Third brake light leaking

[KNGSNK11]

I'm in the Houston/Baytown area for work, and this week we been having quite the rain, last night especially.
I never thought about checking mine because I never seen water or anything dripping after a rain, but today since we were rained out I ran across a thread about the third brake light leaking, so I got curious and checked mine since owning the truck.

Sure enough from the middle to drivers side air bag the headliner was wet, but I cant blame Ram entirely, few month back I installed some lasfit leds and I may not of tightened it enough, so today I pulled the light and the gasket which is some type of soft foam was saturated in water. So I went ahead and tightened the screws tighter than before.

But has anybody else ran into this on their 5th gen and if so what did you do to fix it?
I'm still under warranty but I don't want to waste all that time so looking for a new gasket material and repair it myself, looking for ideas besides RTV unless thats the only thing that will work.

 

[Dookie]

Extremely common (too common and since 2009), some have used a gasket material from Lowes to replace the foam gasket that is stock. Since you tightened it up that should help, just keep an eye on it. Day after I bought my truck I added LEDs in there and noticed the low torque they use on the 4 screws from the factory. When reinstalled I torqued it more, could have gone even more, but was afraid of cracking the plastic. Never has leaked. I recently changed the stock one out with a paint tinted and left the factory gasket on there and used roughly the same amount to torque on the screws and still no leaks.

 

[KNGSNK11]

Extremely common (too common and since 2009), some have used a gasket material from Lowes to replace the foam gasket that is stock. Since you tightened it up that should help, just keep an eye on it. Day after I bought my truck I added LEDs in there and noticed the low torque they use on the 4 screws from the factory. When reinstalled I torqued it more, could have gone even more, but was afraid of cracking the plastic. Never has leaked. I recently changed the stock one out with a paint tinted and left the factory gasket on there and used roughly the same amount to torque on the screws and still no leaks.

I noticed that to when I installed the leds, the screws from the factory weren't as tight as I thought they should of been. I should of tried drying the gasket but i figured tightening it up better this time would squeeze the water out.
Where did you get the painted tinted light from?

 

[Dookie]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/264344376229?ul_noapp=true
I opted for the cargo lights to be unpainted, was a $15.00 extra charge. He did an excellent job, not a blemish or flaw. Took about 2 weeks for delivery.

 

[Jeffjad]

Extremely common (too common and since 2009), some have used a gasket material from Lowes to replace the foam gasket that is stock. Since you tightened it up that should help, just keep an eye on it. Day after I bought my truck I added LEDs in there and noticed the low torque they use on the 4 screws from the factory. When reinstalled I torqued it more, could have gone even more, but was afraid of cracking the plastic. Never has leaked. I recently changed the stock one out with a paint tinted and left the factory gasket on there and used roughly the same amount to torque on the screws and still no leaks.

This seal from lowes worked great for me....no leaks since installing it.

Be careful over tightening those screws or this may happen (pic below) with some expansion. Ask me how I know lol. I still had water leak in even after tightening the screws with the OEM seal so I got rid of that sponge they call a seal.


EDIT: Sorry this reply was for KNGSNK11

 

[KNGSNK11]

This seal from lowes worked great for me....no leaks since installing it.
View attachment 62822
Be careful over tightening those screws or this may happen (pic below) with some expansion. Ask me how I know lol. I still had water leak in even after tightening the screws so got rid of that sponge they call a seal.
View attachment 62823

EDIT: Sorry this reply was for KNGSNK11

I like that idea, its rubber not some cheesy foam, I'm going to try to pick some up asap.

 

[LimitedGRR]

The oem seal is basically a one time use item. Once removed, it never reseals the same because it’s no longer very pliable. The DIY gasket solution is the best.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[KNGSNK11]

The oem seal is basically a one time use item. Once removed, it never reseals the same because it’s no longer very pliable. The DIY gasket solution is the best.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I agree.
I just went to lowes and picked me up some of this rubber weatherstip and it's far better quality than the OEM foam strip, so glad I did this now before it ruined the headliner and seats etc.
There's a good chance of rain all this week so I'll keep an eye on it to see if any water makes it into the cab.

 

[Rsorrell2]

I bought some permatex non hardening gasket seal and did mine when I the the lights to LEDs and when I was driving cross country this month ran through several really hard and long down pours and I don’t see any leak.

 

[RamLink83]

I bought some permatex non hardening gasket seal and did mine when I the the lights to LEDs and when I was driving cross country this month ran through several really hard and long down pours and I don’t see any leak.

Dealer used some sort of rtv on the existing seal on mine 2 months ago. Today after driving through a downpour I noticed 1 drop hanging from the to of the window frame. Problem is, the old foam seal is still on there, the rtv only slowed the problem. I pushed on the light and could see water squeeze out of the top.

 

[Jeffjad]

Dealer used some sort of rtv on the existing seal on mine 2 months ago. Today after driving through a downpour I noticed 1 drop hanging from the to of the window frame. Problem is, the old foam seal is still on there, the rtv only slowed the problem. I pushed on the light and could see water squeeze out of the top.

Use the solution I used in post #5^^^.....it works

 

[Mopar_maxi]

Used the Lowe’s gasket the day after I bought my truck since I know these lights are an issue. Also make sure you throw some silicone on the screws when you reinstall the light as they can leak into the cab as well.

 

[KNGSNK11]

Used the Lowe’s gasket the day after I bought my truck since I know these lights are an issue. Also make sure you throw some silicone on the screws when you reinstall the light as they can leak into the cab as well. View attachment 63001

Did your screws have plastic washers under the heads? Mine did I'm hoping that's enough to keep it water tight.