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I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this; on both my rear LED lights (purchased from Rottec several years ago) there is a rows of burned out (or not powered) LEDs in the same place on both left and right rears (see attached).
I thought this may be a defective but replaceable component that gave way on both lights but my multiple emails to info@rotteccarbon.com have gone without any response.
I know I did not notice this until someone pointed it out to me, so this may have occured sometime ago. If you also purchased the LED retrofit from Rottec several years ago please take a look at yours, also I'd appreciate it if anyone encountered this and is aware of a fix? Thanks in advance.
Do you remember if you checked them when you first had them installed? Is it possible they were always like that? The reason why I ask is that maybe that version of the taillight may have some compatibility issue with your specific car or maybe you have a wiring issue.
I know nothing about these lights specifically, but it seems there is one wire or part of the panel that is broken or disconnected.
Highly unlikely, but you might want to doublecheck your fuses. Do the lights themselves have any internal fuses?
I am interested to see if this is effecting others.
That is kind of where the rear fog light would be. Have you turned the rear fog lights on to check for operation (lights on, pull out on the light switch)? In right side (of the road) drive countries the rear fog is to the left side only. In left side drive countries it is to the right (center of road), although I have read some weird things about England. The easier way to say this is the fog light only operates on the driver's side.
That is kind of where the rear fog light would be. Have you turned the rear fog lights on to check for operation (lights on, pull out on the light switch)? In right side (of the road) drive countries the rear fog is to the left side only. In left side drive countries it is to the right (center of road), although I have read some weird things about England. The easier way to say this is the fog light only operates on the driver's side.
Thanks. I checked my pics from the time I initially installed them and they were all lit up. I don't know when they went out, but I never had any dash warnings. With both failing I figure there may be others with the same situation that just don't know it.
Good suggestion about the fog light, I had the same thought but when checked they do not illuminate with or without the fog light on.
Thanks. I checked my pics from the time I initially installed them and they were all lit up. I don't know when they went out, but I never had any dash warnings. With both failing I figure there may be others with the same situation that just don't know it.
Good suggestion about the fog light, I had the same thought but when checked they do not illuminate with or without the fog light on.
Be careful when you do this...the fog light is a bulb not an LED. The RoTTec lights needed a bulb for the fog light and the RoTTec folks sometimes would ship a red bulb for this but many folks left the bulb out since if you didn't get the red bulb it was a bright white and really looked strange so if no bulb and you activate the rear fog light you'll get a warning message that will have to cleared. Early on there were pages and pages of discussions and pictures of these lights - I'm sure you could find one that shows what should be lit up. I think both sides have lost a bank of LED's and I don't think they are a replaceable item.
Hey, on the bright side (no pun intended) at least the outage is symmetrical
I think you're probably out of luck though. I'm not sure what Ray's original warranty was, but wold be surprised if it's longer than 1 year. I know that's what Shane at Del ray customs offers (1 year free replacement). I think the Depo/Dectanes with their all LED construction are better lights than the Rottecs or Spyders, but that's just my opinion.
I have discovered the same problem on the right side light assembly on mine. If appears to be a factory defect.
It will be interesting to see if ROTTEC will ever respond to you. Their warranty response is pretty poor. It took me over a year to get them to own up to a problem with moisture in a front one I had. Ultimately they came through, but it wasn't with out a lot of bugging them.
I doubt they will come through on these. They will tell you that they are out of warranty. But if we make a big enough stink here on the Rennlist they may discover that we can impact their future sales when the public discovers their stuff is without any sort of reasonable warranty.
Did you notice how the right light that is below the LEDs is illuminated now? Sort of where the rear fog light would be except it is on the right.
Perhaps the array of 4 LEDs fell down inside the assembly, and into that area? I haven't had the time to take it apart and do some troubleshooting yet.
Did you notice how the right light that is below the LEDs is illuminated now? Sort of where the rear fog light would be except it is on the right.
Perhaps the array of 4 LEDs fell down inside the assembly, and into that area? I haven't had the time to take it apart and do some troubleshooting yet.
Very astute observation. If you look closely, it actually looks like the left light has the same issue where the LEDs may have fallen into the rear fog light area of the lamp. In the left light they go from about 12 o'clock to 7 o'clock and in the right lamp from 1 o'clock to 5 o'clock. I bet if you remove the light but leave it connected, and tip or shake the whole assembly, that you might see those 3 LEDs move around in that area.
I just ordered a set of smoked Dectanes from Germany (not available over here) that will arrive next week. Once they do, I'll be listing my current Red/Clear Dectanes for sale if anyone is interested. I bought them 2nd hand off a guy with a 997 Turbo and they already have the integrated resistors so they should work on any 997.1 model. Here are a few pics and I'll post close-up ones of the lights after deinstall.
Dan, great observation. I'm going to take these off this weekend, after I clean all the NE snow/salt off and take a look. Having both fail does point to a component defect and failure, will let you all know.
You're observation regarding Rottec support and responsiveness is accurate and also matches with my experience. I received no response after multiple email attempts. However when I posted here for help I got an immediate standard response that they are out of the 1 year limited warranty period.
Pete, those are nice. I may be interested if I can't resolve my 'symmetrical' issue :-)
First, I believe the row of LEDs burning out on both my left and right rears may be due to a defect in the circuitry of these lights. Note the warping (on the left) and bubbling (on the right). It seems like the LEDs were running hot and heat may have been the cause for these LEDs burning out.
At any rate, peaking inside it was clear this is beyond repairable.
I hope someone from Rottec is monitoring this and provides a response.
02-18-2015, 02:50 PM
Help 997.1 Rottec Rear LEDs burning out
Just trying to help, bet there will be more opportunities.
