Ok. Everyone knows that the Altezza's are manufactured poorly. Everyone keeps posting questions about how they leak and how to stop them from leaking. I just received my set and haven't put them on yet. What I think this posting should do is thoroughly explain where to seal the lights. Not how, but where.The responses to this link should answer any questions to anyone that has these lights. By finding out where everyone's lights have leaked, those of us that just got them or are thinking about getting them have a good idea of where to seal them. Me personally, I want to seal them and make sure that they are sealed for good. Do it once and do it right! On some postings people say "seal them with silicon". Does this mean completely inject silicon in every crevice or what? For those of you that have successfully sealed your lights, why don't you reply to this posting stating where exactly you had to apply the silicon. Maybe there are common leaks with everyone's lights. At least then we have an idea as to where the problems are and can fix it before we have any water damage to the chrome or inside plastic. We need to do what the manufacturer isn't. Fix the problem. I've got G2's and Obviously there are spots that will need to be sealed, like on the sides that will face the center section, there is a 1/4" rectangle that is completely open. That one's a no-brainer, but what about the little slit in the middle of each fixture. It is facing the inside of the car. Please indicate which version of Altezza you have, and where you applied silicon, or whatever other sealant you used. I think that everyone with Altezza's could only benefit by having this question finally answered.
The reason I posted this subject is, I don't want the taillights to look like they should be on the back end of a submarine because of all the sealant on them.
#1014, "RE: Lets Figure out these Altezza's! (Long)" In response to Reply # 0
well.. I just bought some window sealant from some auto store, it would work fine only IF you could seal all the openings. Today I painted the inside of my altezza's g3 cuz water ate away the chrome. I sealed them back on with some window sealant and then I used some Appoxi glue, both transparent. ummm... I think you should seal it all along the edges + plus seal the wholes on the side of the lights.
#1015, "RE: Lets Figure out these Altezza's! (Long)" In response to Reply # 1
i sealed off where all the connection clips are with clear epoxy and still to no avail. im thinking of taking them out opening them ...cleaning them and completely seling them when done ...u gotta hate these things ..and also to all with the center piece in ...why doesnt the lock meet up properly ? what the hell is that ... truthfully im hating my apc's american piece of crap .. but what can u do ..i just put some clear tape over the hole and always pop the trunk
#1016, "RE: Lets Figure out these Altezza's! (Long)" In response to Reply # 2
I just siliconed the tabs all the way around the fixtures, and then also put 2 coates of silicon around the very back of the lights (where the clear plastic & the black plastic meet). I figure that is where a lot of the problem comes from. If you look at the way they try to seal the lights, the sealant is way back in the fixtures. If there is any gap back there, the water will be able to get in. On the top of the lights as the plastic starts to angle down toward the point, I had almost a 1/4" gap where the 2 plastics were supposed to meet. I carefully put a bead all the way around, and used rubbing alcohol to clean up the excess silicon. You can't even really see the silicon afterwards. You basically are injecting the stuff between the plastic. I then checked both lights to make sure that I didn't have any visual gaps where the silicon was injected. Tomorrow I'm going to see just how good of a job I did by submerging them.
#1017, "RE: Lets Figure out these Altezza's! (Long)" In response to Reply # 3
well.. two days ago I took apart my altezza's and cleaned them and painted the inside because water ate away the chrome. after getting that done I used some silicone and I put it where their glue was.. and then after it dried I used some epoxy on it.. filled every lil' hole I could find anywhere on the light.. on the back or front.. took me 6 hrs and guess what..??? today it rained.. and f@#!#$ng moisture still got inside...... grrrrrrrr.!!!!!!! anyways.. so now I took apart my altezzas... and since I know i'll buy the stock tail lights in a week.. I'm actually modifying them.
#1018, "I think I got it" In response to Reply # 4
Last night I submerged my lights and I had one side leak. So I went over it with a pen light to see if I could find any type of spot where it could possibly leak and found a few pinhole leaks.
I then removed all of the silicon that I had put on the tabs because with the sealant they put on the lights, when you reseal them, there may be small leaks on the side that you can't see. So I took a knife and cut down all the gray sealant they put on the lights so it was flush with the black housing. I then reapplied the silicon with a Q-tip (with the cotton removed). Went over everything with the pen light, and when I figured that everything was ok, submerged them again and they didn't leak.
So…this is what I did and/or recommend.
First look at the tabs on your lights. Cut down any sealant so that you can apply silicon and see the entire tab hole, not just the front and the sides. Apply 2 coats of silicon. First just fill the hole and use your finger to push it into the hole farther. Once that is done and dried get a flashlight and inspect every tab. Make sure that there are no pin holes in the silicon. I think this is where everyone gets frustrated, because pinholes are so hard to find. If there are, apply silicon with a Q-tip and smear the silicon over the entire hole again. You may want to do all the tabs again to insure that they're sealed.
Second, apply silicon around the taillight where the clear housing and the black housing meet (the part that would face the car behind you). Do the same thing as you did with the tabs. This will take a lot more silicon to do the edging, especially on the top. Then use your finger to push it farther into the crack. The more smooth you are with applying the silicon the better the lights will look because you will be able to see the silicon bead through the clear plastic. Any excess I used rubbing alcohol and a cotton ball to pick up. You'll use quite a few cotton balls. Once that is dry check for any type of holes again. I had found 1 or 2, but I went and applied another coat of silicon over the whole thing just in case I missed anything.
Once you've gotten this far, be sure to check the fixtures again for any type of holes. I had submerged my lights as far as I could under water without getting water coming into the holes for the bulbs and I didn't have any leaks at all. I will probably wait a week or so and apply another coat just to be safe.
I don't know if this will help anyone else with the Altezza problem, and I can't be sure that mine won't leak. But with what I did to reseal them and submerge them, I was able to stop mine from leaking.
