First of all, kudos to Mr. Bill and Lucky131969. These two gentlemen have helped me plenty in the past. Here is my problem. When I turn off the headlights, after they go down there is a gear grinding growl near the right headlight for about 5 to 10 seconds that feels like an eternity. WTF? Could it be an electrical issue since I remember when I turn on the parking lights, the parking lights used to go on but the headlights did not pop up, now they do? If I remember correctly, the parking lights would not lift the headlights however if you had the headlights on and switched to parking lights, they would stay up. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Now for my rant. I should have know that GM cars don't do so well after 10 or so years. Things just start to fall apart. I know because GM cars are all I owned and I owned all of them beyond 10 years of build. I thought the vette would be different though. Other than the Corsa Touring Exhaust, Z06 airbox and some higher flowing air filters, I held on to my money for repairs. Here is where my car stands now.

1.) Whining in rear, no its not me
2.) Oil sending unit failure
3.) Turn signal flashers don't work at times
4.) And now my pop up headlight is grinding.

This car is quickly turning into a project car.

Thanks in advance for any opinions you can offer.

 

Mfile, there is a great "sticky" at the top...."the improved Ultmate DIY thread". They have a great thread on how to replace the headlight gear with step by step pictures and even where to purchase the brass gear.

 

I'm thinking its electrical and not mechanical.

 

Due to the stripped gear, the motor continues to run for about 10 seconds as it is not sensing the proper current indicating that the assembly is truly closed.

 

Its mechanical and not electrical, as said in my first post.

 

This just started on me last night- I had no clue what it was and it sounded like it was inside the car which scared me half to death. I just went and my dad noticed it was coming from my drivers side light. I do not care because I am replacing with Stealth Light Cannons V2. Good luck to you in fixing yours

 

Thanks all. Much appreciated!

 

Replace your worn gear and it'll be fine. Run a search on here, this is a very common issue.

Also, two of your other issues are very simple to address:

1.) Whining in rear, no its not me

Drive another C5 and see if it sounds different. The drivetrain is not whisper quiet on these cars.


2.) Oil sending unit failure

Pull the intake manifold and replace it. Very common problem, easy job.


3.) Turn signal flashers don't work at times

Clean the contacts on your multi-function switch, if that doesn't work it's probably your hazard switch going out. Another very common problem.


4.) And now my pop up headlight is grinding.

Replace worn nylon gear with brass one.

 

OK, where's my multi-function switch?

 

The "whys" behind headlight grinding are as follows:

The headlights use an electronic black box, called the headlight module, (located behind the passenger headlights) to monitor the current that the headlight motors draw, when the motors hit their stops (up or down), the motor current spikes and the box shuts off the current.

What happens is the plastic gears wear down and they "slip". This slipping causes the "machine gun noise". When they slip, there is no current spike, so the motor keeps going until a "time out" limit is hit. But by doing this the "timing" is messed up and sometimes the lights will come up when only the parking lights are turned on.

 

It is the left stick sticking out of your steering column, it controls your turn signals, headlights, high beams, cruise control, etc. hence "multi-function" !

The multifunction lever on the left side of the steering
column includes your:
-Turn Signal and Lane Change Control
-Headlamp High/Low-Beam Changer
-Cruise Control
-Headlamps Switch
-Flash-To-Pass

 

Thanks! Now I get it.

 

Sir, step away from the car, hands in air, drop keys. We are now assigning you a Toyota.....................

 

C'mon, seriously. You knew that if the gear starts stripping, the headlamps will pop up when you put the parking lights on, when they didn't before? Seriously you think that's obvious?

 

Not necessarily obvious but I'd bet there's around a thousand threads on here that mention that. It's one of the most common failures on these cars. Searching will help you next time...

 

I doubt that many here know the technical reason behind this.


I also don't agree that members should use search to find answers. The reason this is an interactive forum is to learn from others, not just do "searches".

 

I would like to buy you a beer. Heck, I would like to buy the other guy a beer too. Thanks for your help. Once I put the motorcycles away for the winter, I will get on these things. I ordered the brass gear already.

 

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...post1562077756


This is the thread I'm using. I have the same problem, good-luck!

 

If you are going to do one headlight gear, do both. After the first one, the second one goes faster. The second one will probably go out soon anyway.

If you get the gears from Rodney Dickman, follow his directions, not the FSM to remove the headlight assembly.

I was able to get both out from the top, without raising the car. About 2-1/2 hours start to finish for two.