GEN 1 How to open the OEM Third Brake Light housing?

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sydude

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So all but one of the LED's in my 2014's third brake light are dead from all of the water that leaked in and pooled in the housing. On principle I would refuse to spend $300 on a new unit if I could possibly fix it first.. the only problem is that I'm not sure if I can open the housing without destroying it. I've given it a decent survey, and it seems that the clear lens and the grey back cover are plastic welded only at the two retaining screw hole locations.

Does anyone have any more info separating the two halves of the housing and/or dealing with the non-working LED's?

Thanks!
 
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rmschaver

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I have seen threads where people have heated the headlights in the oven to open them. From what I read can be smelly. As far as the LED's depends on how good you are at soldering and possibly dealing with PCB board. If you are patient and careful it probably very doable.
 

downforce137

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I had one of my leds go out the other day.. i had thought that it was sonic welded all the way around. did you try prying around the edge at all?
 
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sydude

sydude

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subscribed..

I had one of my leds go out the other day.. i had thought that it was sonic welded all the way around. did you try prying around the edge at all?



Yes, I did - it seems like the outer edges are completely unsealed, I could slip a razor all the way around without any resistance. So it seems like the housings are attached elsewhere.
 

downforce137

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i opened one up. it is indeed sonic welded, so you basically have to break the grey piece away from the clear lens all the way around. as you can see in the pic, there's evidence of water intrusion from around the screw area.. the one i opened had this on both sides. I believe its from where the lens is attached and not from the screws themselves. Im building a replacement circuit board for the LEDs and I'll use retrorubber to reseal it. I just cant bring meself to shell out $300 for a replacement that will do the same thing down the road..

https://goo.gl/photos/LYqHwMnntPQxEhfV6
 
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sydude

sydude

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So I ended up finding a virtually brand new unit from a junk yard a couple of weeks ago, for $35. Yes, $35. I couldn't believe my luck. I hope your rebuild works out well, but just in case keep an eye on the used parts search engines for a unit in good shape.


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