firebird headlight motors: my story
05-27-2004 | 09:10 PM
#1
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Joined: May 2004
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From: Florida
firebird headlight motors: my story well, it happened to my 98 bird... put the lights down, bzzzzzzzzzz...
after trying out the tip on turning the motor to use the other side of the motor gear, it worked like a champ, but about 6 months later, bzzzzzzzzz!
so, after leaving it alone for several months later, i finally decided to fix it, either by purchasing a new brass gear and tearing the motor apart, buy a used one, or going to the dealer and shelling out big bucks, which i was totally against doing unless it was a last resort.
while i was at advance auto parts picking up some odds-n-ends (most importantly though was a new set of horns for the bird, which btw, were only $10 a piece and are EXACTLY like the ones from GM), i asked the parts guy if they happened to sell headlight motors for my car. he looked it up, and sure enough they did. they are refurb's by cardone (pt#'s 49124 RH & 49125 LH) for $98.00 each, and have a lifetime warranty. so i thought what the heck, i placed an order, for if they weren't the right ones, i have other options, and get my money back. a week later they came in, i took the originals with me, and they were a perfect match!
while i was taking out the motors, i found a few helpful threads here on the procedure, and a few sites that have step-by-step instructions as well. what i found out while doing mine was the following:
1) manually raise the headlamp to it's UP position
2) remove the 3 screws that hold the cover around the hi/lo beam lights
3) remove the nut that the light arm is connected to the light motor. this is kinda hard, for most likely it is rusted, so some oil will help. if you use an item to help "bang" it off, be careful, for the top of the arm that attaches to the light assembly is only be held on by a lock washer, and if you bang the arm to much, you will bend the washer and possibly the arm.
4) look at the top of the light, you will see 2 bolts holding the light that makes it "swivel". the bolt is a 10mm and a torx. use both the torx and 10mm and remove the nut, and then slide out the bolt. be careful here too, for the light assemby will drop, so make sure you have a friend help, or just hold on to the assembly the best you can.
5) disconnect the hi/lo beam plugs from the assembly, and then disconnect the plug for the lights (follow the wires here) to the plug block (it is located behind a metal piece, and is held on by a pin, so just pull it out of the hole, and set aside the assemby.
6) now, you have PLENTY of room to remove the 3 10mm bolts that hold the motor to the frame. the front 2 are really easy, but the one in the back has almost zero clearace to get you hand in there (this is why i took the light assembly out of the car), much less a 10mm box wrench.
7) remove the light motor.
8) reverse the steps at this point to re-assemble the light assembly.
9) this is critical: be sure to check to see if everything lines back up they way it did before you pulled it out. if you look in the area, you will see two white caps that are on the outside of the motor. these are the stoppers that instruct the motor to stop when it is traveling in either direction, if the bar is too far to either the left or right of the bar, you will have a problem, most likely the light bar that connects to the motor is not aligned correctly, so you may have to make adjustments to get it to pretty much sit in the middle of the white stoppers.
10) if everything looks good, use the light switch in the car to check your work. be sure to pay careful attention while the light is travelling either up or down, making sure it travels smoothly and isn't binding or hitting something as it rotates. if the light "stutters" or binds, it will blow out the backing of the motors back cover, so also check that it is not seperating.
11) if everything goes good, repeat the same steps to the other light if you are doing both (i did), and enjoy your new lights!
thats my story, and all told for both lights, took about 1.5 hours or so, and i'm a happy camper!
-robert.
98 pontiac firebird v6
99 pontiac trans am v8
after trying out the tip on turning the motor to use the other side of the motor gear, it worked like a champ, but about 6 months later, bzzzzzzzzz!
so, after leaving it alone for several months later, i finally decided to fix it, either by purchasing a new brass gear and tearing the motor apart, buy a used one, or going to the dealer and shelling out big bucks, which i was totally against doing unless it was a last resort.
while i was at advance auto parts picking up some odds-n-ends (most importantly though was a new set of horns for the bird, which btw, were only $10 a piece and are EXACTLY like the ones from GM), i asked the parts guy if they happened to sell headlight motors for my car. he looked it up, and sure enough they did. they are refurb's by cardone (pt#'s 49124 RH & 49125 LH) for $98.00 each, and have a lifetime warranty. so i thought what the heck, i placed an order, for if they weren't the right ones, i have other options, and get my money back. a week later they came in, i took the originals with me, and they were a perfect match!
while i was taking out the motors, i found a few helpful threads here on the procedure, and a few sites that have step-by-step instructions as well. what i found out while doing mine was the following:
1) manually raise the headlamp to it's UP position
2) remove the 3 screws that hold the cover around the hi/lo beam lights
3) remove the nut that the light arm is connected to the light motor. this is kinda hard, for most likely it is rusted, so some oil will help. if you use an item to help "bang" it off, be careful, for the top of the arm that attaches to the light assembly is only be held on by a lock washer, and if you bang the arm to much, you will bend the washer and possibly the arm.
4) look at the top of the light, you will see 2 bolts holding the light that makes it "swivel". the bolt is a 10mm and a torx. use both the torx and 10mm and remove the nut, and then slide out the bolt. be careful here too, for the light assemby will drop, so make sure you have a friend help, or just hold on to the assembly the best you can.
5) disconnect the hi/lo beam plugs from the assembly, and then disconnect the plug for the lights (follow the wires here) to the plug block (it is located behind a metal piece, and is held on by a pin, so just pull it out of the hole, and set aside the assemby.
6) now, you have PLENTY of room to remove the 3 10mm bolts that hold the motor to the frame. the front 2 are really easy, but the one in the back has almost zero clearace to get you hand in there (this is why i took the light assembly out of the car), much less a 10mm box wrench.
7) remove the light motor.
8) reverse the steps at this point to re-assemble the light assembly.
9) this is critical: be sure to check to see if everything lines back up they way it did before you pulled it out. if you look in the area, you will see two white caps that are on the outside of the motor. these are the stoppers that instruct the motor to stop when it is traveling in either direction, if the bar is too far to either the left or right of the bar, you will have a problem, most likely the light bar that connects to the motor is not aligned correctly, so you may have to make adjustments to get it to pretty much sit in the middle of the white stoppers.
10) if everything looks good, use the light switch in the car to check your work. be sure to pay careful attention while the light is travelling either up or down, making sure it travels smoothly and isn't binding or hitting something as it rotates. if the light "stutters" or binds, it will blow out the backing of the motors back cover, so also check that it is not seperating.
11) if everything goes good, repeat the same steps to the other light if you are doing both (i did), and enjoy your new lights!
thats my story, and all told for both lights, took about 1.5 hours or so, and i'm a happy camper!
-robert.
98 pontiac firebird v6
99 pontiac trans am v8
05-28-2004 | 02:55 AM
#2
I have this same problem too! When I took my car to the dealer they told me it was the actuators for the motors. They said it was going to be 150 dollars for the parts and 300 bucks for laybor! On each light! I said f-that. Thanks for the help.
12-17-2004 | 11:57 AM
#3
