Chronic signal light busting

[WarmMachineME]

So 3 times in just the last couple of months, I've had to replace my left front turn signal light. Each time, the glass of the bulb is broken, and in the same place, but the filament appears to be intact.

Our friendly neighborhood AutoZone guy seemed to put his money on too much moisture getting into the housing, then getting on the hot bulb and causing it to bust, and suggested letting it dry out some time and checking if the seal between the socket and the housing could use some silicone compound or such.

I wondered if it could be caused by a short or grounding out somewhere, but I figured the filament would be fried in that case, and as I said it's been intact all three times.

Suggestions? I'm tired of buying new turn signal bulbs already.

[bradmb]

Re: Chronic signal light busting

autozone guy was right. take out the assembly and drill two holes in the bottom of the housing. it should fix it.

[camaroz87]

Re: Chronic signal light busting

i had that problem also drill the holes but ur still goiing to get that nasty moisture on the lens of the clear corners or w.e light you have i would get a better rubber gasket for the top

[UDLOSE98]

Re: Chronic signal light busting

i had that problem also drill the holes but ur still goiing to get that nasty moisture on the lens of the clear corners or w.e light you have i would get a better rubber gasket for the top

/\ that is exactly what you need to do.

[ONLNTM5A]

Re: Chronic signal light busting

My son’s 97 Firebird had the same problem - left front turn signal bulb kept blowing and busting. I kept taking the lens out and emptying the water and blow drying it to get the moisture out .
After about 3-4 times of doing this, I realized that the gasket on the pigtail plug was probably allowing water to leak in, and I also noticed some thin cracks in the front of the lens might be causing some moisture to leak in. You need to reseal that part of the plug where the gasket is. You can use bearing grease, (use your own judgment on how much) or find a new seal, or make a new seal - you get the idea. Also, for any small cracks in the lens, you can use some of the “invisible” household type clear tape to tape over the cracks ( you can’t see it from a distance), or you can replace the lens if cracked too badly.

[lookout4theyeti]

Re: Chronic signal light busting

had the same problem here, i think the people that said to drill the two holes may have gotten that from my cardomain page... check it out

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/735038/2

[zlexiss]

Re: Chronic signal light busting

My lights blew a few times in a row during monsoons last year. I nailed it to two causes:

1. The gasket between the lamp housing and the socket was thin and cheap and didn't seal well

2. The plastic socket and housing were kind of warped from heat, the socet was all discolored

I bought new housing and socket assemblies from gmpartsdirect. They had a much better foam rubber gasket and without the heat warping they fit together well. I used bulb grease on the socket (to help spread the heat a little more) and on the gasket to keep water out.

I also did the !DRL mod to keep the signals from staying on full time. No problems since (almost the wettest monsoon on record this year too)

[WarmMachineME]

Re: Chronic signal light busting

I always wondered why those lights are always on. Thought something might be wrong with the wiring at first. Would you mind posting a link to the running light mod you're talking about? I did a search, but not very well evidently, since I found everything I could ever want about DRL other than how to turn them off.

Alright, so drill two holes in the bottom of the housing, improve/replace the seal between the socket and the housing, and check for cracks. What's the easiest way to go about getting at the light? The owner's manual isn't very helpful on this point, and last time I was replacing a fog light I was under the front of the car for an hour or so taking screws out of the black plastic shielding.

Thanks for the help fellas.

[zlexiss]

Re: Chronic signal light busting

I followed this guide for the !DRL mod (googled for [camaro drl disable]):

http://www.xse.com/leres/ss/drl.html

If you buy new sockets and housings you won't need to drill any holes, since with the !DRL it won't overheat and warp everything.

Yup, I went through the underside panel to get to everything.