Headlight Door Problem
10-20-2007, 05:21 PM
#1
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Headlight Door Problem
ON 2003 Z06: Four days ago I had a situation where I turned off headlights and rapidly turned on the parking/marker lights. When I did that, the left headlight door came back open maybe half to 3/4 of the normal full open position, but was not lit up. I decided to try cycling the headlights back on again. When I did, the right headlight came up and on, while the left headlight went back down and stayed down. I turned them off, and the right headlight went off and down, while the left headlight remained off, but came part-way up again.
Through several on/off cyclings, when I turn the headlights on, they both come up and are lighted. But the left headlight goes down first and then back up and on. It's operated this way for the last couple of days. I've manually put the left headlight down, and when they come on, everything is okay, but again, when I turn them off the left one cycles too far to a partial open, but off position.
Does anyone out there have a clue as to what the fix is???
Through several on/off cyclings, when I turn the headlights on, they both come up and are lighted. But the left headlight goes down first and then back up and on. It's operated this way for the last couple of days. I've manually put the left headlight down, and when they come on, everything is okay, but again, when I turn them off the left one cycles too far to a partial open, but off position.
Does anyone out there have a clue as to what the fix is???
10-20-2007, 06:12 PM
#2
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One of 2 things, either the headlamp control module is failing or the headlamp motor. You could install a test lamp across the outputs of the control module and time the up and down to compare it to the other side.
10-20-2007, 06:12 PM
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has that headlight motor ever had a gear replacement?
10-20-2007, 09:00 PM
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my guess is that the cap from the motor has come loose and the shaft is now pushing out too far. this will cause the motor to overturn when it closes because it is sliding off the little tab ear that tells the motor to stop.
because it doesn't stop, it will wind the lamp door back up to the half-open position that you are dealing with.
i had this very same thing happen to me just last week. to correct it, i resecured the motor cap but i also shimmed it with a fender washer inside the motor (on the brass gear) which took most of the play out of the motor shaft and would not allow it to slide.
so in a nutshell, i'd check those motors to verify that the cap is on and if the shaft has excessive play.
because it doesn't stop, it will wind the lamp door back up to the half-open position that you are dealing with.
i had this very same thing happen to me just last week. to correct it, i resecured the motor cap but i also shimmed it with a fender washer inside the motor (on the brass gear) which took most of the play out of the motor shaft and would not allow it to slide.
so in a nutshell, i'd check those motors to verify that the cap is on and if the shaft has excessive play.
10-21-2007, 12:21 AM
#6
Instructor
Would it be a good idea to epoxy the 2 headlamp door actuator bodies (worm-gear motor/ to the driven plastic gear body)?
_________________
My wife and I recently purchased a 02 vert. About the 2nd week of ownership my driver side HL door was grinding in the closed position. I yanked #3 fuse and manually closed it.
The gent selling those metal gears first mentioned to tighten the tabs connecting the worm gear motor housing to the plastic gear housing, as mentioned above, the play in the combined assembly will keep the gears from meshing & failure to cycle off.
With my wife's help, we took off the assembly and took a punch and hammer to the 4 tabs and bolted the motor and gear assembly back in place. For the moment (yes this very moment) the lights are working as expected (cheap fix...as mentioned...for the moment...I must say I'm practiced now in headlamp assemblies).
I thought about taking epoxy and smearing it around the 2 body housings...that stuff sets up like cement.
Not sure if that would be a good idea..maybe someone would chime in with comments.
side note question...on my 02, it appears there is no easy way to remove the headlamp motor's supply wires, Am I missing something here? I'm thinking there should be an easy way, (clip apart) to remove these wires from the motor so I can do this expected future gear surgery on the workbench.
_________________
My wife and I recently purchased a 02 vert. About the 2nd week of ownership my driver side HL door was grinding in the closed position. I yanked #3 fuse and manually closed it.
The gent selling those metal gears first mentioned to tighten the tabs connecting the worm gear motor housing to the plastic gear housing, as mentioned above, the play in the combined assembly will keep the gears from meshing & failure to cycle off.
With my wife's help, we took off the assembly and took a punch and hammer to the 4 tabs and bolted the motor and gear assembly back in place. For the moment (yes this very moment) the lights are working as expected (cheap fix...as mentioned...for the moment...I must say I'm practiced now in headlamp assemblies).
I thought about taking epoxy and smearing it around the 2 body housings...that stuff sets up like cement.
Not sure if that would be a good idea..maybe someone would chime in with comments.
side note question...on my 02, it appears there is no easy way to remove the headlamp motor's supply wires, Am I missing something here? I'm thinking there should be an easy way, (clip apart) to remove these wires from the motor so I can do this expected future gear surgery on the workbench.
10-21-2007, 05:25 AM
#7
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side note question...on my 02, it appears there is no easy way to remove the headlamp motor's supply wires, Am I missing something here? I'm thinking there should be an easy way, (clip apart) to remove these wires from the motor so I can do this expected future gear surgery on the workbench.
10-21-2007, 12:46 PM
#8
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I have had the driver side assembly apart 3 times(i'm good at it now), and had I known all of the problems the headlights have I would have fixed it all at once. Sooo. Grinding is the bad gear motor. Headlight popping back up is the mechanism slipping past the plastic tips that tell the motor where to stop. I did not detach the motor(electric) to fix these. I did use epoxy to put the housing back together, and put washer method (from the forum site) to fix the pop up problem.
10-22-2007, 03:16 AM
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Headlight Door Problem
my guess is that the cap from the motor has come loose and the shaft is now pushing out too far. this will cause the motor to overturn when it closes because it is sliding off the little tab ear that tells the motor to stop.
because it doesn't stop, it will wind the lamp door back up to the half-open position that you are dealing with.
i had this very same thing happen to me just last week. to correct it, i resecured the motor cap but i also shimmed it with a fender washer inside the motor (on the brass gear) which took most of the play out of the motor shaft and would not allow it to slide.
so in a nutshell, i'd check those motors to verify that the cap is on and if the shaft has excessive play.
because it doesn't stop, it will wind the lamp door back up to the half-open position that you are dealing with.
i had this very same thing happen to me just last week. to correct it, i resecured the motor cap but i also shimmed it with a fender washer inside the motor (on the brass gear) which took most of the play out of the motor shaft and would not allow it to slide.
so in a nutshell, i'd check those motors to verify that the cap is on and if the shaft has excessive play.
I after removing the motor, and cleaning up the cover plate and the base it gets epoxied to, I epoxied again with 5 min. Loctite epoxy, and clamped it down for about 20 min.
When installing the motor back on the bracket I slipped a washer between the motor case and the bracket. Wasn't the easiest thing to do, but I figured doing this would move the motor shaft a bit more towards the middle of the car and allow the linkage to more properly contact the stops.
All seems to be operational again. I have a bit of a squeak when the light doors go down. Not sure why, but I'll investigate a bit tomorrow.
Again, thanks for the help.
10-22-2007, 12:10 PM
#10
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i'd watch the cover to make sure it doesn't pop off again. if the epoxy doesn't hold, you can try to keep the cap on with a mechanical means, such as the clamp that rodney sells or some other means.
glad you got it fixed!
glad you got it fixed!
10-22-2007, 05:26 PM
#11
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You guys are the best! I had the exact same problem (but I apparently didn't describe it as well)... so, based on what I read in this thread, I decided to remove my left headlight again (3rd or 4th time... no big deal by now) and sure enough! The epoxy had failed and the case was loose! I got some Permatex 5 min epoxy (they didn't have LocTite) and it is clamped and currently setting up. I am hopeful that this will be the end of my headlight removals! Thanks again to all who shared their expertise on this subject!
By the way, I did not clamp it before but I am a believer in doing so now! So if you are going to crack open the motor (for a gear change), clamp it! It may save you lots of grief.
By the way, I did not clamp it before but I am a believer in doing so now! So if you are going to crack open the motor (for a gear change), clamp it! It may save you lots of grief.
Last edited by 2000_Convertible; 10-22-2007 at 05:29 PM.
10-22-2007, 09:46 PM
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You guys are the best! I had the exact same problem (but I apparently didn't describe it as well)... so, based on what I read in this thread, I decided to remove my left headlight again (3rd or 4th time... no big deal by now) and sure enough! The epoxy had failed and the case was loose! I got some Permatex 5 min epoxy (they didn't have LocTite) and it is clamped and currently setting up. I am hopeful that this will be the end of my headlight removals! Thanks again to all who shared their expertise on this subject!
By the way, I did not clamp it before but I am a believer in doing so now! So if you are going to crack open the motor (for a gear change), clamp it! It may save you lots of grief.
By the way, I did not clamp it before but I am a believer in doing so now! So if you are going to crack open the motor (for a gear change), clamp it! It may save you lots of grief.
Originally Posted by jdmvette
yes, the epoxy most likely failed. i had to mechanically secure the lid on my motors with a wire fastener around the body when the glue wouldn't hold on mine. this last time i also wrapped the body up with strong zip ties to keep the lid on there.
there is supposed to be a bracket you can now buy from rodney dickman to secure the lid, but it wasn't available when i bought my gears a while back.
i knew i should have taken pics while i fixed it, but when the cap was back on, the shaft still wiggled about 1/4" or so within the housing. i put a large metal fender washer (that fits the shaft) on top of the gear and then put the cap on over it. the play was then reduced to a negligible amount.
i do not know the thickness of the washer but i made sure it was thin enough so the lid would close completely but thick enough so there was minimal play in the shaft. in the end, the washer freely spins with the gear so there should be no extra wear in the motor housing.
i secured the cap with the small wires and zip ties and put the motor back on the car and everything's been fine since.
there is supposed to be a bracket you can now buy from rodney dickman to secure the lid, but it wasn't available when i bought my gears a while back.
i knew i should have taken pics while i fixed it, but when the cap was back on, the shaft still wiggled about 1/4" or so within the housing. i put a large metal fender washer (that fits the shaft) on top of the gear and then put the cap on over it. the play was then reduced to a negligible amount.
i do not know the thickness of the washer but i made sure it was thin enough so the lid would close completely but thick enough so there was minimal play in the shaft. in the end, the washer freely spins with the gear so there should be no extra wear in the motor housing.
i secured the cap with the small wires and zip ties and put the motor back on the car and everything's been fine since.
10-23-2007, 07:40 AM
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