Hi all,

I've owned a set of depo clear/red tails now for about 3.5 years and have had no problems....until now. Upon startup both sides appear to work fine. However, after 5-10 minutes the entire left tail unit is consistently going out. I took it off and noticed that the metal backing that conducts the current is rusting in some places. Would this be an explanation? Has anyone run into this before?

a lot of us have run into this, and not only with aftermarket tail lights.

here are some suggestions, sand off all the rust on both the main part of the tail light and on the connectors of the sockets themselves. also this can be caused by the wrong wattage bulbs (if u have replaced ur bulbs and bought them from an ordinary store they are most likely the wrong wattage, they will still work but the result is...well you can see urself)

yeah, I'm getting ready to sand off the rust. we'll see what happens. I'll update this thread later tonight.

so, I ended up taking the dremel to it for a good 10 minutes. I wanted to make sure I got it as clean as possible. The lights did not go out when I went for a drive tonight :) However, it was a short drive, so I'm still a little skeptical. If they don't fail tomorrow then it probably means that the sanding worked. My question now is, will the freshly exposed metal be more or less likely to rust than the rest of the unit? Christmas is coming up, so a new set of crystal tails might not be a bad gift :stickoutt

i wouldnt really worry about rust, if u are there is dielectrical grease :) protects the metal and wont mess anything up.

drove around for about an hour today and no tail light failure :) Thanks a lot vadim321go

NEW UPDATE

tail light failed again last night :( There are several new symptoms though. First, I noticed that the reverse, brake and turn/hazard lights work. It's only the parking light that does not light up. Second, the tail light fails immediately on startup versus before when it would fail after 5-10 min of driving. Third, the front right fog light has stopped working as well. It stopped working the same time the tail light started to fail. Connection?

I've tried switching the right and left tail light assemblies to see if it is a wiring issue or a problem with the tail light itself. Upon switching, the failing tail light still does not light up. The passenger side tail light continues to function properly using the driver side wiring. So, it's gotta be a problem with the tail light.

My question now: is the left side tail light failing somehow affecting the right side fog light? If the failing unit is replaced will this fix the failure of both the fog and tail light? When I switched the tails the fog light still did not work, so I'm thinking no. It is possible that the fog light problem is totally separate from the tail light problem. I have been having electrical problems often in the past couple months.

I'm having some similar issues except mine were brand new just a month ago...so no rust, they are just being weird. But they will either work when I turn it on or not....I don't have any kind of 5-10 minute buffer. Lights are really starting to make me mad...I'm having so many problems with the lights in/on my car it's not even funny : (

I'm having some similar issues except mine were brand new just a month ago...so no rust, they are just being weird. But they will either work when I turn it on or not....I don't have any kind of 5-10 minute buffer. Lights are really starting to make me mad...I'm having so many problems with the lights in/on my car it's not even funny : (

Brand new, eh? Interesting. I removed almost all of the rust, so I don't think that's the problem either. As for the time buffer, at this point it is gone. unit does not light up at all at startup.

I know how you feel. I've been having electrical gremlins for the past 6 months. quite frustrating :eyecrazy

The worst part is way pay soo much for these parts and then they just go out like cheap POS. Good luck man...unfortunately it sounds like you are gonna need a new set!

The worst part is way pay soo much for these parts and then they just go out like cheap POS. Good luck man...unfortunately it sounds like you are gonna need a new set!

yup, I can't decide if I wanna continue with the clears or switch it up with some crystals. I hear crystal tails look better on darker cars so I may go with those. opinions?

go with what you like best, if you really want an opinion I would say either will look good! Gl and happy holidays

go with what you like best, if you really want an opinion I would say either will look good! Gl and happy holidays

alright, I decided to go with the crystals. I've had the clears on there for a while. I'm ready for something different

As for the fog light, I finally had a chance to work on it today. I discovered that the male end of the igniter (where the igniter plugs into the bulb) is not making a good connection with the corresponding female end. When first plugged in the unit lights up. However, if I so much as touch the connection between igniter and bulb it turns off. I used different bulbs with the same result, so it must be the igniter. I also know it's not the female end of the igniter b/c when I touch that connection nothing happens. Any ideas to remedy the situation?