Battery leak from bed light?

[fatherofwood165]

Hi all,

I was loading up some junk in the bed today when I noticed some weird grey gunk around the bed light on the driver's side next to the tailgate. It was difficult to notice at first because I live in New England and the whole truck is coated in salt right now. It's only around the rubber button and under the light, as well as in a line along the bottom edge of the bed liner. It looks exactly like a leak from a corroded battery, but I didn't know there was a battery back there that could be corroded.

Pictures attached. Has anyone else had this problem? Anyone know what could be going on with it? Is it something I can fix, or should I take it to the dealer?

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[Johnkn]

Same answer as in the other exact same post you just made.


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[Shesmin]

Same answer as in the other exact same post you just made.


.

I can't find the other post you are talking about. What was the answer?

 

[Automan21]

Looks like all the grime and salt kicking up from the rear wheel is getting through the seams at the back. We do have an open space behind that wheel that gets all the crap from the road.

 

[fatherofwood165]

I can't find the other post you are talking about. What was the answer?

Here's the other discussion thread. I made a duplicate posting by accident that's identical. I'm new to this group so I didn't know how to delete it.

 

[Oscarcat]

Hi all,

I was loading up some junk in the bed today when I noticed some weird grey gunk around the bed light on the driver's side next to the tailgate. It was difficult to notice at first because I live in New England and the whole truck is coated in salt right now. It's only around the rubber button and under the light, as well as in a line along the bottom edge of the bed liner. It looks exactly like a leak from a corroded battery, but I didn't know there was a battery back there that could be corroded.

Pictures attached. Has anyone else had this problem? Anyone know what could be going on with it? Is it something I can fix, or should I take it to the dealer?

I don't live where there is snow and salted roads. However, as others wrote, it looks like spray from underneath. My Mavs are the 6th & 7th pickups I've owned over the years and never have I had an opening between the bed and the sidewall. I know Mavs are unibody but I can't see why that makes any difference.

What I did to the bed of my 2024 with factory SIBL is I purchased black automotive quality caulk and caulked the seams. I loosened the bed light and made certain to caulk under it. If I lived in snow country I would also caulk that seam from underneath. I expect people to comment it will trap salt in there and speed up the rust. But it is definitely going to hold debris and salt the way it is. My seams had debris visible from the topside after hauling plants from the nursery. Prep included a pick and a vacuum to clean the seams before caulking. For snow country/salted roads, maybe in spring wash, dry, coat and or fill the seam, I dunno.

 

[ripperAZ]

Hi all,

I was loading up some junk in the bed today when I noticed some weird grey gunk around the bed light on the driver's side next to the tailgate. It was difficult to notice at first because I live in New England and the whole truck is coated in salt right now. It's only around the rubber button and under the light, as well as in a line along the bottom edge of the bed liner. It looks exactly like a leak from a corroded battery, but I didn't know there was a battery back there that could be corroded.

Pictures attached. Has anyone else had this problem? Anyone know what could be going on with it? Is it something I can fix, or should I take it to the dealer?

That’s road salt coming up in the seam for the tail in Arizona I get my truck washed two or three times a week and it’s soaked back there. That’s just road debris and salt splashing into that area and turning white when it dries

 

[Ozarkbeard]

Here's the other discussion thread. I made a duplicate posting by accident that's identical. I'm new to this group so I didn't know how to delete it.

If your post doesn't show up, wait a bit and reload the site.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

Hi all,

I was loading up some junk in the bed today when I noticed some weird grey gunk around the bed light on the driver's side next to the tailgate. It was difficult to notice at first because I live in New England and the whole truck is coated in salt right now. It's only around the rubber button and under the light, as well as in a line along the bottom edge of the bed liner. It looks exactly like a leak from a corroded battery, but I didn't know there was a battery back there that could be corroded.

Pictures attached. Has anyone else had this problem? Anyone know what could be going on with it? Is it something I can fix, or should I take it to the dealer?

Hi there! If you'd like to, go ahead and send us a private message with your VIN and dealer info so that I can look into this concern. Thanks!

 

[Bob The Builder]

Recent threads here outline the installation of a shield underneath to stop this. I installed a simple 10" x 12" 1/4" thick sheet of ABS plastic from Amazon which so far has stopped the ingress of this kind of road crap between the tail light and quarter panel.

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