Heads-Up on SOS LED3; Ghosts

[jprleedy4680]

I've had two fill with moisture and fail on me in the last two weeks; one took a couple of months and the other was less than a week since installed.


Purchased the first from Sirennet and the other locally, both NIB.


Just wondering if this is a known issue; they've both been warrantied with virtually no questions asked.

 

[LED138]

Out of the many that I've sold I only had a pair with the same issue. As with you, warranty replaced with no hassles. No other complaints.


-Steve

 

[jprleedy4680]

Out of the many that I've sold I only had a pair with the same issue. As with you, warranty replaced with no hassles. No other complaints.

-Steve

I know they're good lights; which is why I was absolutely floored that I had the same problem twice!

 

[Tom]

I know an installer who used to sell a huge amount of SOS products, but had to switch the Code 3 because of the constant product failures. Most notably with the surface mounts and light bars, he had a bunch of issues with condensation as well.


Not saying all of their products are not good quality, just sharing another story.

 

[nightwolf]

SNLED3 6+ months in grill, still "happily firing away".

 

[C2Installs]

I've sold a ton of SOS stuff, including at least 75 LED3s (I sell more of their bigger lights than I do these). I have had two failures, both repaired under warranty. The failure was attributable to pressure washing, and weren't the first lights, nor brand, that this particular operator had soaked.


Any way, I trust SOS. No one is perfect. I challenge you to find a brand which has not has moisture issues discussed here.

 

[jprleedy4680]

Had two more Ghosts fail on me. This makes 3 Ghosts now, with a total of 6 SOS products I've had fail within the last YEAR, again full if water.


I will never again purchase another SOS product for exterior use. Six product failures in 8 months is entirely unacceptable. I am extremely disappointed and will be (in a likely futile effort) writing the company and sending pictures in the hope that QA will improve.


/Rant

 

[jprleedy4680]

This one still works for now, but lens cracked and soaked.





This one died today.

 

[jprleedy4680]

This one is developing moisture, only 6 months old.

 

[cajunblitz]

I was a big fan of the Ghosts...until Whelen put out the Ions. Aside from, at least in my opinion, being way brighter than the Ghosts, the Ions do not have the moisture problems that the Ghosts have...nor the failures. One thing Whelen does different is vent their lights, which seems to alleviate the buildup of condensation. Since we've become a Whelen Master Distributor, I've installed hundreds of Ions, and have had, knock on wood, ZERO failures and no complaints of moisture.


I wish I could say the same thing for the LINZ6, but, but so far they're still a sealed lighthead.

 

[jprleedy4680]

I was a big fan of the Ghosts...until Whelen put out the Ions. Aside from, at least in my opinion, being way brighter than the Ghosts, the Ions do not have the moisture problems that the Ghosts have...nor the failures. One thing Whelen does different is vent their lights, which seems to alleviate the buildup of condensation. Since we've become a Whelen Master Distributor, I've installed hundreds of Ions, and have had, knock on wood, ZERO failures and no complaints of moisture.

I wish I could say the same thing for the LINZ6, but, but so far they're still a sealed lighthead.

With this in mind, would it be worth my while to seek warranty replacement (again) and risk the same problems using the same lights, or should I cut my losses and buy different products?

 

[cajunblitz]

With this in mind, would it be worth my while to seek warranty replacement (again) and risk the same problems using the same lights, or should I cut my losses and buy different products?

I would advise to go ahead and get them replaced under warranty, and then sell them off and look into a different product that won't give you the same problems...of course I would suggest the ions....

 

[Eric1249]

I have 4 nForce on my running boards. No moisture issues. Maybe they are sealed better?

 

[badge22]

I have 4 nForce on my running boards. No moisture issues. Maybe they are sealed better?

I "think" the Nforce are vented.

 

[jprleedy4680]

I wonder if perhaps the gasket gets worn out quick; plenty of salt and road spray down on the grille in the winter...

 

[Strobesnmore]

Speaking first hand we sell lots of Sound Off and see hardly any issues.

 

[Q2bman]

I've had or seen two whelen tir 3 lights, and a couple of whelen linz6 lights get moisture. My current car has a whlen 500 mirror beam with fog in it. I would suspect any brand could have issues like this. I had a strobesnmore e44 get moisture after a car wash. Never stopped working tho!

 

[cbpdogboy]

I have four Ghosts and 6 led3's with no moisture problems. The Ghosts are mounted between the slats on my grill and two led3's were mounted on the rear license plate. They have gone through 2 winters in Detroit with no problems...

 

[jprleedy4680]

I've had or seen two whelen tir 3 lights, and a couple of whelen linz6 lights get moisture. My current car has a whlen 500 mirror beam with fog in it. I would suspect any brand could have issues like this. I had a strobesnmore e44 get moisture after a car wash. Never stopped working tho!

I can deal with the inevitable moisture, but not fried lightheads at $50-$80 each...some of the LED3s I had lasted all of 5 days and one hand car wash...the Ghosts 6 months and quite a few car washes, but still ended up dead.


You pay good money for an all-weather product, you should be able to rely on it.


Sounds like I just have all of the luck...