Flip-Up Headlight Adjustment
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Instructor
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 159
Likes: 32
From: FL
Flip-Up Headlight Adjustment
About two months ago I installed a new Driver's side headlight motor. It's been working great till this morning when the Driver's side did not come up. Passenger side did just fine.
Maybe it was because of the "cold" (HA!, 65 degrees here in mid-Gulf Florida) but I turned the headlights OFF, then spun the **** on the back of the motor counterclockwise, then tried the headlight switch and the Driver's side headlight popped open just fine. I did that a couple more times and it worked great.
I tried it again after an hour and it stuck, so I did the **** again and it opened/closed repeatedly, no problem.
The **** seems to stick all the way clockwise and all it needs is a slight turn counterclockwise for the headlight to operate fine. I had installed new bumpers and I am wondering if maybe these crushed just enough to make the motor turn OFF slightly after it normally should and jambs the **** too far clockwise.
So, (and I forget this from my motor installation), is there some adjustment somewhere, where I can make the motor turn OFF a bit before it bottoms out, full clockwise?
Thanks, Bob
Maybe it was because of the "cold" (HA!, 65 degrees here in mid-Gulf Florida) but I turned the headlights OFF, then spun the **** on the back of the motor counterclockwise, then tried the headlight switch and the Driver's side headlight popped open just fine. I did that a couple more times and it worked great.
I tried it again after an hour and it stuck, so I did the **** again and it opened/closed repeatedly, no problem.
The **** seems to stick all the way clockwise and all it needs is a slight turn counterclockwise for the headlight to operate fine. I had installed new bumpers and I am wondering if maybe these crushed just enough to make the motor turn OFF slightly after it normally should and jambs the **** too far clockwise.
So, (and I forget this from my motor installation), is there some adjustment somewhere, where I can make the motor turn OFF a bit before it bottoms out, full clockwise?
Thanks, Bob
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2016
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From: SF Bay Area
There is no adjustment. Did you do the headlight shim mod?
The way the HCM works is that it stops providing power when it senses the motor has stopped turning, so there is no adjustment possible.
The way the HCM works is that it stops providing power when it senses the motor has stopped turning, so there is no adjustment possible.
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Drifting
Joined: Mar 2013
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From: Little Rock Arkansas
Tsumi's post is correct; there is no physical adjustment available. The reason is because there is nothing inside the headlight motor itself that notes full open or full close. When you apply power to the motor it works a constant worm drive that operates the gear. It'll then apply enough power to either open or close the motor until it hits the insulators on the pivot arm.
Remember to always post what year car you have. Looking at your profile you have a 2000 which would actually be pertinent for headlights. Mid-year 2000 models switch over to the later style headlight motors (sometimes referred to as "plastic" style to note the plastic gear cover) and most aftermarket replacements are of this style because it's the cheaper GM replacements. If you have that style headlight motor then you probably need to shim it as has been mentioned. There's a TSB for shimming the mid-2000 onwards driver's headlight motor to prevent pop up issues.
Remember to always post what year car you have. Looking at your profile you have a 2000 which would actually be pertinent for headlights. Mid-year 2000 models switch over to the later style headlight motors (sometimes referred to as "plastic" style to note the plastic gear cover) and most aftermarket replacements are of this style because it's the cheaper GM replacements. If you have that style headlight motor then you probably need to shim it as has been mentioned. There's a TSB for shimming the mid-2000 onwards driver's headlight motor to prevent pop up issues.
