on tonight, the other prolly in a few days.

 
Rep Power: 290

very nice gear!

 
Rep Power: 0

genius!

 
Rep Power: 0

Gearbox the king of all things led has done it again . I just got my fenders with the sidemarkers so I am going to install those hope they turn out nice.

 
Rep Power: 315

Note to self: Torque Wrench is for lug nuts...


lol at gears notes

 
Rep Power: 284

where did you get the led's at i didnt order my sockets for my sidemarkers yet and this would look wayyy better.

something i can get at like walmart? and whats the price

 
Rep Power: 813

i paid $7 each from farm and fleet or meijer, maybe walmart too its in the light isle and these are the superflux ones made by peterson piranha rated 100,000+hrs im working on the second one now, maybe might be done late tonight since i have the fast epoxy that cures in 1 hr. i have alot of cutting to do tho.

lol my note is to go buy a torque wrench FOR the lug nuts lol so i can take my wheels off and paint drums.

letting one dry and installed the first! cleannnn!

 
Rep Power: 294

I have ek9 and never had this problem...

 
Rep Power: 247

if they still fog after this you're screwed

 
Rep Power: 813

yea its true lol. i tried my best to get the water out by baking and then putting inside dessicant packs for a while, then sealed them indoors. idk, if they still fog i guess i might need to make a small hole for air to circulate like headlights have. we'll see....

 
Rep Power: 251

hey looks good, i got LED bmw ones if u remember gearbox. looks great at night right?

 
Rep Power: 813

oh yea you can see them far away. you got any pics of yours? theyre the bmw triangle ones right?

 
Rep Power: 284

ha i did one of mine tonight i found the led at walmart same as yours but they only had one in stock so ima go back in a day or two and get another one.. how did you get the light out of the amber case **** lol?? i just epoxied the whole square on then e=taped around it so no light can escape.. thanks for the idea.

heres mine not as clean as yours but works just as good!!!