A few of the bulbs in my tail lights went out. I tried to remove the light covers on the back of the ACE and the screws just spun. Water had penetrated the back wall around the light housing! The silly foam pad that Thor put between the light housing and the back wall didn't prevent any water from getting in. Check your RV TODAY.
I purchased a new set of LED lights from Amazon. The only problem is that they require a larger hole to install. I used some cardboard to template. Measured the back of the LED housing and drew a box on the cardboard. Cut out the hole and put the template on the RV. Then drew a box on the RV to cut.
I was not sure how bad the water penetration was, so I pushed around the soft wood. Next thing you know, I'm poking a hole thru to the other side. The wallpaper on the inside is plastic. It traps all the moisture! I ripped it all out to see the damage. It is pretty bad, but not a total loss. There is plenty of good wood back there. I decided to cut the hole all the way thru the back wall. Most of the thin panel was rotted anyways.
I purchased a bunch of stuff to fix this mess, but didn't use the leak seal or the plastic wood goop. The rotted wood restorer did a nice job sealing up most of the mess. By leaving the inside exposed, it has already begun to dry out. I'm going to keep it like this for a month or so to get whats left dried out. Plus I can check for leaks easier.
I was not able to find butyl tape at the big box store, so I settled for the chalk cord. I used 2 layers. Seems to work well. After using toggle bolts to mount the lights, I put a bead of silicone all the way around. Only time will tell.
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Thanks. I know I've had moisture in my taillights, but used silicone to seal them within one year of purchase. I think I'll check them next time out, though. I like the butyl tape idea instead of the OEM thin plastic foam.
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2013 Thor ACE 29.2 "Indy"
Full time since Dec 2016
Thanks. Since they are LED, do you need to add a resistor to the flash circuit to avoid it blinking real fast or is it OK as is? In the past I have found that a resistor is needed when replacing an incandescent flashing bulb to avoid that.
I didn't add anything. It doesn't flash any quicker than the original. I'm not so sure that the reverse light is LED. It looks like a regular bulb to me, but I would have to pull the RV back out and open it up to verify.
Funny I'm doing a 3 part video fixing my A.C.E. tail-lites! Video is complete, just need to edit it and upload it to Youtube next week! I did not have that kind of water damage, but all my screws were rusted! Saw another video a few months back and decided to do it before it got real bad. Sorry for the water damage you suffered.
Great news about the video. Can't get the top 3 screws on both tail lights to undo. WD'ed them. Man, what a questionable design choice for water sealing.
I ran into a water issue two weeks after I bought mine.
The backup light was all fogged up and one didn't work.
Got pissed off and took both out dryer it all out and reinstall them with the old seals but ran a nice size bead of geocell rv clear caulk around them.
It's been a year and had no issue of fogging or any signs of moisture.
I will take one off before winter and do a check.
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