Trans Am Head lights
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 7,067
Likes: 9
From: HOT'LANA, GAWJA
Trans Am Head lights I have a lady friend with a 99 trans am and she told me that her head lights make a clicking sound when they open and close. A shop told her that she would need to spend $800 to fix the problem. Sounds like they are trying to rip her off to me. Does anyone know what the problem is and what it will take to fix it. She went to another shop and they "disabled" her lights meaning that they are in the up posistion all the time and they charged her $75 to do that. Sounds like those guys ripped her off.
12 Second Club
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 407
Likes: 1
From: Rockwall, TX
I had a '97 formula so I did some homework on this a while back. The motors in the headlights use plastic gears. It sounds like they are about to go out. There are websites and write ups on how you can do some cost efficient fixes. I've read that the gears only use 1/2 of the teeth so you can rotate the gears 180 deg and get some extra life out of them, you can also buy brass gear sets that are much more durable.
As far as your friend getting ripped off... $75 is a typical charge for a diagnostic visit. It pays for 1 hour with the tech and overhead. That's why I love that AutoZone reads DTC codes for free. $800 to replace the headlight motors? That's what sucks for people who can't do their own work. Just a 2 sec goggle search turned up this: Brass Gears. I don't know this guy from Adam so this is not an endorsement. He sells the gear sets for $94 shipped for both sides. The whole motor will cost nearly $200 from GM so the shop is probably doing this math: ($200x1.5 mark-up) + $100 labor = $400 x2 (2 headlights) = $800 total.
As far as your friend getting ripped off... $75 is a typical charge for a diagnostic visit. It pays for 1 hour with the tech and overhead. That's why I love that AutoZone reads DTC codes for free. $800 to replace the headlight motors? That's what sucks for people who can't do their own work. Just a 2 sec goggle search turned up this: Brass Gears. I don't know this guy from Adam so this is not an endorsement. He sells the gear sets for $94 shipped for both sides. The whole motor will cost nearly $200 from GM so the shop is probably doing this math: ($200x1.5 mark-up) + $100 labor = $400 x2 (2 headlights) = $800 total.
I replaced both my gears with metal geats($75). Over time the housing/worm gear gets out of alignment with the brass/plastic gear. So... it wore through both metal gears b/c just a little was in contact b/c the alignment was off. Then I replaced both motor units for $90 a pc.(Autozone[lifetime warranty])), with I would have done that initially.
With that said, the connectors on the new ones are junk. The plug connector going to the car wiring harness corroded on one and I had to splice two of the wires that corroded all the way. Also the plugs going to the headlights melted and shorted out so I had to get female connectors to attach to the wires and then slide over the prongs on the headlights.
I didn't have the time to take them out and get new ones(with the warranty) so I just hardwired/replaced what I could.
With that said, the connectors on the new ones are junk. The plug connector going to the car wiring harness corroded on one and I had to splice two of the wires that corroded all the way. Also the plugs going to the headlights melted and shorted out so I had to get female connectors to attach to the wires and then slide over the prongs on the headlights.
I didn't have the time to take them out and get new ones(with the warranty) so I just hardwired/replaced what I could.
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 7,067
Likes: 9
From: HOT'LANA, GAWJA
Thanks for the link ... I should be able to fix it for her now .... I am a Camaro guy and have never had to deal with the up and down head lights that the firebird nation has .... 
