Technostalgia Tail lights = not a happy camper!!

[EdRedCamaro2]

Originally Posted by Apex Motorsports

The tail lights have a 2 year warranty. You will be taken care of. I understand your frustration but a play-by-play thread of the process is not necessary or helpful.

Chase, with all due respect, I disagree. I would love for you to PM me because I have never received an adequate response from Technostalgia. In fact, I have purchased a few Camaro parts from your company over the years and the Afterburners are the only ones I wish I had never bought. (Okay, my wife bought them as a gift for me.) If you missed it, here is what I said in another Camaro5 discussion. I still get stopped by people, even with blue painter's tape diagonally across the lens. Yesterday it was, "beautiful car, but did you know that one of your tail lights isn't working?" My response was "Yes, thanks, but that's why I put the painter's tape on it."

Originally Posted by EdRedCamaro2

I am getting nowhere with Technostalgia either. I only drive my car in good weather. Fogging of the lenses has not been my problem. My problem has been battery drain and constant flickering "show mode" on the outside left unit. The flickering was sporadic while under warranty, but it became constant when I took my Camaro out of hibernation this year.

I got a couple of responses from Todd Sondles at Technostalgia as we were troubleshooting the problem, and then...nothing. He has not responded to any further questions and I even sent videos of the problems. No response.

I sent an email to Chase at Apex last month because this is where the lights were purchased new in 2012. I asked for some assistance in resolving the problem with Todd and Technostalgia. I have received no response from Apex. My guess is that Apex has not responded because maybe there is a contractual arrangement and they cannot respond to me. Or maybe it is embarrassment. I have bought multiple Camaro parts from Apex since 2011 and I just bought new end links from Apex in the past month, but I get silence regarding this rapid fire brake problem.

I don't care about warranty, I just want a fix. If it is a part I need in order to cure the flicker, I'd buy it. Right now I have $400 worth of half-assed LED brake lights. Okay, three-quarter-assed brake lights, since three of the four work properly. I was getting stopped almost daily at traffic lights by nice people alerting me that I have "a burned out bulb". I always smile and thank them, and then curse Technostalgia under my breath as the light turns green. I disconnected the outside left unit and put a piece of blue painter's tape over it, so now other drivers can tell that I have this three-quarter-assed set of LED brake lights.

Here is my assessment: These are the coolest 5th generation brake lights on the market, but DO NOT BUY THEM. If you have $400, there are so many other reliable parts you can buy for your 5th generation Camaro.

[RenegadeXR]

Are you getting condensation issues with the older 6700 (which are more common) or the 6800 model? The 6800 is newer and was supposed to fix issues with condensation and battery drainage. It came at the cost of removing a lot of LEDs from the afterburner ring, though.



And yes, as an owner of these, they suck. Hands down the most problematic mod I have ever made to my Camaro. After messing around with them multiple times and getting some water damage, they are now in a state where the right-most passenger bulb cannot activate "show mode" for some weird reason. Compared to other issues I've had, though, this is very minor so I will not be touching them. I have also learned not to open my trunk when there is standing water on my car after rain or a wash, since this will cause water to gush into a drainage path down the rear bumper cover, which seems to be what causes the majority of condensation.

Also, if you have a sun roof, make sure that the little rubber gaskets in the trunk near the back glass are secured to the drainage tubes behind them. The sun roof has a drainage tubes that exits out the bumper cover. If these are mis-seated your trunk will fill with water and cause even more issues when it evaporates.



If you see these in your trunk and have a sun roof on your car, reach inside the trunk, directly behind the gasket, and make sure the tube is not loose.

[TommyTheCat]

Originally Posted by RenegadeXR

Are you getting condensation issues with the older 6700 (which are more common) or the 6800 model? The 6800 is newer and was supposed to fix issues with condensation and battery drainage. It came at the cost of removing a lot of LEDs from the afterburner ring, though.



And yes, as an owner of these, they suck. Hands down the most problematic mod I have ever made to my Camaro. After messing around with them multiple times and getting some water damage, they are now in a state where the right-most passenger bulb cannot activate "show mode" for some weird reason. Compared to other issues I've had, though, this is very minor so I will not be touching them. I have also learned not to open my trunk when there is standing water on my car after rain or a wash, since this will cause water to gush into a drainage path down the rear bumper cover, which seems to be what causes the majority of condensation.

Also, if you have a sun roof, make sure that the little rubber gaskets in the trunk near the back glass are secured to the drainage tubes behind them. The sun roof has a drainage tubes that exits out the bumper cover. If these are mis-seated your trunk will fill with water and cause even more issues when it evaporates.



If you see these in your trunk and have a sun roof on your car, reach inside the trunk, directly behind the gasket, and make sure the tube is not loose.

The only reason the afterburners changed was because the person he bought them from (Todd at technostalgia did not make his own afterburner rings) stopped making them and he switched suppliers to someone with an uglier afterburner. This also means any older model can no longer have the old-style afterburners installed when they inevitably go out