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I put the electric headlight door conversion on my 71. They pop up great but after about 5 minutes start to slowly close. If I turn them off and on they pop back up but for a shorter amount of time. I already changed the controller and checked the ground. Any ideas?
I would consider just getting one of those $95 eBay electric headlight conversion kits. I have one and it works great. At only $95 it's a fantastic value.
Unfortunately I already have one installed. I’m trying to figure out how to fix it. I’m thinking it’s some sort of voltage drop that’s causing the problem
I took a chance on the $100 Ebay units, and they work fine. But I had to adjust the turnbuckles so the actuator motor goes all the way around when the lights open and then close. If your motor is actuating back and forth, it might not be completing the cycle and not holding the lights open.
I’ll try that but I’m thinking it’s some sort of voltage drop causing the issue. The controller needs to see 12 volts but I see my ammeter gauge on the negative side of the scale when the lights are on. I have a gremlin somewhere on the system I haven’t found yet so I resort to leaving it on a trickle charger all the time. There seem to be adequate voltage out of the alternator when I test it in the garage. I’m wondering if a diode on the power line to the light controller would have any impact.
If you think of the actuator as a crankshaft, then the rod-bearing end of the turnbuckle is at BDC when the lights are closed, and rotates 180 degrees to TDC when they're open. To close, the actuator keeps going 180 degrees in the same direction. If the relay sends power only until the lights are full closed or full open, then the actuators wouldn't draw any power otherwise. But, if the actuator doesn't rotate the full 180, the relay might not turn the power off. In my case, the lights got stuck open with ~150 degrees of rotation and wouldn't close, so I messed with the turnbuckle until they opened and closed, that's when I realized the actuator doesn't go back and forth. Also, it occurred to me that they wouldn't close because some signal wasn't being completed.
No instructions with these units, and my Chinese seller friend on Ebay was no help!
Last edited by ScottinMaine; Sep 10, 2025 at 02:30 PM.
Reason: Left something out...
Would someone mind providing a link to the cheap eBay ones you're using. I'm in Sydney Australia and I can see some for just over $100 US but there are a couple of different types. Vette shops here sell the much more expensive ones.
"The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten"
I'm sure your kits are better quality, but the $400+ price difference for something that just opens a headlight is what drove me to try the Ebay unit. That savings almost paid for a Mike Jones cam kit.
Anyone with half a brain can install one of those eBay kits. Plenty of YouTube videos showing a how to. 4 bolts and 3 wires. If you can't handle that, please turn in your man card and pick up some Vagisil for yourself.
What about the part of cutting up your headlight assembly? Oh- and taking apart the linkage? Plus running wire not rated for underhood use-all the way through the engine compartment?
Originally Posted by ScottinMaine
I'm sure your kits are better quality, but the $400+ price difference for something that just opens a headlight is what drove me to try the Ebay unit. That savings almost paid for a Mike Jones cam kit.
Having the headlights open - then close on a dark road- to me- is pretty important.
Also valuable- is the time you spend working /repairing/redoing the China stuff.
Caveat emptor!
I follow the same philosophy as Mike Jones-
Last edited by Richard454; Sep 11, 2025 at 08:46 AM.
So diode or not? The logical culprit is voltage because they work perfectly at first the slowly sink south. I’ll recheck the alternator too. I’m not going to throw these out and replace them.
I don't think its a voltage drop- but rather weak motor / gears.
To troubleshoot-
Turn the lights on- disconnect the battery- and if they still drop-it's a mechanical issue.
i have a similar problem with mine on a 79 vette. low beams everything is fine but if i turn the high beams on they close but the lights stay on i think mine is voltage drop issues too but haven't got to dig too far. have you found a fix for yours yet
If the headlights work with the low beams - and close with the high beam-
It depends how it it wired- and how the piece is electrically designed.
The cheap ones have a single positive trigger wire-
1) have to go to the dimmer switch and catch a trigger (+12V ) there-at it's input
2) Use two diodes - one off low and one off high- the diodes electrically isolate the single trigger wire- right at a low beam headlight
Last - do it the Bubba way and splice the parking lights as a trigger- depending on the year of the car- when you hit the hazards the lights might go up and down!!!
Electric headlight door conversion issues
