can a cracked light cover damage the electrial system on a car within time?

Question

may buy a used car, but has a cracked lens cover on the fog light. will air, moisture get in & affect the electrial system on the car over time? thanks.

Answer 1

Sure, enough moisture and time, corrosion'll set in, possibly degrading electric contacts to the point of them not working.

Answer 2

A cracked lens cover on a light will not significantly damage the electrical system of a car over its operational lifetime.

Moisture can and will get in to the light and may cause the light not to function, but unless you allow the whole connection to sit in a puddle of water, this will not affect the rest of the car as a whole. Also, you can use that crack as a bargaining point to have the cost of the car lowered pointing out the lack of attention to important maintenance and other personal qualities of the owner.

Plus, if you are that worried, go to a wrecking yard (if afterwards you have purchased the vehicle) and get a replacement lens cover for the $10 dollars it will cost you...

Answer 3

First question is - why would they need to replace the A/C unit if only the wires are sheared - they would simply need to extend and/or solder the wires back together to have a fully operational AC unit. If the unit itself is not damaged and was working OK - then there is no reason to change it. Second point is - you need to find out if this is/was a known fault with the cars in general - if it is or was a known fault then you will have a better case against Subaru for the resulting damage. On the whole I would say that as the pulley broke and is under warranty - then the resulting damage is down to a fault with the car itself and as such - the other damage caused by the failure of the part is down to them. Had the part not failed - you would not have any damage to your car. Check it out with the local Trading Standards people (they will have access to records and details of current and past cases) and may act on your behalf in this -

Answer 4

A cracked lens is NOT going to damage your computer! The damage will be limited to the bulb and socket over time. It's not a big deal, and it won't damage the electrical system.

Answer 5

If it works right now, buy the car, replace the cover and all will be well. They're plastic so they're not horribly pricey. Or you can get a price at a parts dealer then ask the car dealer to reimburse to buy the part and have it installed. Chances are you can install yourself, so you might even make money on the deal.

Answer 6

Go to an MOT garage and ask if the cracked lens is a fail point.
If it is and the car is for sale with MOT then the seller will have to replace it BEFORE sale.
Otherwise ingress of moisture etc., as others have said.

Answer 7

Usually, the only damage will be bulbs burning out faster than they normally would.
Over time -- that is an open timeframe -- the light socket will become corroded, and possibly have to be replaced.
Even if the socket shorts out, you should be ok since most lighting is fuzed and the fuze should blow before anything major electrical.

Answer 8

Worst case if you do nothing is that the socket will corrode and down the road you may blow the fuse for that circuit. It won't get worse than that. Get some silicone and seal it up if you don't want to fix it the right way.

Answer 9

over time water pools inside light housing causing the electrical system to short and if your car has a computer it will be damaged

Answer 10

yes have that item fixed before you but it moisture and road salt could damaged the wiring causing shorts in the electrical system