DSC928

Removed the taillights on the 86.5 to clean out the moisture and found some serious melted plastic. Anybody else have this happen?
I also would like to get the moisture out from behind those particular lenses and keep it out of the others.....any suggestions?

928ntslow

It's typical if someone used too high of a wattage bulb. My Euro has the same issue.

ODSharkBytes

I had the same issue due to someone using the wrong lamps.

Imo000

Seen this many times, and it's not the wattage of the bulb but the shape. That socket needs the small round head bulbs and not the longer, tear drop shaped, ones that are common in North America. The tear drop shaped bulb will sit very close to the lens and will melt it.

Scheinwerfermann

It is down to both the bulb wattage and its shape. The correct bulb is an ECE type R10W. This bulb may have a tubular glass with a hemispherical end, or it may have a spherical glass. Both types are common in both Europe and North America, and neither type is a "must use" or "mustn't use" in these or any other lamps. Nominal power is 10w at 12.0v. The difficulty is, this bulb is on a BA15s (15mm diameter, bayonet, single contact) base which is also used on a lot of other bulbs, most of which have considerably higher power and therefore produce a great deal more heat. The ECE P21W for the brake or turn signal lamp will go right into the socket for the R10W. Its double power consumption and larger glass will tend to cause the kind of melting shown here. Then there are those 50w "upgrade" halogen bulbs sold at every auto parts store for the reversing lights.

But unfortunately, not even German makers are wholly immune from human imperfection. I can think of several German-made rear lamp clusters that are prone to cumulative heat damage even if only bulbs of the correct type are ever used. In cases like that, the only thing to do is replace them every 10 or 20 years as necessary.

John Struthers

LED's......

Optimator

I had an intermittent tail light problem and removed the lenses to investigate. PO had installed 20W bulbs . The lenses were melted like this and the plastic bulb sockets were also melted. The replacement tail light assemblies I installed were presumably from a later car. They took a different bulb type and had metal sockets inserted into the housing for the tail light bulbs only (obviously meant to address the melted plastic socket problem). My originals were all plastic.

Bill Ball

Scheinwerfermann: Very good first post, even if it took more than a year!

DSC928

Exactly what I was thinking. Welcome to the 928 'list.

largecar379

I suspect you [or some one else?] put an 1156 bulb in that position?

exactly what will happen with too big of a bulb.

I have since replaced all my lights with LED's.

LED's can be found at any large truck/trailer parts supplier.

more light, no heat, quicker light up [brake light], low amperage usage, and last longer. amber, red and clear available.

---Russ

dr bob

Jon A. in Glendale, Ca--

Where are you in town here? I'm on the hill between the college and Adventist Hospital. There's a very informal owners group in the area that gathers once in a while for fun and what-not. You should get in on the fun!

PM your info if you don't want it public.