Found out why my license plate lights don't work.

[freemind]

I totally have this issue too.

Twice this year alone.

[sailor]

Tracing down where the water leaks in & fills 'em up will stop the recurrence of the problem,on my Sedan it was coming in through the CHMSL (brake light).

Tightening up the mounting worked for a while (hose washers under the plastic clips that mount it) - But eventually I had to seal it up with black RTV..

Don't know where the hatches leak, but that's the cause of all the corrosion....

Once they fill with water, it doesn't take long....

Luck!

[OrangeSVTguy]

Well I bought new light bulbs, epoxied the metal clips back on with a little extra and cleaned the lens and they are now good as new. Well not as clear as new but they looks great now. No more cops should have a chance to pull me over now lol.

[ProSilverVT02]

I had the same problem on my SVT. The water comes in where the rubber weather proofing from the hatch trim mates up with the hatch itself.

I replaced my lens and bulbs only to have them go to crap about 12 months later.

So I dug a little deeper and removed the hatch trim and totally resealed it with new weatherstripping and I have had zero problems ever since.

Seems to be quite a common occurance, definitely an oversight by Ford.

[ChrisRobin]

If your license plate lights are burnt out and you have a clean looking car, the cops will pull you over but probably won't give you a hard time.

If your license plate lights are burnt out and you have a ratty looking car, the cops will put you over thinking you're a drug dealer out making some 'deliveries'.

[OrangeSVTguy]

I will have to put up some pics. I think these lights have been burnt up for years without me realizing it lol.