Headlight mechanism problem

**DrkEagle** · 09-23-2006, 08:55 PM

I'm not sure what's going on, but all of a sudden the other night when I turn my headlights off, they go down but then something vibrates hella loud for about 10 seconds then stops...I dunno...vibrates...sticks, not sure, but they do go down but it makes this bad noise that I know is not good for about 10 seconds then stops. It's on the passenger side. Any ideas?

**Hurley711** · 09-23-2006, 08:59 PM

Probably bad headlight motor, they are plastic pieces of shit on out cars

**tigersport14** · 09-23-2006, 09:29 PM

its the gears grinding

**DrkEagle** · 09-23-2006, 10:56 PM

So any idea what to do? Spray some WD40 in it...?

**00 ws6q** · 09-23-2006, 11:26 PM

The Motors Usually Are Not Bad (or There Would Be No Noise As The Motor Is Still Turning) But The Connection From The Motor Is A Metal Gear Going To The Plastic Gear, Grinding The Plastic Teeth Away.

The Plastic Gear Is Only Used On Half Of A Side. An Easy Fix Is To Remove The Arm From The Motor (one Bolt) And Using The Manual Piece On The Top Of The Motor. After Removing The Arm, Carefully Turn The Motor 180 Degrees. This Will Use The Other Half Of The Gear And Should Stop The Noise. Another Option Is To Remove The Plastic Gear And Replace It With A Metal One.

**Hurley711** · 09-24-2006, 04:06 AM

Originally Posted by 00 ws6q

The Motors Usually Are Not Bad (or There Would Be No Noise As The Motor Is Still Turning) But The Connection From The Motor Is A Metal Gear Going To The Plastic Gear, Grinding The Plastic Teeth Away.

The Plastic Gear Is Only Used On Half Of A Side. An Easy Fix Is To Remove The Arm From The Motor (one Bolt) And Using The Manual Piece On The Top Of The Motor. After Removing The Arm, Carefully Turn The Motor 180 Degrees. This Will Use The Other Half Of The Gear And Should Stop The Noise. Another Option Is To Remove The Plastic Gear And Replace It With A Metal One.

I actually bought the B Franker brass gears and ended up selling them because I talked to several members on another site who still had problems with the gears stripping, even the brass ones. But you are right, th emetal/brass are still a better option than the cheap plastic ones.

**Dave Stubbs** · 09-24-2006, 09:39 AM

I used the brass gears on my 95 TA. they have been on for about 3 years now and the only problem I've had was the gear housing splitting open. I thought I cleaned the surface for the epoxy well enough but I guess not. the gears are really nice and headlights seem much smoother.

**DrkEagle** · 09-24-2006, 11:05 PM

I also noticed that when I turn my lights to the middle position and not all the way over (IE: to drive around at dusk with the lights lit up and my fog lights on but no headlights on or poped up) the lights actually popup and I'm 99.9999% sure that before when you turned it to the middle position, the lights did not pop up. Any ideas?

**00 ws6q** · 09-25-2006, 01:57 AM

yeah for some reason when the gears strip the lights do strange things. they will probably start going up and down even when you use the remote to unlock or lock your doors. im 99.9 percent sure your plastic gear is stripped.

**19691998firebirdtransam** · 09-25-2006, 02:23 PM

Check this thread, it has a good link...

http://ls1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28172#Scene_1

**Bob Savage** · 11-17-2006, 11:09 AM

Originally Posted by 00 ws6q

yeah for some reason when the gears strip the lights do strange things. they will probably start going up and down even when you use the remote to unlock or lock your doors. im 99.9 percent sure your plastic gear is stripped.

If the gears are stripped, wouldn't that keep the light from opening and closing? Mine opens and closes when use the remote to lock/unlock the doors, and both sides work fine with the exception of course that they shouldn't be opening/closing at this time, and the passenger side grinds for about 7 seconds after closing.

**Bob Savage** · 11-17-2006, 11:25 AM

Nevermind, I just read through an article that explains it... very good article!

**camarostripes96** · 11-17-2006, 09:54 PM

ok i have the same problem but it is my headlight motor on the driver side and the plastic round piece on the side of my motor that acts like the cover has popped of , is there any glue or anything that i could use to put that piece back on ?