Winnebago Trend tail light condensation

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winona

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Nov 17, 2015
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Location
Indiana
Anyone else having trouble with condensation in a rear tail light?

I have a 2015 Trend that has had condensation in the driver's side rear tail light since it was brand new and still on the dealer's lot.  When the repair order comes thru this week, it will be the 3rd replacement at Winnebago's cost. And I'm pushing for it to continue to be at Winnebago's cost since this is a manufacturing defect and a safety issue.
 
That's not an unusual problem - I've heard of it before. Maybe it has something to do with your humidity level? Out west condensation is not a problem since it's so dry. Can you post a picture of the tail light with condensation? Thinking out loud.. does the lens cover screw on? There should be a DOT approval number somewhere on the lens or on the body - can you find it?
 
I don't think it has anything to do with humidity as it starts a couple months after the replacement no matter the season or weather  -- hot, dry, snow, rain.... 

The numbers I found are: P-0703-4 and then 2008-6-18.  These numbers are only readable on the passenger side light.  I can't see anything on the one with the condensation.

The lens cover appears to screw on -- haven't touched it to see if I can just keep taking it apart and drying it off.

Help.... am trying to post pictures....
 
Yes, wrote Owner Relations and copied it to my local rv dealer.  Lights are LED.
 

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Yes, you certainly do have condensation!

You should call Owner Relations and not write. Those look like off-the-shelf tail lights and not 'borrowed' from a vehicle (our headlights are from I think a Nissan truck.)
 
Well, John, I took your advice today and called Winnebago and spoke with Tom Pilgrim at Customer Relations. 

Tom told me that the supplier in California and the manufacturer in China are having their engineers look into this.  (Obama will release his birth certificate and Trump his tax returns before these 2 tail light companies can figure it out.)  Tom said condensation wasn't a problem and pretty much was just don't worry your pretty little head there honey about it.  Light will still light and after all it's just a back up light and not a safety issue.  I was left wondering if I would have received a different response if I had been male and had owned something more than a little bitty Trend.

Disappointing.  :(
 
The light may still work, and may not be a safety issue, but in Delaware, it will not pass vehicle inspection. They will not pass a vehicle with moisture in a light. Your state may be different. Also, it seems with enough water, it could possibly cause a short and blow the fuse.
 
If under warranty tell them to replace it. Its got a crack in plastic bezel (factory installer making minimum wage, dropped it before install OR threw it at his boss as he left the Assembly area and someone picked it up and threw it back in the large bin and it got installed) or just a bad seal.

Or Just go online and buy one if out of warranty.
 
kdbgoat said:
The light may still work, and may not be a safety issue, but in Delaware, it will not pass vehicle inspection. They will not pass a vehicle with moisture in a light. Your state may be different. Also, it seems with enough water, it could possibly cause a short and blow the fuse.
It appears to be a backup light and not a red taillight.
 
winona said:
Well, John, I took your advice today and called Winnebago and spoke with Tom Pilgrim at Customer Relations.....  I was left wondering if I would have received a different response if I had been male and had owned something more than a little bitty Trend.
I didn't tell you, but I brought your situation up to my contact at Winnebago a few days ago and he got Tom involved (Tom reports to my contact.)  They will follow up with the vendor but it might take a while to see any results. Winnebago does a good job in the customer relations department, doesn't matter if it's a 30 year old Brave or the newest queen of the fleet (and certainly has nothing to do with gender.)

There is a kludge you might be able to do while Winnebago figures this out, get two or three of those little desiccant bags you get in pill bottles or packed with some products, remove the lens cover and put the bags inside the housing. The desiccant should absorb the moisture.

As a general note, it's been my experience that aftermarket LED taillights are not very reliable due to quality issues with the Chinese manufacturers. I have resisted changing the incandescent taillights for LED versions on my Jeep because every one I see has failed LEDs. The LED third brake light on the back cap of our Horizon lasted about a year or two before the LEDs started failing. That got replaced and the replacement started failing within a few months. I gave up.

kdbgoat said:
It still won't pass in Delaware.
Which is one of the reasons why we keep our vehicles registered in Florida - no nickle and dime vehicle inspections.



 
Once they are out off warranty and because the LED lights aren't cheap, very carefully drill a 1/16 hole in the bottom just thru the lense. The truck fleet I worked for got tired of of the cost of replacing them and that tended to help remove the moisture as the vehicle was moving.
 
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