My Vette seems to think she's cute, and decides to wink when I turn her off.. I find it annoying.. It doesn't do it all the time, but I feel like an idiot when I turn my car off to go somewhere and only 1 headlight is up.. I know there's a solution to this.. Can you guys help me out?

 

i had/have the same problem.
there is a mechanism (like an elbow) under the light. give it a quick tug, (i believe towards you) and it should shut.

it happens to me sometimes also.

if it goes down or up partially, it could have a small leak in the system. i know mine does.

 

I'll try that.. Alsoooo, When I do turn on the lights, the left one (the one that likes to wink) comes up quickly, like almost instantly, while the right one seems to wait a while, and then come up verrrry slow.. Any ideas?

 

You've got a vacuum leak. I believe the witch's hat that seals around the actuator rod needs to be replaced. Disconnect the vacuum hose that attaches to the front of the actuator and blow into it. It should hold pressure (or with the engine running , vacuum). If you can continue to blow through it, the seal needs to be replaced.

 

What/where is the "witch's hat"? Where is the actuator, and I should blow into it with the engine not running? and if I'm able to blow, then I have a leak? And the seal that may need replacing is called the witch's hat seal?

 

Here is the kit and there is a ref drawing on there
http://www.ecklers.com/product.asp?p...6&dept_id=1146

This might also be handy

 

Thanks for the research SIXFOOTER.. Do you agree with the above posts that this could be my problem? If I buy the kit from ecklers, you think that would be the problem solver?

Thanks again for the leg work..

 

If you raise the headlight by hand and crawl under the car you can see how the headlight movement works.
Here's the explosion of the headlight assembly.

Here's the link to the troubleshooting guide.
http://www.corvette-101.com/vacuum.htm

Disconnect the hose and do the test with the engine shut off.
The witch's hat is the nickname for the actuator rod seal. You can see it in the troubleshooting guide about half way dow the page. They are available from most all of the Corvette parts suppliers for about 10 bucks.

Read through the guide. It takes you through problems step by step.
You'll get more good advice on this forum too.

 

There ya go

 

Speaking of vacuum problems.....my 71 does not hold a vacuum after it is turned off.

After turning the engine off I hear what sounds to be a vacuum leak from somewhere around the distributor shielding, although it is hard to say exactly where it is coming from.

I thought that even after shutdown there should still be enough vacuum to open the lights, but that is not the case.

Any ideas on where to look?

 

Check the check valve and filter on the vacuum line coming from the intake to the vacuum tank?

You might also heck vacuum line going to switch on right wiper arm, wiper door actuator (mounted on firewall), and even wiper door relay (mounted under right fender).

 

Possibly a bad relay for that actuator.

My wiper door would open after I shut off the engine. Turned out to be a bad switch on the wiper arm that had major leak.

If the actuator had a leak you'd have problem raising or lowering your headlights.

 

I think it is normal for the right one to be a little slower - at least everyone I've talked to has the same problem. But it should be just a little slower.

If it is more than a second or two then you probably have a leak in the seal in the actuator. Simple repair. It takes longer to get the actuator out than it does to fix it. It will be the seal around the actuator rod.

 

Ok, I'll bite . . . how do you get the actuator out? I seem to have the same problem. It doesn't look to be an easy task after looking a bit closer. Just a guess here; but it doesn't look like it will just lift up in front of the open hood.

 

On my 77.
Put it on ramps
take off lower valance
CAREFULLY with lots of WD-40 or rustbuster unbolt headlight assembly from car
remove complete headlight assembly, cut hands and bust knuckles trying to fish it out the bottom

on the workbench
disconnect actuator rod from the lever assy
remove and replace seal

reverse the process
then spend a long time getting the assembly in the right spot.
2-3 hours per side. Less if you spray the bolts with WD-40 a couple of times a couple of days in advance.

I've been told you can do it with the h/l assy on the car, but I'm not a contortionist.

 

Could be worse. I have to manually raise and lower mine on the '72 vert I just got a few months ago. I will get around to fixing it but I'm having to much fun driving it right now. I only know of about one thing better than horsepower.

 

Use LOTS of PB Blaster!
I got mina all apart and only had to cut out 1 Pin, with doing a complete rebuild on both headlight assemblies. The actuator rod has a clevis on it with a jam nut, use a lot of PB on it so you don't bugger up the threads. Before you rip into it look over the springs, would be a good time for a new set.
I ended up with parts for almost a complete rebuild left over from kits I had, they are for sale. If interested I'll do a real inventory

 

Find the small hose going to your headlight vacuum relays at the front of the car per Sixfooters diagram and with the engine running pinch off that hose-if the light comes up right away then the relay is bad-if it doesnt come up keep it pinched and turn the engine off- if it stays down and then you release and it comes up then its the check valve by the white filter as mentioned before or a small leak in that hose or pulldown or headlight switch valve.

 

It's really a simple process just a PITA to get to the stuff.
I think there are only a couple of nuts holding it in. You need to work through the openings in the valance and maybe through the grill. Protect your hood as the actuator will come back and down when it is loose.

As mentioned, soak the nuts in PB blaster.
While you're under there, check to see that you have 2 springs on each headlight mechanism. I was missing one on mine.

 

I had the same exact problem as this. I started out with a complete vacuum overhaul kit and changed all the hoses, filter, check valve and actuator seals. I thought for sure this would solve the problem, however I wound up with the same problem except this time the problem was on the opposite side. I used a small pair of vise grips and pinched off the small hose going to the center port on the relay and the light went up and down with no problem, switch sides and the same thing happened. It turned out to be a bad relay so I just replaced them both and was done with it. I also cleaned and lubed all of the pins, hinges and bushings in the headlight bucket assembly while I was in there and had the actuators out to replace the seals. I was able to get my actuators in and out from the top as opposed to taking them out the bottom. I just disconnected the hood strut that holds the hood open and tilted the hood a bit further forward with someone holding it and you should be able to twist and turn them right out. Just be careful so that you don't screw up your paint. I put some masking tape along the edge of the surround and taped a towel to it and the top side of the hood.