taillights collecting water

[kiteman]

i normally leave my car sitting for at least 2 hours after washing it, but that still means after i drive it water comes out of the rear view mirrors, side markers, and worst of all, the taillights. i let my car sit overnight and today there was nothing in my short drive that came out of the mirrors or side markers, but i still had water come out of the taillights.

i was thinking of getting a can of compressed air and shooting the water out while i'm drying the car. has anyone tried this? i am just shocked those suckers hold so much water for so long. i don't have a leaf blower and don't intend to buy one, but i thought a can of air might do the trick just fine. anyone ever tried this?

[Stex]

no leaf blower, cheap electric.... then try this: I use such and can do a small car like a C:

http://www.amazon.com/Makita-BUB182Z...6381859&sr=8-2

[kiteman]

too big...i live in an apartment so smaller is better. that's why i thought compressed air would work well. does anyone know if blowing air at the taillights will even blow the air out from behind them at all?

[RiCorvette]

I've never though about it until now but, if there isn't there should be, a 12V Leaf Blower that can plug into 12V accessory outlet...?

[WiSSDiver]

As an example (not endorsing) http://www.autogeek.net/mema.html There are a number of these products on the market and metro blaster makes a small hand held model. demo on Adams site: http://www.adamspolishes.com/t-Detai..._Sidekick.aspx

Good info on this video on getting the water out, which is the goal.

You may have to get creative with power on something like this (DC to AC power converter, but if you get that why not just use the leaf blower) but the heated option is something you pay a premium for in addition to convenince of the portable power.

The leaf blower is really the cheapest, most effective way to do away with all the water the collects in these areas and while you may not have readily available power if you can make it portable using a DC to AC converter then you can plug in what ever you want to use. Whether or not your car can produce enough power to finish the job or cause excessive wear on the battery is probably something you should consider if you want to plug it into the car. Otherwise try finding a self wash car wash that has electric outlets available.

You definately have options. Good luck

[WiSSDiver]

Also, I wouldn't suggest the compressed air becuase that stuff will super cool anything you hit with and could cause expansion issues with any plastic and actually crack the mirror or lamp bezels because it'll turn the water to ice. I would stay away from that stuff at all costs.

[Adam's Polishes]

The camaro tail lights seem to be the worst ever for this issue, I swear theres like a swimming pools worth of water in there after a wash! I've washed my lil' brothers SS a few times for him and it just kills me how much water pools in there. The vette used to be the king of this, but I think the Camaro has taken the crown.

rpomeryoy makes a good point with the compressed air getting too cold... that stuff will freeze if sprayed for anything more than just a quick burst.

The Blaster Sidekick is super compact and pushes a TON of air out. You also get 10% off thru us with the code CAMARO5 and a lifetime warranty... just food for thought.

I don't know the rear end of the camaro well enough under the plastic to know for sure, but I wonder if theres a way you could drill a couple of small 'drainage' holes just behind the bezels so they aren't visible, but the water could drain. Again, I don't know whats going on under the skin so this might not be feasible at all... just kind of spitballin' here.

[kiteman]

you know i didn't think about the compressed air getting too cold at all, but that's a good point.

dylan that is a good suggestion in drilling holes, but i wouldn't want to be the guinea pig of course i wonder if there would be a way to get a very thin slice of weather stripping and put in between the bezel and the bumper that would keep the water out and/or reroute any water that got in there?

i would hesitate spending that kind of money on a blower at this point in time, but it may nonetheless be the only solution...

[Stex]

Originally Posted by kiteman

too big...i live in an apartment so smaller is better. that's why i thought compressed air would work well. does anyone know if blowing air at the taillights will even blow the air out from behind them at all?

This is is too big? 20" by 8" high:

http://www.amazon.com/Makita-BUB182Z...6381859&sr=8-2

It works...a little north of 200 bucks with battery and charger if you do not have one, so it is costly...or leaf blower, battery op...would fit in a closet, around 60-80 bucks and not sure how they work...

[kiteman]

like i said, just not interested in spending that kind of dough for this problem. surely there has to be some other alternative.

[SummoneR]

Originally Posted by Dylan@Adams

The camaro tail lights seem to be the worst ever for this issue, I swear theres like a swimming pools worth of water in there after a wash! I've washed my lil' brothers SS a few times for him and it just kills me how much water pools in there. The vette used to be the king of this, but I think the Camaro has taken the crown.

rpomeryoy makes a good point with the compressed air getting too cold... that stuff will freeze if sprayed for anything more than just a quick burst.

The Blaster Sidekick is super compact and pushes a TON of air out. You also get 10% off thru us with the code CAMARO5 and a lifetime warranty... just food for thought.

I don't know the rear end of the camaro well enough under the plastic to know for sure, but I wonder if theres a way you could drill a couple of small 'drainage' holes just behind the bezels so they aren't visible, but the water could drain. Again, I don't know whats going on under the skin so this might not be feasible at all... just kind of spitballin' here.

Yeah you could drill holes back there easily. I'm sure more water gets behind the bumper while driving in the rain than there would be with putting holes back there.

[scythezo6]

Originally Posted by kiteman

like i said, just not interested in spending that kind of dough for this problem. surely there has to be some other alternative.

Deal with it? Thats really the only other alternative. You either pop off your lights and dry them or take the car around the block after a wash and wipe up the water. Or you just buy a cheap blow drier and do work. There really is no other 'cheaper' alternative. You can afford a camaro so I'm sure you can afford a $50 blower.

[Adam's Polishes]

Originally Posted by SummoneR

Yeah you could drill holes back there easily. I'm sure more water gets behind the bumper while driving in the rain than there would be with putting holes back there.

Good point. What got me thinking about this was my truck (2009 Avalanche) The side boxes have these 'flapper valve' things in them so that if you get water inside (I've used one as an ice chest for tailgating before ) it can drain out, but the way the flap is designed water can't get in from the bottom. Its pretty slick, too big for the tail end of the camaro, but something similar would work.

[TommyTheCat]

Super bump, my Camaro stores so much water in the tail light area. The wiring harness gets soaking wet and I just don't feel comfortable with that on a daily driver that has to be driven in the rain. Has anyone drilled any holes on their camaros to help with this problem?