Wacky Headlight
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 13,128
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From: Oakland CA
St. Jude Donor '03
Wacky Headlight
My passenger side headlight is acting wacky. It flips up all the way without a problem but when turning off the headlights it only flips halfway down. I have to pop open the hood and manually flip it down. I did a search and found that people have fixed their "broken" headlights by replacing the bushings. The difference that I see in their situations is that they all have complete headlight failure. Do the bushings typically go out all of a sudden or is there a period of time when they halfway work like mine?
Racer
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 266
Likes: 7
From: Sumner WA
Re: Wacky Headlight (El Guapo)
Mine went out gradually, sometimes they worked normally, sometimes they left me with one eye open. Another tell tale sign is that the motor seems to run for a few seconds longer than normal. For example, when my passenger side went out, my driver's side would close and shut off immediately, but the passenger side would close and spin for about another 2-3 seconds.
Ron
Ron
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 13,128
Likes: 0
From: Oakland CA
St. Jude Donor '03
Re: Wacky Headlight (El Guapo)
Ok, so I took a closer look at the headlight motor on the right side when I turn it on and off. It seems that the whole motor moves when I turn it on and off. The drivers side motor does not move. When I tried to manually shut the headlight it wouldn't move so I wiggled the headlight housing and all of a sudden it gave way and closed with litttle effort. It seems that the arms that swing the headlight open and closed are binding. Is this caused by worn out bushings?
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 13,128
Likes: 0
From: Oakland CA
St. Jude Donor '03
Re: Wacky Headlight (El Guapo)
I finally had a chance to watch the passenger side headlight motor in full daylight. As soon as the headlight gets stuck in the halfway closed position the **** on top of the motor stops spinning. I was also able to get a really good look at the positioning of the motor itself compared to the drivers side motor. The drivers side motor is almost perpenicular to the ground while the passenger side motor is clearly askew. I took a close look at the motor to see if there was a loose bolt or something had bent to cause it to be askew but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. I'm still going to order the bushing kit but I really don't think that is what is causing my problems. If anyone has ever had this problem and can offer some suggestions I would greatly appreciate it.
Racer
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 266
Likes: 7
From: Sumner WA
Re: Wacky Headlight (El Guapo)
From what you describe, I don't think the bushings are the problem. Taking it all apart and putting it back together might help you figure out what the problem is though. Good Luck.
Ron
Ron
