Hey guys! I have this 2000 Corvette FRC and recently whenever I turn the headlights down, both motors still try to go down and they just end up spinning and shaking. I do plan on doing the bronze gears pretty soon, but I don't want this issue to continue!
The headlights go up and down fine, but the motors continue to try to put the headlights down.It does not happen when the headlights go up,only when it goes down. It's also pretty embarrassing listening to the motors lol.

 

Sounds like you have two bad motors. I would replace the bump stops as well.

 

Do they sound like a loud "rat-tat-tat"? If yes, your plastic gears are probably broken.

Get a kit like this one (pay attention because there are 2 different kits: one for "97 to early 2000" and another for "late 2000 to 2004") and follow these step-by-step directions. You'll save money and they will last forever.

It would be wise to replace as well the rubber bump stops in both sides (#4 in diagram below). You can get them here.

There is a TSB, that calls for shimming the driver's side motor. The parts needed for this are included in the above mentioned kit (#2 in diagram below).

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Bump stops.

 

bump stops will keep a good motor from going bad but it won’t have a bad motor go good.

 

Beautiful car, nothing quite like a 2000 hardtop in Nassau Blue.



GUSTO

 

The poster stated "The headlights go up and down fine, but the motors continue to try to put the headlights down.". That doesn't sound like the motors failed.

 

Here is a video of the headlight motors
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mE7Y...ature=youtu.be

 

The bump stops are the only thing mechanically that stop the head light motors; there isn't an internal mechanism that denotes either the full open or full close point. The headlights have four bump stops each, two on the back side of the headlight door to prevent jostling and two on the pivot arm that actually notes the full open and full close point. If the bump stop on the closed side of the pivot is worn or damaged the pivot arm can be moving further that it's supposed to, causing the gear to spin.

If the gear is damaged, the *tat tat tat* sound, then teeth are likely missing. The loose pieces contact the insides of the gear as, again, it's a set amount of power that gets applied to the worm drive not something inside that controls the open and closed points.

Regardless it's pretty easy to service the gears and the bump stops. The only thing you're going to run into is that mid-2000 the headlight motors were changed. You'll need to determine if you have the earlier bolted housing style or the later sealed housing style, with each requiring slightly different steps to service.

I will say it is somewhat odd that BOTH headlight motors would be damaged simultaneously, unless they just were both damaged prior and have now got to the point of malfunction.

 

I checked your video and it answered the question I asked you above in Post 3. The loud "rat-tat-tat" sound along with the violent vibrations seem to indicate a damaged plastic gear (broken teeth).

Check my previous Post. It has links to get both, gear repair kit and rubber bump stops, along with detailed directions, tips and a relevant TSB.

 

Yep. Plastic gears are stripped. Make sure you remember exactly how the arm came off the motor and it goes back together exactly the same. Otherwise you’re going to have some headaches. Put a little bit of silicone or wd40 on the part of the motor that slides into the hole of the arm. It will make your life a lot easier.