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I just bought a 1986 convertible with 73Kmiles on it, it sat for two years after the owner passed away and the widow knew I had been wanting a Corvette for a very long time and she offered it to me. I replaced the two rear hubs, bearings, all filters, fuel sensor abd the gal is great and runs like a scalded dog!!!!!!!!!!!!!No issues until yesterday,went to store and the passenger side headlight wouldn't open, headlight burns but no go on opening..... Now with all the experts here on the forum can some one guide me in the process to repair the issue,step one to completion is great...........got all winter so no hurry getting it ready for garage now....Thanks, Steve
86 with 73K miles
Last edited by stevesite; Nov 9, 2016 at 04:43 PM.
If the motor is spinning but not moving the lights, you just need to replace the pellets in the motor. It is a pretty easy fix, I would do both sides, as the other is probably on the way out as well. BTW, your front wheels are on the wrong sides.
If the motor is spinning but not moving the lights, you just need to replace the pellets in the motor. It is a pretty easy fix, I would do both sides, as the other is probably on the way out as well. BTW, your front wheels are on the wrong sides.
Wrong side?????????? Never paid any attention been to four cruise ins and no one ever said anything.........do they bend backwards?????????
No sound from the headlight when I pull light switch, drivers side is great, I thought it might be a relay but I am a novice.............pellets in the motor????????? How do you do that???????????
Wrong side?????????? Never paid any attention been to four cruise ins and no one ever said anything.........do they bend backwards?????????
No sound from the headlight when I pull light switch, drivers side is great, I thought it might be a relay but I am a novice.............pellets in the motor????????? How do you do that???????????
Look at the fronts compared to the rears, the vanes should point forward like they do on the rear wheels. Corvette guys can be **** that way, I'm surprised nobody pointed it out before.
As for the lights, check for 12v at the connector to the motor when you turn on the lights. If you do not have power at the plug you will have to investigate further as to why.
If you do have power, there are plastic pellets that are part of the drive mechanism which get brittle and crumble over time. It is a little involved, but I rebuilt both motors on my 89 in around an hour.
I just looked for some pictures and it looks like your 86 is a little different than my 89, buy the same principals still apply. Just google "1986 Corvette headlight gear" and you will find everything you need to know.
Wrong side?????????? Never paid any attention been to four cruise ins and no one ever said anything.........do they bend backwards?????????
No sound from the headlight when I pull light switch, drivers side is great, I thought it might be a relay but I am a novice.............pellets in the motor????????? How do you do that???????????
Just swap the fronts from left to right.
To do this, why not start by twiddling your headlight **** at the motor? If it slowly comes up, that is one thing. If not, perhaps you can replace the gears and pellets. If you are handy, DIY. If you don't feel good about doing it, have it rebuilt.
If the motor is spinning but not moving the lights, you just need to replace the pellets in the motor.
Originally Posted by aklim
perhaps you can replace the gears and pellets.
Sorry guys, no pellets in the '86 headlight motors. The '84 - '87 headlight motors are a totally different design that the '88 - '96 motors. The early motors have the manual actuation **** on the bottom of the motor, while the later style have the **** on the top of the motor. One possibility is dirty limit switches inside the motor. Here's a link for you:
Hi Cliff! Where did you learn to type so fast?? I need to go to typing school!
I spent a lot of time programming, both for companies I worked for and for myself (2 apps in the Apple iPhone app store). You get good at the things you do a lot.
Look at the fronts compared to the rears, the vanes should point forward like they do on the rear wheels. Corvette guys can be **** that way, I'm surprised nobody pointed it out before.
As for the lights, check for 12v at the connector to the motor when you turn on the lights. If you do not have power at the plug you will have to investigate further as to why.
If you do have power, there are plastic pellets that are part of the drive mechanism which get brittle and crumble over time. It is a little involved, but I rebuilt both motors on my 89 in around an hour.
I just looked for some pictures and it looks like your 86 is a little different than my 89, buy the same principals still apply. Just google "1986 Corvette headlight gear" and you will find everything you need to know.
I never looked at the vanes before you mentioned it,now I am all bent out of shape....lol.....Actually no one at the cruise ins or the local Vette club ever mentioned the wheels.....Now I have a neat little thing to do when it goes in the garage for the winter, jack her up and change wheels...... still got to work on the headlight issue.... thought it might be a relay but I will do your suggestion first....being a Corvette novice and first time owner I am starting new, thanks to everyone at the Forum.
Headlight troubles
Steve 
Look at the fronts compared to the rears, the vanes should point forward like they do on the rear wheels. Corvette guys can be **** that way, I'm surprised nobody pointed it out before.
