Hello to all.

I have a 99 and having some issues that i can't seem to figure out. So here it is, I had to replace gears to brass gears... The headlights worked great for 1 day, then they started to have issue where one light would come up but other wouldn't... vise versa. Then either on wouldn't raise. It cycles between sometimes both work, then left only, right only, and then nothing. It has been quite frustrating, i checked grounds.

Anyone have any suggestions? Thoughts?

Any help appreciated. Thanks

 

Sounds like a bad connection possibly in more than one location. Since you just did the brass gear thing I'd go back and inspect all the connectors you took apart for corrosion or burned contacts. If you live up north and drive in winter you may have crusty grounds. A multimeter is your friend.

 

Also check the 2 looms that plug into the headdlight controller module,could be loose or corroded.
If you clean up all the connections/grounds,and still have the same problem,it could be the module itself that's bunged up-you can take it apart and very carefully clean up the contacts with 600 wetordry sandpaper(there's a couple of ice cube relays in there,pop the covers off and you can get to the contacts)
The module is located behind the pass.headlight,mounted vertically on what would be the front wall of the passenger fenderwell-it's that 4x4 box with the bump in the middle and the looms plugged into the bottom edge.
I was having some non-opening problems with the lights,cleaned up the internals on the module,and they've been perfect every since.(over a year now)

 

We inspected them and found nothing out of the ordinary.

 

Sounds promising, I will let you know how it turns out. Thanks

 

Here is another thing to consider. Each headlight motor is activated by the headlight control module as discussed. When the headlight travels up or down it eventually hits the stop causing a current spike in the circuit. The controller is programmed to cut power to the motor circuit as soon as it detects the current spike. It's a clever way for engineers to avoid the need for switches to cut power at the end of travel making the system cheaper and somewhat more reliable.

Problems can arise however when there is binding in the headlight linkage. The motor circuit hits the current threshold before it even begins to move telling the HCM "OK, I've completed my travel you can cut my power now." This may be your problem. Next time one of the headlights doesn't come up try rotating the manual **** to raise or lower it. If it's initially really difficult to turn, then becomes much easier you've identified the culprit.

Binding can be caused by a number of different things. Since you recently had the assemblies out for brass gears it may just be as simple as loosening the mounting bolts and retightening everything more evenly. Lubricating the linkage may help. Also check to see that the linkage is not "overcentering". That happens when the motor can rotate the linkage too far due to the stops being bent or pads missing causing a preload condition much like an overcenter style latch mechanism.

Let us know what you find.

 

i'm having the same problems after a gear change. i was thinking the same thing about the binding just haven't had time to pull the light buckets again. i'm gonna have to put this on my short list cause mine are tight when i raise them manually. are there any other adjustments that can be made??

 

To check if it is the motor binding open the hood and turn the manual ***** so they are turning easily and then turn-on the headlights. You have a binding problem if they work every time when you do this.

Peter

 

I ran into something similar that I just solved on my '99 but it was only one headlamp, not both. My son had the car for a while and replaced the right headlamp gear with a brass gear which was fine. But, sometimes it would come up and other times it wouldn't. I found that if it wasn't coming up, if I manually turned the **** a hair...like half a turn, then turned the headlamps on manually, it would suddenly come up. I disassembled the motor and saw the stops were rising above the rubber bumper things in the gear when they should not have been. I realized that my son had re-assembled the motor wrong and the spacers/washers were in the wrong places. Once I fixed that and put it back together, no more problems at all.

 

So I took the car to the dealer after spending more time than I have, and they think the motors are bad.. How likely are both motors to go bad at once?

 

rohraa

Sounds like a normal dealer response to me. Bet the motors spin like crazy when attached to 12V. I'd follow some of the great advice above before I paid a dealer to change both motors. My .02

 

For sure. I told him I would be there 1st thing in the morning to pick it up. Motors from dealer are almost $700 alone. If I do need them, anyone know where to find them?

 

Contact Gene @GMPARTS......http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...artshouse.html