'86 headlight
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Aug 2018
Posts: 18
Likes: 1
'86 headlight
Driver headlight does not operate. I know about all the problems with the plastic gears turning to dust, but that symptom is preceded by the motor operating (noise). In my case the motor does not make noise. I assume the fuse and circuit breakers control "both" headlights and since the passenger headlight works I assume it's not electrical. I was just going to purchase a new headlight motor, but thought I'd just tap the brilliant vette community.
Racer
Joined: Jun 2019
Posts: 435
Likes: 124
From: Lancaster S.C.
Driver headlight does not operate. I know about all the problems with the plastic gears turning to dust, but that symptom is preceded by the motor operating (noise). In my case the motor does not make noise. I assume the fuse and circuit breakers control "both" headlights and since the passenger headlight works I assume it's not electrical. I was just going to purchase a new headlight motor, but thought I'd just tap the brilliant vette community.
plenty of youtube videos around to show you how. Just be careful removing the 1/8" roll pins. They can be hard to find.
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 3,953
Likes: 550
From: Mission Viejo CA
Let's take this one step at a time.
1. Raise your hood.
2. Turn on the headlights. The doors should open.
3. Twist the **** on the bottom of the motor. Caution: The door may rotate quickly! Keep your arm out of the way!
4. If the motor spins, the problem is dirty limit switches inside the motor.
5. If the motor does not spin, you may have a bad relay or worn motor brushes.
6. Try exchanging the two bottom relays, which are under a cover in front of your LH wheel. Does this cause the other headlight motor to malfunction?
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Aug 2018
Posts: 18
Likes: 1
OMG Roy, thank you so much. This forum is awesome. I will try that and let everyone know what I found.
I found an outstanding utube video on replacing the headlight so I'm good there should I need to replace the motor. But I like the electrical checks first. I only have 58K miles on a 34 year old car, and I would say I used the headlights less than a 100 times b/c I rarely drive at night, so it's odd the motor would go bad.
I know when I was a kid, the starters in the 60's use to have sticky brushed all the time and would tap the starter w/ a wrench or hammer and it almost always worked. However I'm not hearing any noise whatsoever in the motor when I turn the headlights on, so I'm am leaning toward the relay. Exchanging them is genius. I'll update later.
Also, thanks Glen for also answering.
I found an outstanding utube video on replacing the headlight so I'm good there should I need to replace the motor. But I like the electrical checks first. I only have 58K miles on a 34 year old car, and I would say I used the headlights less than a 100 times b/c I rarely drive at night, so it's odd the motor would go bad.
I know when I was a kid, the starters in the 60's use to have sticky brushed all the time and would tap the starter w/ a wrench or hammer and it almost always worked. However I'm not hearing any noise whatsoever in the motor when I turn the headlights on, so I'm am leaning toward the relay. Exchanging them is genius. I'll update later.
Also, thanks Glen for also answering.
