Leaking marker lights

[DavePhelps]

Greetings all.

Been away from the forum for what has been a tumultuous two and a half years, and that is not including the whole pandemic situation....!
Lots of new folks here now I see since we first got our Ollie 107 back in 2015.

I have had leaking issues in the rear of my trailer for a while now and finally had the time and energy to get after it. Here in the PNW, we have had nothing but rain so lots of opportunity to diagnose the problem. Of course, the first culprit was the Oliver sign above the rear window, it leaked like a sieve. There has been other posts about this issue so I won't go on about this save to say that after talking to Jason at Oliver, it sounds like they are now bedding the lense with butyl tape (instead of the double sided tape that is not waterproof) and then sealing the perimeter on the outside with whatever is their current sealant of choice. Still wish they would just loose that lense all together and use a surface mounted light.

Since we were heading off on a big trip when I discovered the Oliver light was leaking, I taped it off with the thought of repairing it when we got back. Since returning home, and having more rain, I was saddened to find that I was still getting water intrusion into the upper rear cabinet. This leakage was not finding its way down between the hulls, but was spreading out along the floor of the cabinet and dripping out through the overhead street-side speaker, which is right over my head when I am sleeping. Not the best way to be woken up at night! Those of you who have gotten in to this area know that there is a lot of wiring up there, lots of electrical connections, buss-bars, and the like. Not a good place to be saturated with water. After looking at the marker lights carefully, it was pretty clear that this was the second source of water intrusion up there. As can be seen in the picture, there are big gaps in the applied sealant through which water was coming in. Also, since Oliver installed these lights with no drip loops on the supply wires that would direct water between the hulls, water would just run down the wire towards the interior and on to the floor of the cabinet.

So my question for anyone who has dealt with these lights is how best to proceed to reseal them. I was able to remove the blob of sealant on the inside and push out the red marker light. The exterior chrome trim ring remained affixed to the trailer. It looks like Oliver ran a bead of silicone around the trim ring and then pushed in the marker light during the install. Any suggestions? I hate silicone but maybe in this case I should reseal the same way? Does anyone have a link to the manufacturer of the marker lights? I may be able to learn more about them there. Then there is the trim ring itself. Not a lot of room to get any sealant in there. Thanks for any help/ideas! Everything else is good!

Dave

pic1: Gap in sealant where water was coming in (they all had gaps)
pic2: Sealant blob removed a few more to go
pic3: No drip loop on marker light wire directs water into the trailer right over a buss bar
pic4: Marker light pushed out awaiting recommended sealant 

[SeaDawg]

We broke the old leaking  lens taking it out. Bought a new lens. 

We cleaned everything carefully,  and mounted the new lens with butyl tape, and a handful of small  stainless fasteners, as old school butyl tape is awesome for sealing, in all kinds of temperatures,  and self sealing, but it's "not really" a tape or adhesive. Hence fasteners.  So far, so good.

We also sealed around the lens with caulk, and mounted eze rv rain gutter above it.

I'll look for my post, and add a link.

Edit to add, here's the link.

I too wish they'd just use an applied light. So far, so good. But only a year and a half in. 

I'll know more about our "experiment " in a few years. 

[SeaDawg]

3 hours ago, DavePhelps said:

we were heading off on a big trip when I discovered the Oliver light was leaking, I taped it off with the thought of repairing it when we got back. Since returning home, and having more rain, I was saddened to find that I was still getting water intrusion into the upper rear cabinet. This leakage was not finding its way down between the hulls, but

This could be leakage from another source. Check the seal around the maxxair fan. especially if you typically camp "just a bit" nose high, as we do.

I found some little leaks around the solar mounts, last year. Granted,,14 years old, so... taped them up, no issue. Took the tape off, , recaulked ,now, no issue.

The Ollie hull is great.  But, like any home or rv, roof penetrations are vulnerable. Imo.

 

[ScubaRx]

After futzing around with the leaking high marker light for about three years, I finally dug all the caulking out from around the lens. After bedding it in butyl tape I re-caulked it and thought everything was fine. This was all done in a campground in Idaho several years ago. The next rain proved that it was not fine and upon closer examination, I discovered water was still coming around a marker light adjacent to the lens. Rather than trying to get it out and caulk around it, I just covered the inside of the fixture with caulk. Five years and not a drop since. I would not fool with trying to remove one of the markers lights unless I was going to have to replace it. 

[DavePhelps]

Thanks for the responses. The leak is definitely from the marker light(s) as I have them all taped off now and no leaking is taking place.
I guess I will rebed the loose marker lights into the trim ring on the exterior with RTV Silicone as Oliver originally did. The ones that feel solid I will leave alone. I'll then reseal all of them on the inside with more carefully applied sealant. I'll also try to redirect the wiring so any future leaks will be directed between the hulls and not on to the floor of the attic.

Dave