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The other day my drivers side headlight didn't work at all. It didn't even make a noise. Later in the afternoon when I tried it again, it wined and slowly went up. It keeps wining even after it is all the way up or down now. Is this a gear problem or a motor problem? Where is the best place to get what I need for either?
I had a similar problem in that sometimes the head lights would not come up at first and it took several attempts. Then when I would turn them off the drivers side would whine like the motor was still running and the gears were grinding for about 20 or 30 seconds.
The dealer said that the actuator motor had gone bad and the BCM (body control module) needed to be reprogrammed. Mine was fixwed under warranty.
From: Dear Karma, I have a list of people you missed.
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16
A stripped or broken gear is the problem most folks commonly post about here. The stock gear is nylon. They can be replaced with brass gears that hold up much better. www.rodneydickman.com You can do it yourself or have some do it and save the cost of a new motor assembly.
At least once a year I make it a habit to lubricate all hinges on my car; trunk, doors, hood and headlight doors. Lubing the headlight door hinges reduces the amount of effort it takes for the motor to open/close them. HTH