Headlight motor repair question
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Headlight motor repair question
One of the plastic headlight motor gears is stripped in my 85, the 2-3/8 inch diameter gear (not the gear thats driven by the worm gear on the motor, its the other plastic gear). Replacing it seems easy enough but are there any special procedures I need to do on this? Do I just slap the gear in and button the case back up or does it need to be "timed" in some sort of way so that the headlight opens and closes correctly? What makes the motor turn off when it reaches the fully open or fully closed position? Any help is appreciated.
Last edited by TheGreek!; Mar 19, 2018 at 05:38 PM.
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Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 3,953
Likes: 550
From: Mission Viejo CA
There's some confusion on headlight motors, so let me clarify for others reading this thread: The '84-'87 headlight motors are entirely different than the '88-'96 motors. To easily identify them, the manual control **** on the "early" motors is on the bottom of the motor. The manual control **** on the "late" motors is on the top of the motor.
Now, to your question: There are limit switches on the armature shaft of the early motor that shut off the motor when the headlight door hits its stops. This happens because the armature shaft "climbs" the worm gear as the large gears are stalled by the door hitting the stops. The shaft then slides up or down in the armature bearings, actuating the limit switches.
Here's a link for the repair process, but Cliff's excellent procedure doesn't mention the importance of cleaning the limit switches!
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...placement.html
There is no "orientation" to the large gear. The motor will run until the headlight door hits its stops, either up or down. Use a light weight white grease, like LubriPlate or CRC Sta-Lube on the motor armature shaft bearings so the armature shaft can can slide easily in the bearings.
Now, to your question: There are limit switches on the armature shaft of the early motor that shut off the motor when the headlight door hits its stops. This happens because the armature shaft "climbs" the worm gear as the large gears are stalled by the door hitting the stops. The shaft then slides up or down in the armature bearings, actuating the limit switches.
Here's a link for the repair process, but Cliff's excellent procedure doesn't mention the importance of cleaning the limit switches!
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...placement.html
There is no "orientation" to the large gear. The motor will run until the headlight door hits its stops, either up or down. Use a light weight white grease, like LubriPlate or CRC Sta-Lube on the motor armature shaft bearings so the armature shaft can can slide easily in the bearings.
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 512
Likes: 62
There's some confusion on headlight motors, so let me clarify for others reading this thread: The '84-'87 headlight motors are entirely different than the '88-'96 motors. To easily identify them, the manual control **** on the "early" motors is on the bottom of the motor. The manual control **** on the "late" motors is on the top of the motor.
Now, to your question: There are limit switches on the armature shaft of the early motor that shut off the motor when the headlight door hits its stops. This happens because the armature shaft "climbs" the worm gear as the large gears are stalled by the door hitting the stops. The shaft then slides up or down in the armature bearings, actuating the limit switches.
Here's a link for the repair process, but Cliff's excellent procedure doesn't mention the importance of cleaning the limit switches!
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...placement.html
There is no "orientation" to the large gear. The motor will run until the headlight door hits its stops, either up or down. Use a light weight white grease, like LubriPlate or CRC Sta-Lube on the motor armature shaft bearings so the armature shaft can can slide easily in the bearings.
Now, to your question: There are limit switches on the armature shaft of the early motor that shut off the motor when the headlight door hits its stops. This happens because the armature shaft "climbs" the worm gear as the large gears are stalled by the door hitting the stops. The shaft then slides up or down in the armature bearings, actuating the limit switches.
Here's a link for the repair process, but Cliff's excellent procedure doesn't mention the importance of cleaning the limit switches!
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...placement.html
There is no "orientation" to the large gear. The motor will run until the headlight door hits its stops, either up or down. Use a light weight white grease, like LubriPlate or CRC Sta-Lube on the motor armature shaft bearings so the armature shaft can can slide easily in the bearings.
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 3,953
Likes: 550
From: Mission Viejo CA
