Replacement LED rear light assembly needed standard one on Minnie Winnie leak, rust

[Goodnewsj316]

I need to replace the poorly sealed rear light assembly on our 2017-Spirit 31G. Water intrusion due to poor gasketing, poor fasteners using self thread screws into fiberglass wall, they strip out causing no seal. The plug in connections are corroded, really bad design.

I would like your ideas for direct replacements if you found something that seals good, LED, reliable.

Thanks

[Morich]

On our 2015 Vista, we had the same style and I agree that it is not the best seal but I did not want to change the whole fixture so did a few mods to make it seal and work better.

Step one was to convert the bulbs to LED bulbs after cleaning the holders, then placed a small wooden strip under each screw to give good long term grip, added a silicone caulk seal all around under the back of the fixture ( left a hole at the bottom for any water getting in to drip out!) and never had trouble again.
There are LED automotive bulbs that fit the holders.

[Twchnominwin]

Thanks for this info, I just had my 2019 Minnie in the shop because of rear light failure, and they said it was all rusty in the light housing. They did replace the lights, but said they can't seal the fixture, so I'm going to attempt your fix myself. I know LED bulbs last a long time, but my question is; After using silicone caulk, will I be able to get the fixture off again in the future ? or is it easy to pull off...?

[Morich]

I find silicone is one thing that seems to seal pretty well but never a real problem to remove when needed. Depends on what we each may call real trouble?
I use it on lots of things and find for flat places like this, I may need to use a putty knife to force it betwen the two and then gradually work my way around to release it at all points before I pull it away.
My favorite tool is now an oscillating tool as it is great for getting caulk of any kind of things quickly and without gouging chunks out of things like fiberglass!
I have an old blade that ysed to have saw teeth but after cutting caulk to get windows out of a brick house, it is just a thing scraper that works great as it is thin and lets me get down parallel to the surface.

[bostonmary]

Has anyone tried replacing with submersible led lights? My micro Minnie has bulb style. Ughh...

[Blastvalve]

That model light is used by a bunch of Manufacturers, not just Winnie. Sadly it’s known for leaks, there are a couple threads here on this site and if you do some googling you can see similar stories on the web. I had the same on one my. 2015 Vista. Was constantly replacing bulbs due to water leaks blowing them out.

Command is the manufacturer and they make a LED 1 piece sealed unit that is pretty much plug and play. https://www.commandelectronics.com/n...?rq=003-3000m1

Replacement isn’t too bad, and I haven’t had an issue since I did it a couple years ago. Bonus is the LED version is brighter as well, especially the backup lights.

Couple threads to check out:
https://www.winnieowners.com/forums/...cs-365100.html

https://www.winnieowners.com/forums/...ge-356693.html

Hope that helps!

[Ray,IN]

Silicone caulk/sealant and RV's don't like each other. Put down a bead of silicone and several months later you can grab one end of the bead and pull the entire bead away. Like Morich said,"easy to remove".
The reason silicone is so popular is, it's the cheapest caulk/sealant on the shelf; and also why RV mfgrs use it virtually everywhere.
There is several excellent sealants on that same shelf, but they can cost up to $15/tube.


Goodnews, if you don't switch to the sealed LED assys.; after you get your light assemblies cleaned up and have installed LED bulbs; coat everything with dielectric grease.
Yes, leave the bottom side unsealed so any water can drain away easily.

[Morich]

While I find the lights letting water in is a problem, I see an even bigger one if we are not alert to water getting BEHIND the light ifxture where it can go to the mounting holes or just go inside the RV wall.
That leaves me not too worried about what type of light as it is the way I mount it that more often fails than the light. LED are more dependable but that can be handled with a simple bulb switch while the part that really hurts you is if you let the water get behind the fixture where the thin wooden shell begins to rot.

[Twchnominwin]

Thank you all so much for all your information! I am ordering the new LED assembly & have found some videos on here about installing- it’s been 20 years since my ac/dc training but I think I can do it! ��