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Head light problem

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Old Aug 23, 2012 | 11:02 PM
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Default Head light problem

I have a 02 model. Last night I turned my head lights on and everything was working just as it should. I went to turn the head lights off and they turned off just as they should, except they would not retract. The high and low beams work as they should. I can hear a click when I turned the lights all the way. The motors do not make or have not been making any noises. I can lower them both manually with out issues. I've checked all the fuses except any in the passenger footwell. Any help would be fantastic.
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Old Aug 24, 2012 | 07:30 AM
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likely a gear........
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Old Aug 24, 2012 | 08:56 AM
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Try turning your high beams to ON, then try lowering your headlights. Your PCM is looking for a certain resistance to lower the buckets with low beams on. For instance, If you install HID low beams without an added resistor on the circuit....the PCM won't let the headlights retract while in low beam.
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Old Aug 24, 2012 | 09:17 AM
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I walked out this morning and the head lights had lowered themselves. And now they won't come up.
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Old Aug 24, 2012 | 09:18 AM
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Originally Posted by NassyBlue
Try turning your high beams to ON, then try lowering your headlights. Your PCM is looking for a certain resistance to lower the buckets with low beams on. For instance, If you install HID low beams without an added resistor on the circuit....the PCM won't let the headlights retract while in low beam.
Lower them with the manual adjuster or by turning them off normally.
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Old Aug 24, 2012 | 06:01 PM
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I live about an hour south of you. I am no auto mechanic by any means...but I could try to give you a hand if you need it. To me, it sounds like an electrical wiring issue.
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Old Aug 24, 2012 | 06:05 PM
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It could also be a failing headlight switch... here is a pretty good write on how the headlight switch can fail...and how to fix it if broken.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...f-replace.html

Do you have the Twilight Sentinal option?

Last edited by Vicarious.; Aug 24, 2012 at 06:22 PM.
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Old Aug 24, 2012 | 09:16 PM
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Never even heard of that sir.
EDIT: Mine does not have that option. The car does have HID's in it, but they have been in the car for over a year with out issue.

I appreciate the offer. As soon as I get it back from my tuner I'm gonna mess with it. I'm trying to round up all the possible causes before I dive into it.

Last edited by jmuck; Aug 24, 2012 at 09:45 PM.
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Old Aug 25, 2012 | 03:36 PM
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Originally Posted by jmuck
Never even heard of that sir.
EDIT: Mine does not have that option. The car does have HID's in it, but they have been in the car for over a year with out issue.

I appreciate the offer. As soon as I get it back from my tuner I'm gonna mess with it. I'm trying to round up all the possible causes before I dive into it.
The problem are the HID's. Unless you have a resistor on one of the lights this will happen from time to time. When this does happen switch on your high beams by pushing the stalk forward (not just pulling it back) and then turn off the lights and the buckets should close. The headlights with the HID's get tempermental some times and just because it has been working good for a while doesnt mean that it will always. I find that my buckets with the HID's usually lower when the engine is running and I have to do the high beam trick when the engine is off. This is a very common problem with HID's and not really a big deal.
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Old Aug 30, 2012 | 11:02 AM
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Thanks for all the help fellas. All I had to do was flip the brights on and they started working normally again.
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Old Aug 30, 2012 | 01:46 PM
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Originally Posted by jmuck
Thanks for all the help fellas. All I had to do was flip the brights on and they started working normally again.
get yourself a resistor from JW Motoring and you'll never see that problem again.
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