Rudy's Stingray

Hello,

Today I plan on searching for reasons why the
headlight doors and the wiper door doesn't want to open.
The DS headlight occasionally will pop up and the lights flicker
and go out, so it sounds like vacuum lines and wiring are running into
each other.

I thought I found and cleaned the contact locations for all my ground
wires and cleaned my vacuum actuators last year when I had the
radiator out and all worked after the fact, so I wonder where
the problem could be?

Anyone run into similar troubleshooting after cleaning?
What avenues did you take? Just trying to find a good place to start.
You know, it's a sea of rubber everywhere you look.

Thanks.

Rudy

yellow94coupe

One trick I found works great for troubleshooting the vacuum system is buy a small vacuum pump and hook it up to the inlet check valve. That lets you track things down without having to run the engine and it is quiet enough where you can hear leaks. I also t-ed a vacuum gauge with the pump so I could see when it was holding vacuum or if a leak was present.

It also helps to isolate the section you are interested in. When I was messing with my headlights, I capped off the line that feeds the rest of the vacuum lines so that just the headlight part was active.

I picked up my pump up at Harbor Freight for like 75 bucks and it has been well worth it.

PETKAH

First, check the check valve. Check all hoses for snug fit - if old cut off a small section and reconnect. Wiper tray can be a wonderful 2nd problem - just make sure left hand wiper is down all the way so the left hand can "seat" on the relay under the right hand wiper. Just some thoughts.

Alan 71

Hi Rudy,
Working on the wipers and lights can be a real challenge.
There are some good trouble shooting guides available here if you do a search. Wilcox has some that are an especially good help.
Also Dr. Rebuild sells a guide for a few dollars that I found useful.
Regards,
Alan

wer2xu

If you happen to be driving east bound on I-84 in CT, my Doc rebuild troubleshooting guide is on the road...I caught the laminated diagram, but the guide flew out at about mach 2.

wer2xu

Lets see if I can get this thread deleted...I got an envelope in the mail today with a brand new trouble shooting guide....I did not ask anyone for it, and I don't think it was recovered from the side of the highway...

While not a supporting vendor, this particular business happened to read my post and sent me something for free, which I lost because of my own carelessness. I think there is something to be said about that.

and I realize I can be completely incoherent when I am on the receiving end of a nice gesture.

imariver

Then there really IS a Santa Clause?!?

I have a hard time dealing with nice people, they catch me by suprise.

Rudy's Stingray

Greetings!

Headlight door(s) operation:
I found that my original rubber vacuum lines at the
headlight actuators were relaxed and did not maintain a
sealed hold of the ports. Since I'm not in the position to replace
the lines, I opted for a potential quick fix. I took small hose clamps
and secured the hoses to the actuator fittings and behold,
both headlamp doors go up simultaneously.

Wiper door operation:
I'm still working on that. I removed the front grille valance in front of the
door to better address. With a rag beneath the spring, pivot points and hinges,
I liberally sprayed WD-40 on all mechanisms that move. I then removed the door actuator and
manually worked the armature in and out to break free any tightness in the free moving parts.

All seem to be moving much better than before. I then traced the vacuum lines and did not find any
hissing, breaks or cracks with them when I cycled the door manually and they seem to maintain a
steadfast hold of the actuator fittings. Hopefully I can test in the next couple of days.

Headlamp(s) operation:
I still however am having problems with my low beam headlights coming on both sides.
The drivers' side light does not come on but the passenger side does. When I depress the
high beam switch on the floor, all four lights come on. The wiring from the harness to the plug
was how would you say "Bubba" from the previous owner and I re-spliced the connection.

Rudy