headlights acting strange
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 476
Likes: 72
From: MA
headlights acting strange
Just started playing around on my newly acquired 67 convertible today. Had to replace the alternator, as it wasn't charging. Once replaced and putting out some "juice", the headlight motors that hardly worked at all before the alternator change, now started to respond to the switch. Funny thing happened though, one would go up as the other went down and vice versa when pushing the switch the opposite way. Driver side worked correctly passenger side did the opposite. Seems like a simple miswriing issue but wondered if anyone saw this before. I have little prior history on work being done. I didn't have time today to troubleshoot wiring but just thought I'd toss it out there if anyone had experienced it.
thanks,
Mike
thanks,
Mike
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 22,181
Likes: 4,178
From: Kannapolis NC
Look for the yellow (or black with yellow stripe) wire and the green wire going to the passenger side motor. Those two wires are switched somewhere between where they plug into the connector and where they join up with the wires on the driver's side to split off to the passenger side if the passenger side headlight is truly going up when you hold the rollover switch in the down position. Make sure the black ground wire is connected, I don't think the voltage could feed back to the driver's side motor winding if the ground was disconnected and cause it to move wrong, but it only takes a second to look.
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 3,348
Likes: 763
From: Mint Hill North Carolina
2024 C2 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
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65GGvert, I recently rebuilt my headlight motors and gears along with new wiring sockets. In my haste of pulling these motors out I failed to record where the green wire and black with yellow stripe wires went on each one. When I reinstalled them I noticed in the wiring diagram that the drivers side was wired one way and the passenger side was just the opposite. The sockets are kind of a modified T shape and where the green wire is on either the stem of the T or the cross bar portion, they are just the opposite on the other side. I am about a week or two away from putting the battery back in after having done a lot of cleaning over the winter and don't know what to expect. Does this sound right to you? I have the hood off and they are easy to get to now, so if I have them wrong I can easily correct it now. Are these right or wrong? Thanks.
Last edited by Panama 58; Mar 23, 2019 at 07:56 PM.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 22,181
Likes: 4,178
From: Kannapolis NC
65GGvert, I recently rebuilt my headlight motors and gears along with new wiring sockets. In my haste of pulling these motors out I failed to record where the green wire and black with yellow stripe wires went on each one. When I reinstalled them I noticed in the wiring diagram that the drivers side was wired one way and the passenger side was just the opposite. The sockets are kind of a modified T shape and where the green wire is on either the stem of the T or the cross bar portion, they are just the opposite on the other side. I am about a week or two away from putting the battery back in after having done a lot of cleaning over the winter and don't know what to expect. Does this sound right to you? I have the hood off and they are easy to get to now, so if I have them wrong I can easily correct it now. Are these right or wrong? Thanks.
Last edited by 65GGvert; Mar 23, 2019 at 08:28 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 3,348
Likes: 763
From: Mint Hill North Carolina
2024 C2 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2023 C2 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2022 C2 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
Thanks for confirming this for me. I hope I didn't steal this thread to answer my question, but the OP may have both of his sides wired the same. This may help.
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Racer
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 303
Likes: 25
From: Melbourne, Florida
I experienced somewhat the same thing in my 67. Make sure the battery is well charged. Try it when the motor is operating. Sometimes worn headlight motors do not work properly if they don't get enough power. One goes up, the other stays down. etc. I had this problem. Both work fine now. If problem persists and it's NOT a wiring issue, you may have to rebuild or replace the motors due to age.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 22,181
Likes: 4,178
From: Kannapolis NC
I experienced somewhat the same thing in my 67. Make sure the battery is well charged. Try it when the motor is operating. Sometimes worn headlight motors do not work properly if they don't get enough power. One goes up, the other stays down. etc. I had this problem. Both work fine now. If problem persists and it's NOT a wiring issue, you may have to rebuild or replace the motors due to age.