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3rd brake light leaking water bad

Old Aug 2, 2004 | 11:39 PM
  #1  
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3rd brake light leaking water bad

We had a hard rain the other night, the next morning when I went to get in I had water all in my back seat and dripping from the headliner. The 3rd brake light has a rubber seal, it had gotten hot and moved down allowing water in. Underneath the light cover is 3 holes that go directly into the truck which allowed the water in..dont know why they are there? Anyone else had this problem, if not thought I might warn you before it happened to you.
 
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Old Aug 3, 2004 | 03:38 AM
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I have taken mine in twice for water leaking on top of back seat when hard rain comes through. At the dealer they can never duplicate the problem. So your was the seal from 3rd brake light? I will have to look at mine tomorrow.

Thanks,
Michael
 
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Old Aug 3, 2004 | 07:35 AM
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Someone else posted about this before...brake light was missing the seal or it wasn't sealed right. You're on the right track I guess.
 
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Old Aug 3, 2004 | 09:34 PM
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I just had my third brake light replaced because of this issue. It rained real hard and when I was dropping my truck of at the dealer to fix the vibration I saw the water on the back seat. It has rained a lot since then and no leak so far.
 
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Old Aug 3, 2004 | 10:05 PM
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What kind of damage did these water leaks from the 3rd brake light cause, and what is the dealer going to do if the headliner is damaged? I'm wondering if the fasteners on this light should be checked to see if they are tight enough.
 
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Old Aug 3, 2004 | 10:12 PM
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I just took my truck last week to have the brake light resealed and the service guy also said they had to reseal around the back window too. I thought that was odd, but hey as long as it doesn’t leak I don't care. This was all done last Thursday(29Jul). Well, after I washed in on Sunday it was leaking again and yes you can believe I was very hot about it. Then later that night we got a hard rain and since then we have had two or three more hard rains and believe it or not, it hasn't leaked again. I know my water hose do not put out that much pressure, but I find it strange that washing it made it leak, but not three hard rains. Anyway, they cleaned my headliner and sealed the light(not replace), so at the moment, I am satisfied......until it happens to leak again.

I also, saw someone say earlier in a post the he got some double sided 3M tape and sealed it him self, so if it happens again, maybe I will fix the damn thing myself. Oh! I also found out the service department doesn't like for you to tell them the solution, just the problem. I guess if you know more about the truck than they do it takes away from their manhood. Good Luck.
 
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Old Aug 3, 2004 | 10:17 PM
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********What kind of damage did these water leaks from the 3rd brake light cause, and what is the dealer going to do if the headliner is damaged? I'm wondering if the fasteners on this light should be checked to see if they are tight enough.******


No, damage was done to mine it only leaked two or three time before I got it in there. They also told me if I wasn't happy with the liner cleaning they would replace the entire liner....but like I said, I was satisfied with the cleaning. Also, I tighten the screws pretty tight, I just didn't want to break the light cover on mine and it still leaked.
 
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Old Aug 3, 2004 | 11:00 PM
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The whole situation is absolutely pathetic - you know that a rubber seal on the cab roof that leaks when it's new is very likely to leak more as it ages and hardens. So-visualize all this b.s. about sealing ( how can you really seal something that has to come off for bulb replacement?) and trying to stop leaks now and then multiply it by hundreds of times in the next few years and it's just a really great and warming thought for all us new truck owners as we go down the road wondering when the rainwater is going to start dripping on the headliner. (More than likely, a headliner that has been wet will start separating and hanging down just that much sooner). The (2) screw holes for the plastic cover are facing directly upwards, this is a good clue and an example of stupidity if this allows water to trickle in thru these holes. Anyone that has had this thinga-ma-jig off: would you please give us your analytical viewpoint (or the dealers) of what exactly might be causing the leak so we can deal with this accordingly, thanks--Life is just great!
 

Last edited by m. harris; Aug 4, 2004 at 06:20 PM.
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Old Aug 4, 2004 | 06:36 AM
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Is there (perhaps) a way to put some silicone sealant on the holes themselves to stop water from coming in, even if the seal on the light housing lets water in? I would think one could seal up those holes so water couldn't come in.
 
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Old Aug 4, 2004 | 08:01 AM
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If the holes are under the brake light, and apparently serve no purpose, why dont you just put a couple little pieces of duct tape or silicone over the holes? They are covered by the light and not visible right?
 
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Old Aug 4, 2004 | 12:45 PM
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Good God! On the way to work this morning I look behind me and see a ton of roof water leaking into the cab.

I ran my xm radio antenna through the 3rd brake light and never noticed any o rings. But now I have to go home today and look into this problem.

Supid water, can't let it mess up the interior of my truck!
 
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Old Aug 4, 2004 | 10:20 PM
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I noticed shortly after purchasing my truck that there was some water on the inside of the rear sliding window. We had a awful hard rain last night but I forgot to check for any leaks. I am going to keep an eye on it.
 
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Old Aug 6, 2004 | 11:39 AM
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I washed my truck this morning and noticed water on the rear seat and rear window. I also noticed the interior headliner was a little wet directly in the center of the roof. I am taking mine in for inspection.
 
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Old Aug 6, 2004 | 01:42 PM
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Yeah, I'm the guy who had this fixed awhile ago. I had mine in the service dept for 2 days. They said they "replaced the whole third brake light assembly".

I had noticed a wet rear seat twice before, and blamed my wife (quietly, of course ). One sunday, on a short drive, I turned around to look at the back seat while sitting in the rain, and behold, it looked like a firehose had been turned loose in the back seat of my Scab.

They cleaned that rear seat. No other problems, we've been through four good hard rains since.
Third brake light was the problem.
C1
 
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Old Aug 6, 2004 | 05:27 PM
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From: wichita, ks
conservative1--do you have any idea what exactly caused the leak (like the seal) ?Like I said before--the (2) screw holes on the cover are facing directly up, so water could possible go in there but I don't know if it could get into the cab though. If you know anything , pass it on- thanks.
 
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