Headlights won't go up !!!
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 245
Likes: 14
From: Doral Fl
Headlights won't go up !!!
have an issue , i have to turn the headlight switch off and on a few times, until eventually the headlights go up!!!! what should I be looking for? could it be the switch assembly . please advise
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2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
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I just fixed this on mine yesterday... in my case it was the rubber stops on the motors that let the motor know when the lights are fully closed... one of those stops was smashed and the other was missing so my headlights were closing too far and getting stuck... I cut a small piece of fuel hose and slipped it over the tab on each motor and ziptied them tight and my problem is solved... if not that it could also be your headlight gears... if you decide to replace them I highly suggest rodney dickman's gears, they come in a kit and include a nice brace to keep the motors from separating after you epoxy them... do a search for headlight gears and you should find a write up of how to do this if the gears are your problem
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 167
Likes: 0
From: Atlanta GA
I just fixed this on mine yesterday... in my case it was the rubber stops on the motors that let the motor know when the lights are fully closed... one of those stops was smashed and the other was missing so my headlights were closing too far and getting stuck... I cut a small piece of fuel hose and slipped it over the tab on each motor and ziptied them tight and my problem is solved... if not that it could also be your headlight gears... if you decide to replace them I highly suggest rodney dickman's gears, they come in a kit and include a nice brace to keep the motors from separating after you epoxy them... do a search for headlight gears and you should find a write up of how to do this if the gears are your problem
If lights do not come on and no motor noise - it could be your switch contacts.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 245
Likes: 14
From: Doral Fl
Could also be your headlight switch. Have a friend listen and look at the lights when you hit the switch. Do they hear the motor? Do the lights cut on when you hit the switch - and do they just not come up?
If lights do not come on and no motor noise - it could be your switch contacts.
If lights do not come on and no motor noise - it could be your switch contacts.
Acct Suspended APR 2026 by request
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 10,367
Likes: 1,272
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
C5 of Year Winner (performance mods) 2019
if your headlights don't even turn on then the stops are not your problem, more than likely the switch is bad... in my case the headlights worked they just wouldn't pop up because they were stuck due to the missing/smashed stops
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 167
Likes: 0
From: Atlanta GA
Yea... It sounds like the contacts in the light switch on your column are bad.
I have not repaired or replaced one on these vette's yet, but it should not be that big of a project. There are many people on this forum that could probably help you with detailed steps - or just google it and there are probably many articles on replacing it.
If you have a multimeter or test light - get a hold of the lighting system schematics and test voltage coming after the switch. If you get it sometimes, and not others (or less than 12V) - then problem is pretty much guaranteed to be there.
Wish I could be more help - but hopefully I am leading you down the right road.
I have not repaired or replaced one on these vette's yet, but it should not be that big of a project. There are many people on this forum that could probably help you with detailed steps - or just google it and there are probably many articles on replacing it.
If you have a multimeter or test light - get a hold of the lighting system schematics and test voltage coming after the switch. If you get it sometimes, and not others (or less than 12V) - then problem is pretty much guaranteed to be there.
Wish I could be more help - but hopefully I am leading you down the right road.
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,382
Likes: 37
From: Everett WA
St. Jude Donor '14
I had the same problem....lights came on but not up. first thing I did was unplug the connector under the hood and spray contact cleaner in there and once it was dry and reconnceted it now works 100% of the time. Quick easy thing to try
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Instructor
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 167
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From: Atlanta GA
Looking at the wiring diagram for the headlights I believe I just had a "bright" idea on how to determine if it is the switch with no tools required.
If you turn your brights on. Then flip your switch until it doesnt work, and your bright light icon in your display does not come on - then it will be the switch.
(anyone please correct me if I am wrong but I dont see anything in the wiring that would prevent this indicator from cutting on if the switch is working - even if the headlights dont - except for the ground splice)
If you turn your brights on. Then flip your switch until it doesnt work, and your bright light icon in your display does not come on - then it will be the switch.
(anyone please correct me if I am wrong but I dont see anything in the wiring that would prevent this indicator from cutting on if the switch is working - even if the headlights dont - except for the ground splice)
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 245
Likes: 14
From: Doral Fl
Looking at the wiring diagram for the headlights I believe I just had a "bright" idea on how to determine if it is the switch with no tools required.
If you turn your brights on. Then flip your switch until it doesnt work, and your bright light icon in your display does not come on - then it will be the switch.
(anyone please correct me if I am wrong but I dont see anything in the wiring that would prevent this indicator from cutting on if the switch is working - even if the headlights dont - except for the ground splice)
If you turn your brights on. Then flip your switch until it doesnt work, and your bright light icon in your display does not come on - then it will be the switch.
(anyone please correct me if I am wrong but I dont see anything in the wiring that would prevent this indicator from cutting on if the switch is working - even if the headlights dont - except for the ground splice)
Navigator
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
Since we're on the subject of headlight repair....does anyone know what turns the headlamp retract motor off, once it's turned on? Is it timed? Or does the computer sense the current rise when the lamps reach their mechanical stops(and then turns the motor off)? I'm waiting for my brass motor drive gear to replace the stripped one, and wondered if the factory nylon gear took the full stall torque of the electric motor and just waited for the voltage to time out? If that's the case, no wonder this gear wears out and strips eventually!
Instructor
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 227
Likes: 12
From: Southern NJ
I just fixed this on mine yesterday... in my case it was the rubber stops on the motors that let the motor know when the lights are fully closed... one of those stops was smashed and the other was missing so my headlights were closing too far and getting stuck... I cut a small piece of fuel hose and slipped it over the tab on each motor and ziptied them tight and my problem is solved... if not that it could also be your headlight gears... if you decide to replace them I highly suggest rodney dickman's gears, they come in a kit and include a nice brace to keep the motors from separating after you epoxy them... do a search for headlight gears and you should find a write up of how to do this if the gears are your problem
Thanks,
Vince
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 2,922
Likes: 219
From: West Branch, MI
Since we're on the subject of headlight repair....does anyone know what turns the headlamp retract motor off, once it's turned on? Is it timed? Or does the computer sense the current rise when the lamps reach their mechanical stops(and then turns the motor off)? I'm waiting for my brass motor drive gear to replace the stripped one, and wondered if the factory nylon gear took the full stall torque of the electric motor and just waited for the voltage to time out? If that's the case, no wonder this gear wears out and strips eventually!
I have only owned my C5 for nearly 2 years now and have suffered thru all of these. I've repaired each one and have learned a lot but for the life of me, I wish the GM engineers had put more thought into this stuff. I can maybe understand the bad wave soldering on the HVAC display thing, since that's more of a manufacturing defect, but the headlight issues could have easily been solved with a switch that turns the motor off when it's reached the closed state.
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 167
Likes: 0
From: Atlanta GA
Yeah, its the rise in current that kills the motor. One has to wonder what the engineers were smoking when they developed some of this stuff. There are some serious weak points that nearly every C5 suffers from. Headlights, floppy mirrors, floppy sun visors, dim hvac display, etc...
I have only owned my C5 for nearly 2 years now and have suffered thru all of these. I've repaired each one and have learned a lot but for the life of me, I wish the GM engineers had put more thought into this stuff. I can maybe understand the bad wave soldering on the HVAC display thing, since that's more of a manufacturing defect, but the headlight issues could have easily been solved with a switch that turns the motor off when it's reached the closed state.
I have only owned my C5 for nearly 2 years now and have suffered thru all of these. I've repaired each one and have learned a lot but for the life of me, I wish the GM engineers had put more thought into this stuff. I can maybe understand the bad wave soldering on the HVAC display thing, since that's more of a manufacturing defect, but the headlight issues could have easily been solved with a switch that turns the motor off when it's reached the closed state.
Acct Suspended APR 2026 by request
Joined: Dec 2010
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2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
C5 of Year Winner (performance mods) 2019
if you have the hood up and manually raise the headlights to fully open you can get to them... they are an off white color and you will see 2 on the top of each headlight frame and 1 on the bottom of each motor... I went from the front and used my left hand to get the passenger side on and my right hand to get the driver side on
Navigator
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
Yeah, its the rise in current that kills the motor. One has to wonder what the engineers were smoking when they developed some of this stuff. There are some serious weak points that nearly every C5 suffers from. Headlights, floppy mirrors, floppy sun visors, dim hvac display, etc...
I have only owned my C5 for nearly 2 years now and have suffered thru all of these. I've repaired each one and have learned a lot but for the life of me, I wish the GM engineers had put more thought into this stuff. I can maybe understand the bad wave soldering on the HVAC display thing, since that's more of a manufacturing defect, but the headlight issues could have easily been solved with a switch that turns the motor off when it's reached the closed state.
I have only owned my C5 for nearly 2 years now and have suffered thru all of these. I've repaired each one and have learned a lot but for the life of me, I wish the GM engineers had put more thought into this stuff. I can maybe understand the bad wave soldering on the HVAC display thing, since that's more of a manufacturing defect, but the headlight issues could have easily been solved with a switch that turns the motor off when it's reached the closed state.
I'd like to know more about the dim AC display. I always thought it was just the sun reflection angle making it hard to read.
Another dumb thing is how the fuel pump tubing is routed inside the frame, over the driver read tire. What a nightmare that is, if you've ever replaced the fuel pump inline check valve.
For a while my 2000 was overheating. Then I used a pressure washer on the radiator and that knocked off about 15 degrees. And mind you, just looking at it, you couldn't tell it was obstructed.
Hard to access and tighten the side battery terminals.
The trunk has to be pried open even though it's been popped. On and on, but I love this car!
Mind you, NONE of this compares to the insanity of changing a heater core on a C4!!!!
8th Gear
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
From: Coopersburg Pa
My 98 headlight doors also won't pop up immediately...
....the problem started right after I installed HID lights.
My theory is that the HID lamps need so much current to get started that it causes a voltage drop in that circuit which won't activate the motors.
So far my solution has been to turn the switch to the on position which turns on the lamps with the doors down and allow those HID lamps to warm up. Then turn the switch off and back on and the doors always come up then.
My theory is that the HID lamps need so much current to get started that it causes a voltage drop in that circuit which won't activate the motors.
So far my solution has been to turn the switch to the on position which turns on the lamps with the doors down and allow those HID lamps to warm up. Then turn the switch off and back on and the doors always come up then.
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 167
Likes: 0
From: Atlanta GA
....the problem started right after I installed HID lights.
My theory is that the HID lamps need so much current to get started that it causes a voltage drop in that circuit which won't activate the motors.
So far my solution has been to turn the switch to the on position which turns on the lamps with the doors down and allow those HID lamps to warm up. Then turn the switch off and back on and the doors always come up then.
My theory is that the HID lamps need so much current to get started that it causes a voltage drop in that circuit which won't activate the motors.
So far my solution has been to turn the switch to the on position which turns on the lamps with the doors down and allow those HID lamps to warm up. Then turn the switch off and back on and the doors always come up then.
Racer
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 431
Likes: 2
Can anyone lead me through steps of how to problem solve for this? It is driving me insane. Motors are only two years old. Both motors are not working. Occasionally out of the blue for no reason they will come on, but the next day they will not. This is for both sides.
Bulbs work, just do not raise or lower. I turned on brights and flipped switch. The hi beam light still remains on. Disconnected the master wiring and replugged in still nothing. Maybe I will get some electronic spray to clean the contacts.
White bump stops look good.
Bulbs work, just do not raise or lower. I turned on brights and flipped switch. The hi beam light still remains on. Disconnected the master wiring and replugged in still nothing. Maybe I will get some electronic spray to clean the contacts.
White bump stops look good.
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 109
Likes: 12
From: St. Louis MO
An old thread for sure, but did you ever figure out the source of your problem? I have the same thing happen occasionally. I have yet to go through and inspect/clean some of the connectors, just started searching threads, but wanted to ask if you found the culprit.