I have a 2001 that has only 27,000 miles. I drive it (obviously) very little and it's garage kept.
I had it inspected in June and everything was perfect.
This past weekend, I got it out and noticed that when I turn on the headlamps, the left side operates fine but the right side does not work.
There is no grinding and it doesn't even sound like the motor is turning.

Any suggestions?
THANK YOU everyone!
I'm new here so be nice. LOL!

 

I'll sure give it a try first thing tomorrow. Thank you.

 

When you say that the right side doesn't work, you mean it turns ON the light but the door doesn't open, right?

If the right motor doesn't even hum, check Fuse 3 in the underhood fusebox

 

Back off the manual motor slightly. Should work fine thereafter.

 

I have to do this every now and again. Sometimes my driver side headlight doesn't go up but if I give the manual handle a slight turn it works fine after. No idea why this happens.

 

Exactly. You and me both. I've heard that the motors over extend and just backing off them slightly is the fix. Always works for me!!

 

It's very probable that you just need new bump stops.

If manually relieving the pressure allows it to work and the motor works fine closing, while not producing the well known "rat-tat-tat" noise, chances are your motor is OK and it is just the single bump stop that limit the closing action what needs to be replaced (even though it might look fine to the naked eye). The 3 that limit the opening action are probably fine, but I would replace all 4 (it might be a good idea to do the same to the other side as well).

The way the headlights work is not based on predetermined positions. When the headlight doors open or close and they reach the end of their travel, they press against the corresponding rubber bump stop(s). As a result the current through the headlight motors increases and that is sensed by the Headlight Door Control Module, which in turns cuts power to the motors.

If there are missing or damaged bump stops, or they are scored too deep, the motor might keep working longer than really needed, which could result in over torque. If that happens, the next time the motor is operated it would require more torque to perform the action. That would mean more current than normal and the possible intervention of the Headlight Control Module, shutting again the motor before the door actually moves.

If you need replacements (number 4 in diagram below) you can order them from here.

In addition to that, there is a TSB for the driver's side headlight motor that calls for shimming it (number 2 in diagram below).