Headlight motor
Thread Starter
5th Gear
Joined: Jun 2019
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
Headlight motor
Hi guys,
On my ‘87 Corvette the driver side headlight motor stopped working. I read this is usually caused by the plastic gears being worn/broken, so I ordered the gears. I took the motor apart and sure enough the gears look just fine. I replaced the gears just in case, cleaned everything and put fresh grease in it. I installed the motor and it worked fine for about 15 times, then stopped again.
The motor runs when removed from the assembly but not when installed.
I can’t see or feel any binding or resistance.
Any clues?
On my ‘87 Corvette the driver side headlight motor stopped working. I read this is usually caused by the plastic gears being worn/broken, so I ordered the gears. I took the motor apart and sure enough the gears look just fine. I replaced the gears just in case, cleaned everything and put fresh grease in it. I installed the motor and it worked fine for about 15 times, then stopped again.
The motor runs when removed from the assembly but not when installed.
I can’t see or feel any binding or resistance.
Any clues?
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 3,953
Likes: 550
From: Mission Viejo CA
In the '84-'87 headlight motors, it's very important to have clean limit switches! They are easy to miss when you're inside the motor, but since the motor runs fine when you have the motor out of its housing, that would be my guess. The bushings on the motor shaft need to be lubricated with a light weight white grease, like LubriPlate or CRC StaLube.
(The headlights in bac22's '96 Corvette are a completely different design.)
(The headlights in bac22's '96 Corvette are a completely different design.)
Thread Starter
5th Gear
Joined: Jun 2019
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
In the '84-'87 headlight motors, it's very important to have clean limit switches! They are easy to miss when you're inside the motor, but since the motor runs fine when you have the motor out of its housing, that would be my guess. The bushings on the motor shaft need to be lubricated with a light weight white grease, like LubriPlate or CRC StaLube.
(The headlights in bac22's '96 Corvette are a completely different design.)
(The headlights in bac22's '96 Corvette are a completely different design.)
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 3,953
Likes: 550
From: Mission Viejo CA
Here's a link to a repair procedure for the '84-'87 headlight motors. The repair shown in the link is different than your problem, but pic #11 shows the limit switches.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...placement.html
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...placement.html
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