E brake and Headlight Issues
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 326
Likes: 0
From: McKinney Tx
E brake and Headlight Issues
I accidentally also put this in general discussion.
Both are messed up. Headlights - Drivers side does nothing (light turns on, just no rotation), and the passenger side gets stuck half way. The little cap on the electric motor on the passenger side just spins and spins while the drivers side never does anything.
Ebrake Cable - Snapped it, how easy is that to replace and how much is new part? Anything I should know going into these repairs? I am on a low budget.
Both are messed up. Headlights - Drivers side does nothing (light turns on, just no rotation), and the passenger side gets stuck half way. The little cap on the electric motor on the passenger side just spins and spins while the drivers side never does anything.
Ebrake Cable - Snapped it, how easy is that to replace and how much is new part? Anything I should know going into these repairs? I am on a low budget.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 754
Likes: 0
From: North Carolina
I accidentally also put this in general discussion.
Both are messed up. Headlights - Drivers side does nothing (light turns on, just no rotation), and the passenger side gets stuck half way. The little cap on the electric motor on the passenger side just spins and spins while the drivers side never does anything.
Ebrake Cable - Snapped it, how easy is that to replace and how much is new part? Anything I should know going into these repairs? I am on a low budget.
Both are messed up. Headlights - Drivers side does nothing (light turns on, just no rotation), and the passenger side gets stuck half way. The little cap on the electric motor on the passenger side just spins and spins while the drivers side never does anything.
Ebrake Cable - Snapped it, how easy is that to replace and how much is new part? Anything I should know going into these repairs? I am on a low budget.
I have a headlight issue as well. I didnt post it here because I believe its my motor. My drivers headlight is fine. The passenger side headlight I must put up manually. Then when I go to turn the headlights off, it goes down by itself. The lights both do come on. I took apart the housing and the gear inside was fine. The motor turned on but it would not stop spinning but it would not lift up or down. I am going to try to get a rebuilt motor put in there. Gears are only around 40 dollars, so I might just go ahead and replace those as well while I am in there so I wont have to worry about it later down the road. There is a upgraded bronze gears apparently. Have heard they are better than the stock ones. Motors are abou 120 so kind of steep on the budget. E brake no experience on. Mine is shot. Its old and it no longer holds. I suppose its just the shoes on it. Oh well. Im not concerned. Goodluck.
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 96,443
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From: Fort Knox, KY
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For your headlights, it sounds like your bushings have gone ****-up. It's common. They disintegrate into powder over time, leaving the main motor gear to slip and spin uselessly.
The fix is to order new Delrin bushings online from Eckler's or Mid America Motorworks. While your parts are on order, read and print out the how-to-fix articles in the TechTips Section on this Forum.
Corvette Fever also ran an article that can help you get familiar with what's going on.
It's not hard to fix your headlight motor bushings, just take your time and move everything to a flat, well-lit work area with a white or bright-colored shop towel on it so you can keep track of all the parts.
http://www.corvettefever.com/howto/33098/
The fix is to order new Delrin bushings online from Eckler's or Mid America Motorworks. While your parts are on order, read and print out the how-to-fix articles in the TechTips Section on this Forum.
Corvette Fever also ran an article that can help you get familiar with what's going on.
It's not hard to fix your headlight motor bushings, just take your time and move everything to a flat, well-lit work area with a white or bright-colored shop towel on it so you can keep track of all the parts.
http://www.corvettefever.com/howto/33098/
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 96,443
Likes: 9
From: Fort Knox, KY
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It's located on the driver's side fender well.
I don't have a GM part number handy, but you can get them online from Eckler's or Mid America Motorworks (MAM) cheaper than the Chevy dealer.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 326
Likes: 0
From: McKinney Tx
Thank you very much, I think I have enough information to solve the headlight issues.
How easy is an ebrake cable, while im asking questions and getting knowledgable help? Certain good ideas to easily dissasemble what must be taken apart?
How easy is an ebrake cable, while im asking questions and getting knowledgable help? Certain good ideas to easily dissasemble what must be taken apart?
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Instructor
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 145
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From: Morristown TN
I am having the same type problem as one of the earlier posters. The person I bought my 88 from had the passenger side motor rebuilt. He said the driver side was working fine until he started testing the rebuilt one. After testing it 5 times, the driver's side headlight motor quit working all together. There is "no noise" or spinning whatsoever. The motor is receiving 12 volts. Also the rebuilt passenger side now only goes 1/2 way up.
Should the driver side motor make a noise even if the bushings are bad? I would think it would make some kind of noise. I finally found where the control module is in this posting. Do you think this is what could be causing my problem? Is there any way to test to see if the module is bad without just buying one and hoping that fixes the problem?
I should also add that when manually turning the lights up or down, it is very smooth and works fine.
Thank you for your responses.
Should the driver side motor make a noise even if the bushings are bad? I would think it would make some kind of noise. I finally found where the control module is in this posting. Do you think this is what could be causing my problem? Is there any way to test to see if the module is bad without just buying one and hoping that fixes the problem?
I should also add that when manually turning the lights up or down, it is very smooth and works fine.
Thank you for your responses.
Last edited by oaklands; Sep 20, 2007 at 10:37 PM.