Shine-up license plate light

Maybe this has been talked about before; asking for your feedback. The other day when I experienced the hydrolocking of the motor the cheapo Chinese shine up license plate light assembly repro filled up with water as a result of that deluge. Many years ago I had taken the time to take the three plastic lenses out of the assembly and very carefully reinstalled them with clear silicone all around. I thought I had sealed the unit. What gives? Is the rubber base seal the culprit? I just got the metal portion rechromed (since the chrome definitely got thinner over the years), got a new base seal and new plastic lenses to try and optimize the thing (from the ones I’ve seen I believe the original Hella units are not much better). Any pointers on how to make this thing weathertight? Thank you in advance for your input.

10/27/227:29 PM

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DannyP

My wife's old Subaru taillight had the same problem. I thought I had sealed it up with silicone, but no.

So I did what any sane person would do: I drilled a couple small holes in the bottom to let the inevitable moisture OUT!

Works like a charm, car is outside every day. It does get a little humid(condensation) in there, but then the sun clears it right up! Beats buying another unit, which might leak also.

10/28/226:32 AM

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Sacto Mitch2013 VS Supporting Member

@DannyP posted:
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...I did what any sane person would do: I drilled a couple small holes in the bottom...

While you're at it, drill a few holes in your floor pans, too.

On these cars, the lights are sealed better than the passenger compartment.

10/28/223:47 PM

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IaM-Ray

@Impala I try to silicone the top but the bottom has a small hole I think which drains so Danny has the idea for sure. Actually I had a sealed window unit which was giving fog and the tech used a small drill and put a hole on top with a small cover that let the gas escape... same principle.

10/31/223:18 PM

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Napa Paul

@Sacto Mitch posted:
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While you're at it, drill a few holes in your floor pans, too.
On these cars, the lights are sealed better than the passenger compartment.
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Isn't this solution to the problem called "going with the flow." cool