How To Remove Trailer Tail Light Cover

How To Remove & Stop Tail Calorie-free Or Headlight Condensation
A pictures illustrated guide to removing h2o condensation from a car's headlights or tail lights and preventing it.

This "how to" step by step educational activity guide was specifically written to assist owners of the sixth generation (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 & 2003) GM Pontiac Grand Prix GTP in removing condensation or pelting water from the vehicle's headlights or tail lights and keeping the moisture from entering the lite associates once again.

Owners of other General Motors vehicles or any other American or foreign vehicle may also observe this guide to exist useful.

I am not a professional mechanic. I accept no responsibility for damages or injuries. Continue with caution.

GM Yard Prix Tail Light
Water Condensation
Humidity Droplets In Calorie-free I recently noticed some water droplets clinging to the inside wall of the tail lights on my 2001 Pontiac One thousand Prix GTP sedan.

The moisture must have entered the tail light assembly due to the rubber seals around the light bulb housings becoming old and brittle. The high humidity and heavy rains in South Florida don't aid the state of affairs either.

I had this same problem with water condensation within my automobile's headlights a few years ago. To correct the problem, I had to completely remove the headlights from the car and dry them out indoors with a hair dryer.

To foreclose the humidity or rain h2o from entering again, I wrapped the outer ring of the headlight bulb sockets with some Teflon Tape (a.k.a. Plumber's Tape).

I repeated this procedure with my tail lights equally detailed below.

GM Headlight Housing
Headlight Bulb Socket
Socket Wrapped In Teflon Tape Before heading back to start working on my tail light affected with condensation, I checked the Teflon tape seal on my headlight seedling sockets.

The headlights were still free of any water droplets or mist since I wrapped them a few years ago to copy the seal.

I didn't remove them to check the condition of the OEM original rubber gasket for fear of damaging the Teflon record's barrier to our area's high humidity and torrential rain storms.

Inside Yard Prix Trunk
Upper Tail Lite Thumb Screw
Upper Thumb Screw Removed If you demand to remove your headlights, most GM cars require a 10mm wrench to loosen the 2 bolts holding the headlight associates to the vehicle.

To have out the 3 headlight bulb sockets (low beam, high beam, & signal), just hold the small tab and plow the grayness socket housing a 1/ii turn counter clockwise and lift it straight up.

Body Rug Peeled Back
Lower Tail Lite Thumb Spiral
Both Tail Low-cal Screws Removed After inspecting my headlights, I moved back to the rear of the car.

To remove the tail light in a 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix or whatever General Motors car, y'all'll demand to open up the trunk and locate the large black plastic thumb screws.

In my car, the superlative tail light pollex screw was visible at the acme rear corner of the trunk.

I removed this spiral past rotating information technology counter clockwise with my fingers.

To access and remove the 2nd of 2 tail light thumb screws, I peeled back the torso's carpet.

Tail Light Off Car
Tail Light Cavity
Bulb Sockets In Assembly Now that both of the tail light thumb screws were removed, I jiggled out the tail lite assembly abroad from the rear of the car.

The three bulb sockets (parking, brake, reverse) on the rear of the tail light housing can be removed in the same fashion as the headlight bulbs past belongings down the plastic arm and rotating them counter clockwise.

Unscrew Bulb Sockets
3 Bulb Sockets Hanging
Hair Dryer, Drying Tail Light Once all the bulb sockets were removed from the tail light housing, I took the housing inside to the depression humidity environment to dry information technology out.

To help speed up the water removal from the tail light, I used a hairdryer assault high heat and blew hot air into the socket holes.

Be certain to periodically motion the pilus dryer to different sections of the housing or take short breaks so that you lot don't cook the plastic.

I didn't accept time to wait overnight for the tail low-cal assembly to dry out, but that would take been a much easier and safer method for completely removing all the water.

Teflon (Plumber's) Record
Bulb Socket Wrapped In Tape
Teflon Tape On Tail Low-cal Sockets I left the heated up tail light associates in the bathroom to let it dry out out some more while I went back to the garage.

To create a new airtight and water tight seal around the tail lite seedling sockets, I wrapped the outer ring of the socket with the Teflon record.

For the best seal, it'south important to wrap a turn or two of plumber's record on the within surface of the socket where the sometime rubber gasket rests.

Information technology's improve to take too much Teflon tape on the bulb socket than not plenty.

Putting on too much Teflon tape may require either more force to twist the socket into the housing or you'll have to remove some of information technology little by little.

If the socket turns into the tail light housing too hands, yous probably don't have a good plenty seal and should add together more tape.

Re-Inserting Bulbs
Socket Sealed With Tape
Dust Off - Accident Out Sockets While I was wrapping the Teflon record around the tail light seedling sockets, I noticed that in that location was some water inside the sockets themselves.

To remove that moisture, I thoroughly blew them out with a tin can of "Grit Off" compressed air.

So I inserted the tail calorie-free bulb sockets back into the dried out housing with firm force per unit area and twisted clockwise a one-half plow to the locked and closed position.

To cease upward the job, I put the assembly dorsum on to the car and secured the 2 thumb screws.

If yous've washed a skilful job of applying the Teflon record, in that location should exist a tight plenty seal to prevent rain water, humidity or condensation from getting inside your automobile's headlights or tail lights.

Update - This initial repair endeavour did not work completely. The tail light eventually gathered some more moisture inside of it over the course of a few weeks. I believe that my 2d attempt has permanently fixed the chief cause of the issue. I removed the tail lite, and dried it out over night.

I fabricated a notation of where h2o was leaking out from between the clear plastic lens and the blackness body of the tail light when it was drying out in the bathroom.

The adjacent solar day, I used several tubes of crazy gum to re-seal the lens to the tail calorie-free assembly.

For extra reassurance, I sealed the open areas of the seedling sockets with high temperature silicon sealant to continue h2o from entering that area and rusting out the contacts.

Dried Out Bulb Seat
3 Bulbs Screwed Dorsum In
Dry out & Sealed Tail Lite For more of my automotive instructions, check out the following links: Buffing Faded Headlights Guide, K&N Air Filter Cleaning Guide, Automobile Interior Carpeting Replacement Guide, GM Cycle Bearing Hub Associates Replacement Guide, GM 3800 II PCV Valve Replacement Guide, GM Power Window Motor & Regulator Replacement Guide, WeatherTech FloorLiner Review, GM Power Steering Whine Gear up, GM Yard Prix Front Brake Pads Replacement Guide, GM Restriction Line Fluid Bleeding Guide, GM 3800 Series Ii L67 Engine Oil Alter Guide, and Pontiac Thou Prix Alternator Replacement Guide.

For more, check out all of my Pontiac G Prix DIY Repair & Maintenance Guides .