Rebuild-able or not?
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 23,109
Likes: 117
From: San Antonio Texas
Rebuild-able or not?
Looking at headlight activation modules on the *-BAY. (The little module that stops and starts the headlight rotation motors.)There is a photo of a sticker on the back of one that says "Do not repair- replace". Then I see a seller with three or four of them for sale that says "modules for rebuilding". The things look like a sealed plastic case to me and I'd guess the electronics are "potted" inside some epoxy or some kind of filler. Is there really a way to open these things up and is there anything inside that can actually be repaired or replaced, like a relay or power transistor? Anybody cracked one of these things open or actually repaired one? Or is this guy selling junk to fools.......
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2004
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From: Park City Utah
Everything is rebuildable IMO. Just depends how deep you want to get into it. When the T56 first came out, there was a sticker on the case that said "Do not rebuild" -or something like that. Of course people rebuild them everyday now...I've even rebuilt one.
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,423
Likes: 96
From: Magnolia Tx
The module is not potted in the housing. They are glued together but if you pry the back off slowly you can open them. The module in a 3rd gen Firebird is very similar, visually identical but pin out is slightly different. I fixed mine and repaired a junkyard spare (just in case) by replacing a fuse link inside. Same issue in both. I rebuilt the motors at the same time & it worked til i sold it, about 4 years.
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 23,109
Likes: 117
From: San Antonio Texas
The module is not potted in the housing. They are glued together but if you pry the back off slowly you can open them. The module in a 3rd gen Firebird is very similar, visually identical but pin out is slightly different. I fixed mine and repaired a junkyard spare (just in case) by replacing a fuse link inside. Same issue in both. I rebuilt the motors at the same time & it worked til i sold it, about 4 years.
If I get the one off *-bay I'm going to open mine up and take a peek to see what's in there I might be able to work with.
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,423
Likes: 96
From: Magnolia Tx
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 23,109
Likes: 117
From: San Antonio Texas
The gears seem to be OK. I can turn the headlight up with the manual **** and I can feel it tighten up when it gets to the stops. Under power though it wants to keep driving it through the hood till the gears jump teeth
BANG, BANG, BANG! It won't take much of that until something will either break or bend. It only did it twice so I just unplugged that light and run it up and down manually when I need the headlight. By the time I walk around the front of the car to plug it back in to light the headlight, the module has timed out so it won't try to drive the motor any more. I have to unplug it again when I want to shut the lights off or it will over drive it in the down direction too. The right side of the module doesn't shut the motor off when it sees the load current spike of hitting the stops. I don't know if it is an electronic or mechanical relay in there but it doesn't release like it's supposed to.
BANG, BANG, BANG! It won't take much of that until something will either break or bend. It only did it twice so I just unplugged that light and run it up and down manually when I need the headlight. By the time I walk around the front of the car to plug it back in to light the headlight, the module has timed out so it won't try to drive the motor any more. I have to unplug it again when I want to shut the lights off or it will over drive it in the down direction too. The right side of the module doesn't shut the motor off when it sees the load current spike of hitting the stops. I don't know if it is an electronic or mechanical relay in there but it doesn't release like it's supposed to.
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 23,109
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From: San Antonio Texas
Well, I ordered another one off THE-bay but since then I saw one of the Pontiac modules opened up and It looks like something I can probably repair. Always up for a challenge so I might have a spare one soon!
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Racer
Joined: Jul 2014
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From: Philadelphia Pa
Please post your results. I have the same symptoms but on my left headlight. And is isn't all the time. Sometimes it will stop "slamming" when the lights are fully open or fully closed and other times it will just bang away until it times out.
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Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2006
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From: San Antonio Texas
I didn't let it do but one pop though because I had my wife on the light switch and my hand on the headlight plug just in case. It opened, hit the stop and started to bang, so I pulled the plug. I'll open up the little gear box tomorrow and see if it's the pucks or a broken gear. I really didn't expect the thing to bang so hard if those pucks were worn out, but maybe they all don't crumble at the same time. Well, I'll see what's in there soon enough.
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 23,109
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From: San Antonio Texas
YEP, it's those little pellets! They were all three just little piles of dust, but they were stuck together pretty tight with the grease that was in there. It was like very thick stiff mashed potatoes
. I guess it was stiff enough to raise and lower the headlights OK, but not stiff enough to keep the metal hub from slipping over into the next pellets chamber. That's what the loud bang was! Glad I bought two packs of those headlight pellets at a show a couple of years ago. After I get tired of playing with my Christmas toys, I'll do the other headlight too.
THE END!
Merry Christmas!
. I guess it was stiff enough to raise and lower the headlights OK, but not stiff enough to keep the metal hub from slipping over into the next pellets chamber. That's what the loud bang was! Glad I bought two packs of those headlight pellets at a show a couple of years ago. After I get tired of playing with my Christmas toys, I'll do the other headlight too.THE END!
Merry Christmas!