Gasket for taillight? January 02, 2025, 08:23:18 am My round back up light is collecting moisture. The paper gasket has disintegrated so I cut a new one from gasket material. The lens is still showing that moisture is collecting despite the new hand-made gasket. Does anyone have a source for some replacements? 2007 23 1/2 TwinKing. Thanks!
Re: Gasket for taillight? Reply #1 – January 02, 2025, 02:07:24 pm Hi Chartrue2; (Looking through your old posts I noticed that you mentioned using the tire pressures listed on the door. No one mentioned it at the time, but those pressures provided by Ford, required by law, are for an unbuilt and unfinished vehicle. The E450 chassis could be for a box truck, ambulance, small bus, or in a few builds, motorhomes. They don't reflect the reality of what is eventually built on the chassis. Probably they are the maximum rated pressure of the tires supplied.) A picture of the moisture build up would help. I don't remember the configuration of rear lights on your 2007. I know that they changed, and maybe that was 2008. For the 4" diameter round incandescent, light fixtures, I don't remember any gaskets. There should be a breather hole at the bottom if there were gaskets. Rain water and high pressure water from a hose (washing it) should be slowed down, but the insides should still be allowed to breathe, and not have much moisture buildup inside. I remember removing the spring retaining rings, to take out the plastic lenses in order to clean the dirt off of the bulbs, inside of the fixtures and lens every year or so. I replaced the bulbs and lenses early on with sealed LED lights, to reduce current flow and increase brightness. The Ford wiring was improved by Ford sometime around 2003. (or maybe Lazy Daze started using larger gauge wiring to solve that problem). I do remember using a drive in, coin operated washing place once. I had replaced my reverse lights with more powerful halogen lights. Got water inside the light, and reversing the LD to get out of the washing bay, managed to boil the water and melt holes in the white plastic lenses. LED lights fixed that issue. If you still have incandescent bulb tail lights, you should replace them with LED fixtures. This light would be good: Amazon.com: Nilight 4†Round Trailer Tail Light 2PCS 24LED White Stainless... If you did upgrade your run/brake red lights to LED it gets slightly more involved. RonB As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.
Re: Gasket for taillight? Reply #2 – January 02, 2025, 04:05:56 pm With or without the paper gasket, water will still get into the fixture.Leaving the gasket out will allow water to drain better.As Ron suggested, switching the tail lights to an LED fixture is a good idea. An alternative is replacing the existing incandescent bulbs with high-intensity LED bulbs. Lining the reflectors with aluminum foil is one way of increasing the light output. Our backup lights still have the original lens, with the incandescent bulbs replaced with high-intensity clear LEDs many years agoOur LD's tail lights were switched to LED fixtures 20 years ago. It was a popular upgrade, I changed a couple of dozen over the years. If you plan on towing, the Factory tail light wiring is too small to carry enough current to light up both the LD's tail lights and the toad's tail lights, a problem that was finally cured in 2004 when Ford upgraded the wire size. Pre-2004 LDs can have this issue overcome by using LED bulbs exclusively on both the LD tail lights and toad, the LEDs need much less amperage and the lightweight Factory wiring is adequate with modification. LEDs bet using relays and other devices to provide enough power for the toad's tail lights. BTDTLarry
Re: Gasket for taillight? Reply #3 – January 03, 2025, 03:05:27 am Thanks Larry for pinning down that year @ 2004. One other rig (2001) I wired, had separate wiring from the chassis battery in front (main power distribution box) to the rear bumper and a Tekonsha Modulite buffer relay box for the towed. Seven pin socket and plug for towing a trailer or car. Wire back for 'towed brake on' warning light, and charge wire for the towed's auxiliary braking system/ battery charger. I did this for a friend to his 2001 MB in 2017. Hard to believe that was seven years ago. The price of suitable LED tail lights is much better now with great choices. One combo light: 4" LED Round STT & PTC GLO Light - Raney's Truck Parts Another: Amazon.com: LED Tail Lights Kit - 4Pcs 4" Inch Round Led Stop Turn Tail.... Another I can't find again has combined red and white LED's; turns red for SST and all white for reverse. Sort of like this: 19 LED 4" Round Double Fury Color Red Stop Turn Taillight to White Auxiliary.... RonB As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.
Re: Gasket for taillight? Reply #4 – January 03, 2025, 01:44:24 pm Back in the 2000s, many LD owners were having problems with dim toad tail lights caused by the undersized Ford tail light wiring. The cure was installing a Modulite relay pack or building relay packs, along with a hot 12-volt power wire from the starting battery to power the relays. The Modulite modules were prone to early failure. I changed out many of them, finally giving up and building relay packs using replaceable Bosch-style 12-volt relays.The development of bright LED tail lights changed the whole situation, allowing both the LD's and toad's tail lights to operate without dimming. LED bulbs use a fraction of the power that incandescent bulbs use. Ford's 2004 wiring upgrade ended the issue.Larry
Re: Gasket for taillight? Reply #5 – January 03, 2025, 03:47:01 pm Hi Larry, the Modulite I used was all mosfets, no relays. I did wire into the 7 pin socket a discrete stop light signal, via a single relay, to use for an auxiliary braking system. Also useful for towed vehicles with separate brake and turn signals (European style). RonB
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