You know what they call that? Customized. Sun gave you a free mod. All kidding aside. That sucks man. But I don't think the heat done that.

 

i moved from PA to CO, it would now be a year and a week ago. i tinted them in PA a few months before i moved. the lenses were fine 2 weeks ago when the 95degree wheather started. i ran my had along the lense because i thought it was scratched but it was just the way the dirt was. i rubbed the corner and i would have felt it. i am trying to remember exactly what day i noticed it actually. it would have been sunday july 16th, my gf got her ram back on the 17th, by the way she got a 2011 ram crew cab rental with the hemi....1st gear...wow, 2nd+ eh... and it was a 5spd auto we think. manual shifting on the gear selector and it went from 1 to 5.. and it got a ave of 18.8mpg for the 13 days she had it with driving over 500miles with it. instant read about 5mpg uphills and about 27-28 level and maxxed(30+) coasting.

 

yeah..lol. i seriously happened within a weeks time and it was when it got to 95+ degrees. and if it deforms at 210 like raptor said...maybe direct sunlight+ tint+ temp= soft enough for any suction to pull it in? from elevation change or heat? i dont know im just trying to think how...? its just so weird....

 

you would figure the more cheaply made aftermarket headlight lenses would deform...not the stock tails...

 

also i forgot til just now. my 3rd brake light has a small indent on above every bulb. it has 3 small indents on the top close to the edge where it has the verticle side...driver side tail and both heads are still normal.

 

and here are the pics of the 3rd brake light...





and the before pics...when i tinted them...passenger side...still like new.


you can see both reflections on the lenses match


and the 3rd...day after tint was done.

 

Those are bulb melt points. The sun didn't cause this, your bulbs did. Probably because of the tint.

 

the problem i have with that is that my cargo lights are hardly ever on so they wouldnt melt anything. and if my passenger side melted, then why wouldnt the drivers side do anything with the exact same bulb? also my gf told me she had to do a research paper a few years ago and that in colorado, the sun is at a different angle where it is actually is worse than direct sunlight, like it is magnified at certain times. and i asked the guy at red noland collision center and he said he has seen it before. if you guys felt the lens at 65 degrees with the sun on it, i think you would change your minds... if it was stock lenses, how would the bulbs even come close to melting them? its only tinted on the outside...

 

With a tint that dark - I bet it is the sun. Black absorbs all heat. I'm guessing the the dents in the CHMSL matches the bulbs because that is the center of the area (weakest for the plastic) and has nothing to do with the bulbs. Each bulb has their own chamber.

 

Yes but its exactly over the point of the bulb. I've seen it before down here as well. It happens pretty frequently with the Chevy guys because the plastic is so close to the bulb. They tint their lights and bam, it deforms. The tint is black, and what does black do with heat?

 

thats what i was thinking too. my cargo lights are on from the time i open my door til i turn the key. so they wouldnt melt anything. and the side that faces the sun the most is the one that got melted. plus being black with direct sunlight and 95+ degrees, it probably reaches a surface temp of about 200 degrees.

dude go outside on a 90 degree day and feel your roof on your truckk, even tho its white, it will still be hot. white reflects light unlike darker colors that absorb it. especially black. thats the reason sports players wear eyeblack, to absorb the light away from their eyes more so they can see better...like a fly ball coming to an outfielder. they wear it to absorb the light. and the same happens to the lenses. i bet they do reach about 210 on the surface. you might be partially right about the bulbs but the probably only push the temp up enough to make it deform but your taillight bulbs, or any of them for that matter, shouldnt come close to 210 degrees. you can hold your taillight bulb in your hand forever while its on, it might get kinda hot but wont hurt too bad to hold it.

 

The black is used to stop glare from the sun from reflecting off the sweaty (thus shiny) cheek. Light does not "bend" towards other colors. If you painted all of your eye black, light rays are still going to go to your eye. This is used very common in aircraft, especially twins. As for a 3157 bulb, I will give you $1,000 if you can hold it from the bulb while it is on. I haven't ever bothered putting my IR thermometer to a tail light bulb, but I'd guess its above 175*F, minimum. That is how these bulbs work, heat causes the filament to glow. Theres no doubt the sun had an impact, but with the spots right over the bulb, your tail lights caused the final blow to those lenses. I've helped replace lots of lenses and that's why I tell people NOT to use nightshade or any other type of black tint. When you add a heat-inducing layer to this plastic, you close the safety margin Ford has built into the plastic.

 

Actually incorrect there Alex. the filament, is a direct short between power and ground. It consumes voltage across the filament, and creates heat, not the other way around.

And ill gladly send you a video of me holding a lit 3157 for $1000 bucks

 

Good catch, sometimes my fingers get faster than my head. I guess the above statement would be true for a HIR!

And before you try to sneak around, I mean bare hands, mister!

 

Ill do it, you still have my PP right?