Axis 24.1 need to check your tail light assembly

[tilfo]

My problem came with a with a failed state safety inspection. Just one tail lamp out. Easy I thought, I can take care of that in a few minutes. I started to unscrew the lens assembly and the screws were totally rusted. It was difficult to remove the lens, and then disassembly was a thirty minute ordeal for each side. The screws were so rusted that nothing would come apart. In fact they were partly just dissolved! Inspection showed that moisture had penetrated the lens and the exposed wooden structure as well. On disassembly I expected to find a burned out lamp. But the problem was the lamps connecting wire was rusted out (see photo). In fact almost all of the bulb wires were rusted and would have soon failed.



Repair consisted of new lamps from a local auto parts store, with new LED lamps on one side to see how well they work. They are just a few dollars. I allowed time for the exposed wood to dry out. I reassembled the lens with generous amounts of lamp grease to prevent moisture from entering the connectors. Then I used #8 exterior grade stainless steel screws to reinstall the lens, and a bead of silicone sealer all around. The whole repair took most of a day on and off. So far it is working well now.

[Muggs]

I read about 3 months after getting Vegas. My lamps survived. I dried wood, sealed internally with silicone. Did same bead outside of lenses. Been a long time no more issues.

[JamieGeek]

Oh yeah this is a very common problem with every Thor motorhome. The taillights come with a crappy foam gasket that crushes and allows water in.

I preemptively coated the entire area with Flex Seal (yeah as seen on TV--and I shot a cannon through the door and sealed that up too! Great stuff!).


Another camper with this problem:
http://www.thorforums.com/forums/f8/...ghts-2568.html

Here is my original thread where I discussed my solution:
http://www.thorforums.com/forums/f27...axis-1433.html
(Sadly my picture hosting service went away after I posted that so all the pictures I posted in that thread are "gone"--I did repost the Flex Seal pics at the very end.)

[Oldchief]

Hope you used stainless steel screws, as Thor should have, when you reassembled your taillight housing. Thanks for your post, I'm checking mine today and adding stainless screws.

Update: Checked my Axis taillights and, even tho our's is less than 2 yrs old, screws were already fairly rusty and somewhat difficult to remove. Will seal the crappy foam gasket with silicone on both sides and replace the rust prone steel 1 1/2" self-drilling screws that Thor used with stainless, that have a regular phillips screw head, so I won't need a square-head screwdriver in the future. .

[Yvonnemarc]

I contacted the tail light company and they make a drop-in replacement unit "LED" and when you order it it will come with the plug-in harness so no cutting or splicing. For my Thor 30.2 they are $69.95 each. Comes with new seals and instructions on how to best effectively seal them.

[axis earl]

Originally Posted by Yvonnemarc

I contacted the tail light company and they make a drop-in replacement unit "LED" and when you order it it will come with the plug-in harness so no cutting or splicing. For my Thor 30.2 they are $69.95 each. Comes with new seals and instructions on how to best effectively seal them.

You can find my thread where I replaced mine from Command Electronics with the entire LED units. I did not use the foam gasket and instead used black butyl rubber that came in a roll. Sealed up the outside edge with RV Flex sealer (black) along with rubber o-rings on the stainless steel screws.

[Diemaster]

Originally Posted by axis earl

You can find my thread where I replaced mine from Command Electronics with the entire LED units. I did not use the foam gasket and instead used black butyl rubber that came in a roll. Sealed up the outside edge with RV Flex sealer (black) along with rubber o-rings on the stainless steel screws.

i also ordered the command LED units. trying to find stainless screws now and then i'll swap them out. mine seem hardwired with butt connectors but i think i found where they enter the aluminum tube below at the chassis.

i want to know why thor got all the outside marker lights for LED but not the tail lights.