Third Brake light replacement.

[Silver Caravelle]

Hi all,
Recently I replaced the top ( third) LED brake light as the old one had seen better days and was popping out at one end slightly due to fatigue and the seal had cracked. I bought a new one from one of the many on line sites that sell them for about $20 or so.

A word of warning, these lights and very easy to fatigue when fitting (and when fitted due to temperature changes). After some trial and error removing and fitting a couple of times I decide to strengthen the light casing by running some duct tape right around the inside edge of the light a few times. As when the light is tightened down with the three torx screws, a hot sunny day can potentially cause the light lift and then contract in cooler weather. Apart from removing and installing the top tail gate trim, it is a reasonably straightforward job. The screws have to be reasonably tight so the light seats and seals properly and doesn't lift at one end or the other.

I have seen comments on online forums about adding springs to the screws to provide a little give for temperature changes, but I did not go this far. The light is much much stronger with the duct tape wrapping around the inside and will not likely lift or crack...well that is the aim! Time will tell.
Cheers, Scott

[BrianJ]

I used cable ties to attach the back part to the front section. Its a ridiculous design, having only a few plastic clips to hold it together against the force of the attachment screws trying to pull it apart. I thought I had an old post about this but I can't find it.

[Silver Caravelle]

Brian thanks.

I am curious how you position the cable ties so it does not cover the front of light? Agreed it is a really bad weak design and I am sure VW have made it a 'consumable item'. Also it is not slight curved (end to end) to follow the very slight curvature of the 2008 tailgate, which also adds to potential fatigue. It has to be tight enough to form a proper seal to avert water running inside the tail gate arount the light.

Regards,

Scott

[BrianJ]

It was many years ago, but I think I drilled some holes in one part of it to put the cable ties through then brought them back through something on the rear part so when you tighten the mounting screws, the cable ties stopped the two parts separating so you could get enough tension applied to make the seal touch all the way, as you say, the curvature is not correct so you need to get enough force to make it seal. Everything was out of sight inside when it was finished.

I found this thread on the matter: https://www.vwwatercooled.com/forums...ght=tail+light

[Silver Caravelle]

Thanks for this. I had success winding duct tape around the inside a few times where the two parts meet to stop separation. Makes it really strong and heat should not stretch it with about three or four windings.. I am going to buy a spare as they only about $20 on line verses $100 and plenty from a VW dealer...

[The_Hawk]

I bought a cheap eBay model for my Multivan a while back. In my case it was the red lens that was broken and falling out.

The replacement was pretty ordinary and a little different in design for the mounting brackets to the OEM one. In the end I couldn't get it installed to my satisfaction so ended up pulling the red lens off and using that on my OEM parts. It doesn't sit perfectly but it's alright. If it broke again I think I would look at spending the extra $$ and getting another OEM instead.

[Silver Caravelle]

I compared the original on mine to the replacement and was pretty much identical. The original was as fragile as the Chinese one. For $20 and some home duct tape mods, it is now as solid as a rock!

[Silver Caravelle]

Just wondering if the T6 version of this light is exactly the same shape as the T5? I understand these maybe a clip in version therefore no need to pull trim to fit or worry about correct tightening amount of the three torx screws? Maybe an improved upgrade to avert lifting out/cracking of the old one ?

Scott

[Silver Caravelle]

Hi all,

I have played around more with the third brake light to make it more rigid by using Brian's method of cable ties for strength. Whilst the duct tape wrapped around has been working fine, there was still slight lifting with a hotter day. I now have added three cable ties through the side slots, making sure the cable fastening end is pointing towards the screw lugs so it can fit back through the tailgate slot. No drilling required. Also I have added some rubber grommets on the screws to tighten up against the mount to provide a little temperature flex and not over tighten the screws, which is what I had previously done. Added tape over the screw heads as well in case they loosened and drop into the tailgate. Another option would be to add some light compression springs, but I could find something suitable at the hardware store so opted for the rubber grommets. The grommets might be a tad soft, so I will keep the trim off for now and monitor with the temperature changes.
I also thought about whether to dispense with red gasket and use a two side adhesive enclosed foam tape to seal. The issue is though there is not a huge gap to play with around the inside light edge without trimming the foam tape half the width ( say about 5mm). The light would sit much more flush in the tailgate gap so I may experiment further to try this. The red gasket is not really adequate to guarantee a tight water proof seal with temperature fluctuations. It is too high and too narrow.

Scott.

[Silver Caravelle]

G'day all,

As an update, I purchased another $20 light online to start afresh.

To summarise, I added four cable ties larger enough to fit through the lense side slots to fully strengthen the overall light lense to the light base to avert cracks from temperature changes or tightening down the light. Two ties in the middle slots either side of the middle screw tab and then one at either end where the outer screw taps are ( again great suggestion from Brian). It makes a massive difference to the structural rigidity of the light for a solid secure mounting.

I tightened the three mounting screws up against the rubber grommets I had added so that these grommets are crushed about 50%. This allows for a bit of give for the light to cope with temperature fluctuations and also not over tightening the screws. Note the white taps where the springs slot in on the bottom base side of the light are probably intended to allow for some slight movement for temperature changes but are rather firm springs. The rubber grommets I have used on the screw mounting side add a little more extra give.

Maintained red gasket seal with no alterations. All now appears very snug and water tight.

Suggest keep tail gate top trim off for a few days to tweak the tightening of the three screws. Again not over tightening. Once done, pop some heavy duty tape of the screw heads as extra insurance, so they did not drop out into the tail gate.

Hope this helps someone. So far so good and no lifting of the light so far.

Scott