98-02 T/A FT T/Singal & DRL fix

[Whamhammer]

I have some new ft turn signal/drls for my T/A but I want to do my best to keep the leak free, where do these buggers leak from, and how do we seal them up?

I am fine with drilling small holes to drain the water out but I figured its smarter to never let the water in the first place.

Also, anyone have any sucess with some sort of lamp protection film to keep rocks from cracking the lenses?

[Whamhammer]

I have some new ft turn signal/drls for my T/A but I want to do my best to keep the leak free, where do these buggers leak from, and how do we seal them up?

I am fine with drilling small holes to drain the water out but I figured its smarter to never let the water in the first place.

Also, anyone have any sucess with some sort of lamp protection film to keep rocks from cracking the lenses?

Bump

[sjgreen6]

Autotrix thinks they leak from the gasket between the bulb socket and the housing shrinking over time. They sell a larger softer gasket to fix the problem https://www.autotrix.net/Products/14...Light+Gaskets/ . Some others have had problems with gaps between the lens and the housing that they fixed with a bit of silicone around the edge, and others have had cracks in the lens from overheating bulbs.

[Whamhammer]

Autotrix thinks they leak from the gasket between the bulb socket and the housing shrinking over time. They sell a larger softer gasket to fix the problem https://www.autotrix.net/Products/14...Light+Gaskets/ . Some others have had problems with gaps between the lens and the housing that they fixed with a bit of silicone around the edge, and others have had cracks in the lens from overheating bulbs.

I will check out the gasket, and silicone the gaps.

Can an LED conversion fix the overheating?

[DarrenWS6]

I will check out the gasket, and silicone the gaps.

Can an LED conversion fix the overheating?

LEDs very much can fix the heat issue. The only follow-up issue would be a LED compatible flasher unit would need installed also.

[Whamhammer]

LEDs very much can fix the heat issue. The only follow-up issue would be a LED compatible flasher unit would need installed also.

Has anyone here done it, sucessfully?

Does is require all "flashable" bulbs (ft side marker, rr side marker, tail lamps) to be LED too?

[DarrenWS6]

Has anyone here done it, sucessfully?

Does is require all "flashable" bulbs (ft side marker, rr side marker, tail lamps) to be LED too?

No, you don't need to convert everything to LED. The LED compatible flasher will just prevent hyper flash that occurs with a bad bulb. Aside of a partially melted harness, I suspect the flasher to be faulty in my car which causes this.



My plan for the following is,

To swap to an LED compatible electronic flasher
( https://www.superbrightleds.com/more...c-flasher/780/ )

Wire in the new light bulb harness I got from RockAuto for I think $10

And install these new Sylvania Zevo LED bulbs in the housings for the LED benefits ( low heat, brighter output ).
( Sylvania Zevo LED Miniature 3157 Amber 3454A 3457 3757A 4057 3757 4114 Two Bulb | eBay )

I love the parking lamp DRLs on the Vette's and F-bodies. Absolutely adore the appearance, adds so nicely to the already menacing appearance.


This won't all happen until maybe April when I get my WS6 back from PaJeff's secured winter storage hands . I plan to do apply some overlay decals ( center tail, door emblems, bird plate ) and possibly some UMI SFCs, so i'll have this all done in a couple months.

[024mula]

Keep us posted on how it turns out Darren.

[DarrenWS6]

Keep us posted on how it turns out Darren.

Gladly will!

[DarrenWS6]

Further research has rendered me to find this flasher as a guaranteed fix for hyper-flashing after an LED bulb exchange.
https://www.superbrightleds.com/more.../#/tab/Reviews

I lost the f-body page that I found the info at, but I looked online and didn't like the many pins the FL3 red flasher I posted in post#7, feeling it may be too universal and possibly not work. I may call up SuperBrightLEDs before I order here soon to confirm/take suggestions.

[Whamhammer]

Not that I didnt believe you guys but the root cause of my TS leaks were hairline cracks i. The lens. I cleaned my lenses and put clear packing tape over them, and drove it through the car wash and no leaks, moisture build up or anything.

I am certainly going to convert to LEDs and put protection film, silicone, etc on the new ones I have before install.

[raynor139]

Curious to see what you figure out. I just got another set of housings to replace my current ones before car show season. My passenger one will only light up when the headlights are turned on. Its still pretty dim then. Wont do anything else at all.

[Whamhammer]

Curious to see what you figure out. I just got another set of housings to replace my current ones before car show season. My passenger one will only light up when the headlights are turned on. Its still pretty dim then. Wont do anything else at all.

You are saying you have those problems with LED TS's?

[raynor139]

You are saying you have those problems with LED TS's?

No the regular stock stuff. Seems like im replacing part of them every year so im looking into LEDs and trying to see what works best. Blackbird lighting solutions offers some other stuff to use also but takes a little more work/wiring to install there setup. Cool thing about theirs is that it lights up white normally then switches to orange when you use the turn signal. I like to keep everything plug and play and stock looking if i can for ease of maintenance so if the stuff from superbrightleds works just fine I would probably use that.

A big part of the problem nowadays is that Depo is the main supplier of the housing for the DRLs for most vendors. Their stuff isn't all that great. The bulbs for our DRLs have a bad habit of heat stressing them and causing cracks/water issues. So depending on how it goes for Darren I will probably try out what he has found or if I get antsy ill try it myself. My 2 year old Depo housings are looking pretty rough already and have multiple cracks and judging by how they run i'm betting they are heat related not rock or road debris.

[024mula]

I notice all you guys have Trans Ams which have smaller housing for the DRLs but what about a Formula which has a bigger housing for the DRLs, do you think I should go with LEDs also?

[DarrenWS6]

I notice all you guys have Trans Ams which have smaller housing for the DRLs but what about a Formula which has a bigger housing for the DRLs, do you think I should go with LEDs also?

LED are always worth it.

[024mula]

So, what set up do I all need?

[Whamhammer]

So, what set up do I all need?

I would presume that the socket, bulb, and relay are the same on all Firebird and T/A's, just the lenses are different which doesn't impact the LED change.

[DarrenWS6]

So, what set up do I all need?

This is what I have for install once my car is back with me ( Should be this Saturday!! ).


The only thing missing is an LED capable flasher. I sort of want to pull the original out and make sure of what I am ordering before I order the wrong flasher. Apparently our cars have two prongs. My car rapid flashes right now anyways so the LEDs shouldn't be a big deal hahah. Besides looking brighter and cleaner with better response time, and dissipating less heat temperature in the sealed housing.

The Zevo bulbs have a great reputation of being quality made ( Osram Sylvania ) and are starting to become off the shelf available. I saw them for $24.99 at Autozone the other day. Since I cant find a worthwhile deal online I will just buy from there next time. The bulb harness there to replace my burnt up passenger one is brand 'Standard' part #S585. According to RockAuto this is what our cars take.
STANDARD MOTOR PRODUCTS S585 Tail Lamp Socket | RockAuto

[024mula]

Before and After pics?