usedtobeaJusty Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 My driver side fog light is half filled with water and the bulb just burned out. The water level seems to be remaining pretty constant so I was thinking that maybe it was no longer leaking. I crashed into a snow bank this winter and was wondering if a bunch of snow got jammed up in there and then melted into the light somehow. I just got new PIAA bulbs for the fogs and I was hoping to take the light out, drain it and then install with the new bulbs. Anyone had water in the fogs and if so were you able to solve it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bdubs Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Perhaps the cover is cross threaded and isn't snug against the foglight assembly. It could be condensation because of that, or even water on the road is entering because of the cover not being tight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eekay Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Something very similar to this happened to me a while back. Although I don't recall how it happened exactly, the driver side fog light began filling with water and eventually got high enough to burn out the bulb and rust out the interior of the fixture itself (I've since replaced it...) What did end up being the culprit was that Subaru fog lights use the little, metal locking guides when they are mounted into the bumper and if the light gets a slight *BANG* the guide breaks away from the fixture housing leaving either a large crack or hole. Pull the light out and check the top-rear of the housing as this is fairly easy to fix with some silicone or something if you don't want to replace the thing. Regards My 9.3 cups EJ22 makes me feel like my **** is 2.8 decimeters! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawrah Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 yes, same story for me last yr. take the foglight out and check to see if there are any cracks or broken plastic braces. my top plastic clip was broken off and allowed water to get in along with the packed snow. lo and behold the bulb blew out. after taking the assembly out, i realized that if i had cleaned it out in the first place and repaired it i would have been fine. the reason is that if there is a burnt out bulb in there with some current going through it along with water, it will cause electrochemical rxns to occur and cause the reflector to decay and corrode. in short, take the assembly out, check it , get the water out asap, dont use your fogs till you do. reseal all cracks if any and repairable. if not you'll end up kicking yourself in the rear adn buying a new assembly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snow05gtRI Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 I had the same issue as the last two people to post. there was a big hole in the top of my foglight and it filled with water. it happened to burn out right after I got some work done on the car where we unplugged the wires to the fogs when taking off the bumper so I thought it was that, only to pull it out and have a TON of water spill out. the hole got sealed with some silicone, and he used some brake cleaner on the inside and then tried to dry it out with compressed air hose. put a new bulb in and it's working, but it's pointing a funny direction. I think all the foglight issues people have (or lack of seeing light) is from placement. both of mine used to point down and away from the car to light up the edges of the road, and did so pretty well. the driver's side (that I did not take out) still does, but now the passenger side points straight ahead, or what I believe to be straight ahead. I need to try to get under there and mess with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eekay Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Yup. If you catch it quick enough, it can be fixed without much effort. The longer you leave it though, the worse it gets... I had no idea so many people would be having the same issues with the fogs... @snow05gtRI When you removed the fogs, were you able to properly realign the bolts that hold the fogs in? I'm not sure how a fog would go askew from something as simple as wire unplugging. But, if the bolts aren't properly in the holes or loose or something that would certainly make them point differently. Does the light wiggle or shake when you're driving? My 9.3 cups EJ22 makes me feel like my **** is 2.8 decimeters! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snow05gtRI Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 i cant tell if it wiggles or shakes because I can no longer differ between the headlight and the foglight. i can watch my driver's side turn on and see where it lights up the road but the pass one doesnt even look like it turns on, i had to get out of the car and look to verify that it was actually on. the whole foglight itself was pulled out of the car to clean the inside and it might have not been put back on pointing the right way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eekay Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 i cant tell if it wiggles or shakes because I can no longer differ between the headlight and the foglight. i can watch my driver's side turn on and see where it lights up the road but the pass one doesnt even look like it turns on, i had to get out of the car and look to verify that it was actually on. the whole foglight itself was pulled out of the car to clean the inside and it might have not been put back on pointing the right way. Ah. I see. I would take a ratchet and pull it out again and make sure the little metal guides in the back (that seem to cause so many problems) are properly inserted into the holes. This should aim the fog back to its original point. My 9.3 cups EJ22 makes me feel like my **** is 2.8 decimeters! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snow05gtRI Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 nice, thanks. I'll check it out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTTuner Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 It onlt goes in one way, and if you slide it into the bumper and the bolt holes line up your pretty much there. snow, your light was pretty badly corroded inside.....the reflector piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eekay Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 I'm not sure about the newer LGTs, but I can easily align my bolt holes and bracket without the fixture being inserted correctly. I literally have to align the rear metal guide and push it straight back and feel it lock into place in order to not have my fog lights mis-aimed or wiggling while I drive. My 9.3 cups EJ22 makes me feel like my **** is 2.8 decimeters! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vduber Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 I had the same problem took a few minutes before work on saterday took out my driverside fog that had about 1/4 inch of water in it and found a hole the size of a quater in the top of the housing. Drained the water then filled the hole with clear silicon and let it dry. It was good I got to it before it shorted the light but I didn't mind it was a fun little project! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snow05gtRI Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 It onlt goes in one way, and if you slide it into the bumper and the bolt holes line up your pretty much there. snow, your light was pretty badly corroded inside.....the reflector piece. hm, ok might explain why it's not projecting well. I think it was just more looking for it since it got worked on, and never noticing it before. i cant really tell if it's the same as it was before or not, all i know is the driver's side looks pointed differently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usedtobeaJusty Posted April 27, 2009 Author Share Posted April 27, 2009 I just fixed mine up this weekend. It was the clip that snapped off. The clip was still attached to the car, so I pulled it off and re-attached with some adhesive and sealed the whole thing up. I had a bit of corrosion going on in there, but it seemed to clean up ok. I did notice that there is a long adjuster screw that I am assuming is to adjust the aim of the lights. snow05gtRI - I'm assuming you didn't touch that. I suppose even if you didn't and you think your lights aim is way off, you could mess around with that, it can't get much worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eekay Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 Which screw is it? Are these projector fogs? If they are, the screw on the back will most likely only adjust up and down (unless there two adjustable screws/bolts). However, if they are not projector, the screw/bolt may very well adjust left to right. Can't hurt to try either way. My 9.3 cups EJ22 makes me feel like my **** is 2.8 decimeters! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6thGear Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 I discovered this weekend that my fog light was full of water and corroded. It was working until last week. Perhaps that last washing was the final straw. I'm not pleased to see a price of $224.10 from Subaru Genuine Parts dot com. I doubt it gets much less expensive except for maybe a cheap aftermarket or bling part replacement. Has anyone seen anything good/better? "Make your car work better or go faster. Do that, or it's Bling. Bling is not fast. Bling is added weight. So Bling is Sh!t." - Tom Hnatiw, Car Guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usedtobeaJusty Posted September 8, 2009 Author Share Posted September 8, 2009 I took mine off and tried repairing it with super adhesive. It seemed like it would hold, but now it is taking on water again. Has anyone been able to successfully repair one of these lights? 6thGear - which light did you loose? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notthesnail Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 My driver's side was exactly the same - broken clip. Probably from the previous owner getting too close to a curb or something. Half full of brown water, and a giant dead bee, and corroded all to hell. After calling the stealership and getting a price of $300 CAD EACH, I posted a wanted ad here and now there's a pair of slightly used ones waiting for me at CBI. Less than $150 total. Check the classifieds, I know there's more in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.