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So my driver's side headlight has a new feature. When I turn the headlights off, they go down and the driver's headlight then goes back up about half way. When I turn the headlights back on, it goes back down and then goes up. I have tried manually screwing it back down. That didn't work. I tried screwing it all the way up. That didn't work. I replaced the plastic gear with the brass gear last summer. My car is a 2003 50th convertible. Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Jim
Last edited by koolaid117; Sep 13, 2019 at 11:58 AM.
Check the bump stops at the end of the down travel. They are little white rubber bumpers. If it is missing or worn out the headlight will do as you describe.
This behavior is typical of missing or damaged rubber bump stops (No. 4 in diagram below). Even if they look fine to the naked eye, they might be scored too deep. You might need to replace them (4 per side). You can get them here.
In addition to that, there is a TSB addressing those symptoms that calls for shimming the driver's side motor (No. 2 in diagram):
Thanks to you guys for your responses! I finally got a chance to look closely into the problem and your suggestions were spot on!! I ordered a replacement set from Rodney Dickman's.