Headlight won't go down
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Joined: Nov 2013
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Headlight won't go down
1984 C4.
Couple weeks ago, the driver's side headlight wouldn't go down. After a couple days, it decided to start working properly again. Tonight, it decided it didn't want to close again.
My first guess is loose wiring to the motor...anyone have experience or a solution with it?
Couple weeks ago, the driver's side headlight wouldn't go down. After a couple days, it decided to start working properly again. Tonight, it decided it didn't want to close again.
My first guess is loose wiring to the motor...anyone have experience or a solution with it?
Cruising
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 13
Likes: 1
isolation relay
Sound's like your isolation relay could be bad or the wiring to it.
1984 C4.
Couple weeks ago, the driver's side headlight wouldn't go down. After a couple days, it decided to start working properly again. Tonight, it decided it didn't want to close again.
My first guess is loose wiring to the motor...anyone have experience or a solution with it?
Couple weeks ago, the driver's side headlight wouldn't go down. After a couple days, it decided to start working properly again. Tonight, it decided it didn't want to close again.
My first guess is loose wiring to the motor...anyone have experience or a solution with it?
Pro
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 613
Likes: 3
1984 C4.
Couple weeks ago, the driver's side headlight wouldn't go down. After a couple days, it decided to start working properly again. Tonight, it decided it didn't want to close again.
My first guess is loose wiring to the motor...anyone have experience or a solution with it?
Couple weeks ago, the driver's side headlight wouldn't go down. After a couple days, it decided to start working properly again. Tonight, it decided it didn't want to close again.
My first guess is loose wiring to the motor...anyone have experience or a solution with it?
check to make sure your headlamp housing is not binding on the hood, my passenger side seems to be binding on the bottom of the housing with the hood, it has 2 screws on either side if they are missing or loose you will have this problem. also there are 2 screws on the top of the housing which come loose. i have not fixed mine yet as it looks like i will have to remove the whole assembly just to get to the screws.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Nov 2013
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Went down when I got to work this morning. I don't think a faulty relay would cause an intermittent issue like this, would it? Typically, when a relay goes bad, it means system failure (for whatever that relay controlled). Seems more like loose wiring/bad ground somewhere in the circuit to me...will have to do some troubleshooting this weekend.
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 75
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check to make sure your headlamp housing is not binding on the hood, my passenger side seems to be binding on the bottom of the housing with the hood, it has 2 screws on either side if they are missing or loose you will have this problem. also there are 2 screws on the top of the housing which come loose. i have not fixed mine yet as it looks like i will have to remove the whole assembly just to get to the screws.
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 11,889
Likes: 8
From: Whitefish Falls Ontario
St. Jude Donor '08-'09
[IMG]
[/IMG]If you unplug the motor and check between the grey and dark green you should get 12v with the switch off..
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Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 3,953
Likes: 550
From: Mission Viejo CA
Before you go to all that work, try rotating the manual control k-n-o-b on the bottom of the headlight motor. One of the more common problems with the '84-'87 headlight motors is dirty contacts in the limit switches inside the motor assembly. Keep your arm away from the headlight door as you do this, because the door may rotate very quickly!
If this works, the job of cleaning these contacts requires removing the motor assembly from the headlight door and disassembling the motor. It's not a difficult job if you've got any mechanical skills. Lube the motor bearings and the gears while you're in there with some white lithium grease.
This applies only to the '84-'87's, (which have the manual k-n-o-b on the bottom of the motor). FYI, the '88-'96's have the manual control k-n-o-b on the top of the motor.
p.s. I don't understand why the word **** is bleeped!
If this works, the job of cleaning these contacts requires removing the motor assembly from the headlight door and disassembling the motor. It's not a difficult job if you've got any mechanical skills. Lube the motor bearings and the gears while you're in there with some white lithium grease.
This applies only to the '84-'87's, (which have the manual k-n-o-b on the bottom of the motor). FYI, the '88-'96's have the manual control k-n-o-b on the top of the motor.
p.s. I don't understand why the word **** is bleeped!
Last edited by Hot Rod Roy; Mar 27, 2014 at 06:06 PM.
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 3,953
Likes: 550
From: Mission Viejo CA
My passenger side seems to be binding on the bottom of the housing with the hood. It has 2 screws on either side. If they are missing or loose you will have this problem. Also there are 2 screws on the top of the housing which come loose. I have not fixed mine yet as it looks like I will have to remove the whole assembly just to get to the screws.
1. Turn on your headlights, so they pop up.
2. Push the headlight switch to the "off" position, then quickly pull the switch the "parking light" position. The headlight doors will stop at that position. You may have to try this a few times to get it right, so you can reach these screws. Be sure to use flat head screws in the sides of the headlight buckets.
Pro
Joined: Oct 2012
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GQ-Rod, Are you familiar with the procedure to park your headlights half-way open, so you can get to these screws?
1. Turn on your headlights, so they pop up.
2. Push the headlight switch to the "off" position, then quickly pull the switch the "parking light" position. The headlight doors will stop at that position. You may have to try this a few times to get it right, so you can reach these screws. Be sure to use flat head screws in the sides of the headlight buckets.
1. Turn on your headlights, so they pop up.
2. Push the headlight switch to the "off" position, then quickly pull the switch the "parking light" position. The headlight doors will stop at that position. You may have to try this a few times to get it right, so you can reach these screws. Be sure to use flat head screws in the sides of the headlight buckets.
