Headlight won't open sometimes (passenger side)
 

There are times when I turn on the headlight switch that only the driver side headlight goes up (the passenger side stays down). I then turn the lights off and try again, and after a few tries it finally decides to go up.

What should I be looking at to fix the issue? Thanks!

If you do not hear any abnormal sounds once it does go up or down then you need a new headlight motor.

Well, turns out I have fallen victim of the common headlight gear failure since I now hear a grinding noise from that headlight when I lower the lights.

I found 2 sources that sells metal gears (one place sells brass, the other sells aluminum). The one that sells brass gears also includes a reinforcement brace to keep the motor together so that it doesn't only rely on epoxy. It also includes grease, epoxy, and a new rubber bumper.

I would post the URL but am pretty sure this vendor is not a sponsor.

EDIT - the place that still sells brass also sells aluminum at a slightly lower price. Should I go with brass or aluminum?

I used the brass one, works great. I'm not sure if it matters one way or the other.

can u pm me who has the brass ones. i am replacing mine tomorrow with another plastic one for now. then i am going to replace both of them with the brass later on. tired of hearing the grinding everytime the lights move up and down

You don't need to replace anything. You can do the free fix. Just disconnect the motor from the headlight. Then with the manual knob on th motor rotate the shaft 180 degrees and reconnect it to the headlight. The motor only uses one side of the gear. The other side is still functional. I have done this twice with my 1995 firebird and they are still going strong on the original motors.

Good Luck!

Art

I just lost my drivers side gear a day ago, going to order 2 of these kits (replacing passengers side while I'm at it :D)

http://www.top-downsolutions.com/hea...tte-p-128.html

That looks exactly like the kit I just finished installing. Excellent results!