Headlight gears
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 739
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From: Albuquerque NM
Headlight gears
My headlights started to act up this morning... Only the driver's side would pop up!
People seem to like the Brent Franker gears, can anyone tell me where to purchase them?
Thanks!
People seem to like the Brent Franker gears, can anyone tell me where to purchase them?
Thanks!
Night Owl for life
Joined: Nov 2003
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From: Bugs Bunny should'a made a left turn here
http://www.bfranker.badz28.com/headlightfix/index.htm
they don't mention the c5, but they DO fit.
let me know if you need help.
they don't mention the c5, but they DO fit.
let me know if you need help.
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Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 739
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From: Albuquerque NM
http://www.bfranker.badz28.com/headlightfix/index.htm
they don't mention the c5, but they DO fit.
let me know if you need help.
they don't mention the c5, but they DO fit.
let me know if you need help.
Team Owner
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From: Dear Karma, I have a list of people you missed.
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16
Rodney's gears are no longer brass. Brass kept getting too expensive. His are now made of hard anodized aluminum. His kits have one advantage in that the kits for the later (2nd design) headlight gear housings with glued on side covers now also come with a T-bar metal bracket that eliminates the side covers from separating again over time.
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Thanks for the info. Going to save this for later reference. 
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Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2004
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From: DFW Texas
You might want to take a look at this thread..
Which Brass Gear
Despite the fact the gearcase was damn near destroyed, it already had a brass gear repair and you can see what it did to the Rodney gear. When I ordered mine, I had not taken it apart yet...
Frankly I was surprised to see it so torn up. Hopefully the Franker gear will hold up much better.
FYI Good Luck --->
Which Brass Gear
Despite the fact the gearcase was damn near destroyed, it already had a brass gear repair and you can see what it did to the Rodney gear. When I ordered mine, I had not taken it apart yet...
Frankly I was surprised to see it so torn up. Hopefully the Franker gear will hold up much better.
FYI Good Luck --->
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 932
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From: Las Cruces New Mexico
Nothing against Rodney at all but I went with the solid brass gears. This is the second time in a year to replace the gears only because the rubber was torn to little pieces in a year. I do not want to go through this hassel again so got the solid brass gears.
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Joined: Dec 2003
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From: Horncastle Lincolnshire, England
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Heres a post another member made on how to check out the headlamp control. Wish I could remember who so I could give him credit. It may be motor related. Doesn't cost anything to check this first.
"First thing to check is the Headlight Actuator CONTROL module located under the passenger headlight on the front of the passenger wheel well wall. It translates the ON/OFF signal from the headlight switch/BCM to a RAISE/LOWER signal to the headlight doors.
Here's how the control module works. If you look at the headlight connector just behind each headlight (5 wires total). 2 are for Headlight Open/Close, 1 is for Low Beam, 1 is for High Beam and 1 is Ground for Low/High.
The 2 Open/Close wires are Lt Blue/Dk Blue for the Passenger Side, and Lt Green/Dk Green for the Driver's side.
Take the Driver's side for example, both the Lt Green and Dark Green wires always have +12V in steady state. If you have a DVMM, verify that both these wires are providing +12V even with the car OFF. Sicne they're both at +12V, the motor has a net voltage of 0V across it so it stays where it is.
To Open the headlight, the Dk Green is momentarily grounded by the control module (i.e. +12V on the Light Green, Grnd on the Dk Green). Conversely to close the headlight, the Lt Green is momentarily grounded. It appears that the control module was not doing that either because it's faulty OR posibly the connector could be having problems. The first thing to do is try to access the control module and remove/reseat the connectors (there are 2 connectors, one on each side of it). You may be able to squeeze your hand under the passenger headlight when it's up but it's tight so the best way is to remove the access panel under the bumper and reach up."
Last edited by DeeGee; Sep 15, 2007 at 01:42 AM.
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 123
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From: Knoxville TN
I started working on mine last night. I have a 01 so I had to pry the cover off. I was a little worried about breaking it becasue it wasn't coming apart at first but it finally poped off. The grease inside was almost dried up. Hardly any on the gear teeth. It was mostly on the back side of the gear. The teeth themselves didn't look that bad except for a area that was stripped down the very middle for about 10 teeth. There was no way you could flip this one over and use it again. I put it back together with a new brass gear and grease. I was a little concerned the epoxy wouldn't hold the cover so I put a clamp on it and let it dry over night. I checked it again before I came into work and it's rock solid. It's doesn't look that bad either. My gear came with a brace so I don't see this think coming apart anytime soon.
I sure hope this thing goes back together as easy as it came out.
I sure hope this thing goes back together as easy as it came out.