Rear boot lock cover

[DamianW]

The perspex cover with H logo on the rear of the car - is it easy to take that cover off? Is it a simple case of undoing 4 screws? I have condensation in mine and want to investigate.

[kowalski]

Yep, just the 4 bolts as i far as i remember, have taken mine out a few times to get the main rear light sections out, to get rid of condensation. I think its a 10mm deep socket.

[710]

Damian,
Condensation in the lens:
I have condensation in my rear left lens cover. I did a search on NSXPRIME and found this:
http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28426
Down at the bottom of the thread is a good explanation about holes in the lens cover posted by clembeauch.
I will drill some small holes in the bottom as he advises. I will also seal the top edge of all three lenses.
I’ll let you know if it works...

[710]

and here

http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=21564&s=

third post down by KGP

good luck
Peter

[DamianW]

Thanks. Must be thick but I couldn't work out how to get that centre reflector unit out. I'll probably just pay a dealer to do it now :?

[710]

Damian,
Pull the boot rubber strip up off its ridge a little, then pop the two plastic buttons (they hold the carpet to the wall). the buttons may or may or may not break (order new ones at the dealer). Be careful when removing the buttons. Don't make a hole or rip your carpet. I have what looks like a really broad fat flat screwdriver with a slot in the middle, like the tongue of a snake. I use that to pry the buttons out. If you use a flat screwdriver, use the fattest one you can find and don't rip the carpet. They require a lot of force and when they pop out, they do so suddenly. That's when you can rip the carpet.

Then stick your head in the trunk looking directly back onto the back of the reflector. You will see 4 studs with nuts on them. 8mm deep socket with extension.

Just remove the 4 nuts Don't drop the nuts. Use a deep socket.

Then if the reflector seems stuck and won't come off, I thump softly but firmly on the end of the studs. Honda left some threads off the end of the studs for people like me to thump. That way you don't damage the threads. The dealer is only going to thump them when you are not looking anyway... The compressed tape is the only thing holding it on. Don’t thump hard enough to brake the plastic, but the plastic is pretty strong anyway. Unfortunately, just pressing on the end of the studs very hard may not work and if you press really hard, when it releases suddenly, you may break something (or fall over…).
Maybe others on this forum with more (or less?) experience can improve upon the thumping method My left tail light was really stuck in there, and required a really firm thump (the threads were rubbing on the holes a lot) . Didn’t break anything. I’ve used this method on my Cosworth a lot and haven’t broken anything yet and it’s a pile of sh*t compared to the NSX (the Ford parts, I mean, not the Cosworth parts…).

To re-tighten the nuts, I use a nut-driver (like a screwdriver but with a sort of socket on the end).. Then I can't over tighten the nuts (if over tightened, they may break the plastic lens. The studs are only mounted in plastic. Be careful. Lightly tight is enough. If you use a socket and ratchet to tighten the nuts, use only your finger force, not hand force. And certainly not arm force!).

My condensation is slowly going away after drilling my holes. But there is still condensation in there, up high. Of course, it’s not exactly a desert here in Belgium, something you guys in the UK know about too. Bloody Rain!

Anyway it’s not that hard to do, you don’t need to take it to the dealer…
peter

[DamianW]

Yay, had another go, took my bravery pills and now have the unit off and sat on my kitchen table. Condensation is really bad though and I could do with getting inside the actual unit.

[710]

Update:
My car spent Sunday and Monday outside in the rain. All the condensation has gone. The holes (and the glue on the top edge) seem to have worked.
Peter

[AR]

Are these holes to be drilled on the underside of the light that is covered by the bumper or on the actual lense.

Cheers

AR

[710]

Hello AR,
I drilled the holes in the lens. But the lens is angled at about 45 degrees along the bottom where it approaches the bumper. That surface is about 1cm wide. I drilled there in. When you stand about a metre away from the car and look down at the lens, you can’t see the holes.
If you measure the distance between the holes nicely, they look stock.
I also had condensation in the reverse light so I drilled in there too, but that is visible because the lens is vertical there. Watch out, don’t drill too close to the glued part. Drill about 6mm above it. If you drill too low, it won’t go through, the glue line is wider than you think.
Also, sometimes my condensation comes back so this doesn’t completely solve the problem as I first thought. But it goes away faster now, and I haven’t noticed condensation in a while, so it must help somewhat.
Peter

[AR]

Peter, what size drill bit should I use ? I think 2 millimiters should do it?

Cheers

AR

[DamianW]

I did my boot lock cover actually (as an update to my witterings up there) with a 2mm bit I think. Went as small as I could. Haven't had any real occurrence of condensation in it since ... but now I get it in one of the lights :cry:

Anyway, I think the problem is two things -
1) washing the car when its still warm from driving
2) having damp clothes (from gym/swimming or whatever) in the boot

Something I've started trying to do if either of the above are true is leaving the car in the garage with the boot open for a while, just to let it air out. Seems to help.

[AR]

Sadly my car lives outside so until I move there is no garage. Cheers for the info guys will get at it soon.

AR