My passenger side HL began not popping up (intermittently) then stopped popping up at all. Short term, I manually turned it to the up position. Since then, it comes up every time when the HL's are turned on. Problem is, every time I close them, I hear the motor continue for an extra 5 -10 sec. I'm sure it's because I've reversed the actuation by turning it to the up position manually. Any suggestions on what part has gone bad from my description?

Thanks

 

headlight motor gear is stripped. do a search.

 

He's right, the gear is stripped. It doesn't have anything to do with the fact that you put it up manually.

There's a couple of solutions.
1. Buy a new/used replacement for the whole motor setup.
2. Replace the gear with a new plastic gear or a brass one.

The second one is way cheaper, but sometimes difficult. They changed the style of the motor setup part way through C5 (prior to 2002). The older motors were such that you could take off a cover and access the gear easily. The newer ones are one piece units that you have to break apart to get the gear out. There is a nice seam that will split open, but if you don't get it sealed back tight (likely with some strong epoxy), you will have more problems.

I've done both solutions, but couldn't get the motor to stay together after I epoxied it back together. I ended up buying a new motor on ebay.

Many say you can't buy replacement gears except for the brass ones - but NAPA does carry one. I threw out the package before I could write down the product number, but I was able to find it online (the guys in the store said they didn't carry them).

Good luck. It's an easy install on your own. No need to pay the dealer. It is a tight fit to get your arms under the light to pull the motor, but not hard.

There are lots of posts in the various C5 sections (possibly in tech tips too) that will have photos and instructions.

chris

 

StingR

I used the following product for a perfect fix.

Replacement Headlight Gear For 97+ C5 Corvettes

http://www.rodneydickman.com/corvette.html

Detailed instructions are included and was also helpful on the phone.



Dave

 

Same thing happened to my 99 FRC.
I got the plastic gear from someone like Ecklers or Mid-America.
At least in my car, the biggest pain was getting the headlight gear out of the car. Took me a couple of hours but once it was out it was an easy fix. Definitely a DIY job if you have the patience.

Good luck.

 

Thanks guys, I went with the set from Rodney