27 years of salt

[aarpcard]

Thought you all might find this interesting.

Last week my passenger side pop up headlight stopped working on my '91 MR2.

I took apart the motor to find a salt crystal had grown on the internal relay contacts, eventually forcing them open. The motor assembly is sealed with gaskets and o-rings. I've never seen anything like this before. Somehow the rest of the car is fairly corrosion free.

 

[Pete Whitstone]

That is wild. I didn't know there were any natural processes that would allow that to even happen.

Pete

 

[kmead]

Never underestimate what nature can do given enough time. Nature has plenty of time.

 

[Dr.Jeff]

So true Karl. Just look what it does to us, and we are more resilient than a car.
I guess if some water got past the seals, it would remain there uninterrupted to do its work.