Headlight motor HELP!
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 131
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From: Comstock Park MI
Headlight moter HELP! I am having a problem with my headlight motor being weird. When the headlights on my 98 TA go down the motor on the driver side does not shut off when it goes down. It acts like it is grinding for about 10-15 sec after is it down. It makes a awful noise. It can’t be good for the motor. Also the same time this started happening is when I lock or unlock my doors the headlights lift up and go down. The actual headlights never use to go up with unlocking or locking my doors. The fog lights and tail lights just flashed. Has anyone ever seen this before? I was curious if this could be a fatly switch?
Copy & Paste Moderator
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 9,764
Likes: 208
From: Eastern MA
Originally Posted by black98
i just had that problem. all you have to do is replace the motor with a stock replacement(don't get a rebuilt one) after i hooked it up it has not made that noise again. good luck
The gear inside is stripped.
Here is the stickie:
https://ls1tech.com/forums/pontiac-firebird-1967-2002/177470-firebird-headlights-all-comments-questions-regarding-headlights-go-here.html
The free fix and the replacement brass gears are both there.
Here is another thread about your issue:
https://ls1tech.com/forums/pontiac-firebird-1967-2002/305891-headlamp-problem.html
On The Tree
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 194
Likes: 0
From: mn
what it is ,is the gear inside the motor is striping down,its a plastic shitty gear inside there that always strips out .its bullshit ive replace the motor 3 times already seems like every year they go out .you can either replace the whole motor which i recomend or replace the plastic gear which you can find off ebay.doing this will be a little difficult tho so be carefull if you deside to. If i where you i would buy the headlight motor and take apart the old one carefully and remember how it goes back together ,the gear is at the bottom of the motor..because this headlight **** happens alot i wouls try it ,gm should recall that **** and put metal gears in them so they dont where out .......good luck
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Staging Lane
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 60
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Originally Posted by VIP1
The problem is not the motor.
The gear inside is stripped.
Here is the stickie:
https://ls1tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=177470
The free fix and the replacement brass gears are both there.
The gear inside is stripped.
Here is the stickie:
https://ls1tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=177470
The free fix and the replacement brass gears are both there.
Just my .02 tho.
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you have got to pull the motor out anyway so why not replace the whole thing 
The motor on one of mine was applying too much torque and stripped the plastic gear. I decided to rotate the gear without taking it apart, and it immediatly stripped. So I bought a brass gear and it lasted a few months until the torquey motor twisted the plastic and popped the cover off of the gear which allowed the gear to move over some and it started to strip. I put it back together and superglued the plastic cover on. About every 3 month's I had to super glue the cover back on. I finally took the car in for warranty work and I added it to the list I had. Problem solved. So sometimes a gear swap wll work, sometimes it won't.
Don't the motors cost about $115? Someone refresh my memory.
Don't the motors cost about $115? Someone refresh my memory.
Originally Posted by WS-Sick
Because the motor isn't the problem. Why fix what ain't broke?
Try pulling the fuse, remove the arm from the motor shaft and manually rotating the **** until the shaft rotates 180*. Then bolt the arm back up and put the fuse back in. If it strips again within a few days, you probably need to replace the whole thing. If it continues to work, leave it be until it strips again. At that point, a brass gear might work.
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 1,380
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From: The point of no return...
Well, maybe when the motor goes out it has the same symptoms but to me it sounds like the gears. What Jason suggested would probably be best just in case the whole thing does need to be replaced though.
On The Tree
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 150
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I had that happen a couple of summers ago. These guys are right. It is the plastic (why plastic pontiac, why?) gear in your headlight motor. I would get a brass replacement. Another plastic gear would just wear out on you again. I don't know if sponsors sell those or not, so you'll have to do a search. I went to the dealer (like a moron) and they raped me bad. Next time this happens to me, I am converting to fixed headlights.
Until you get it fixed, here is a trick to stop the noise.
Turn the headlights on (they flip up).
Turn them back to fog (they stay up, but turn off).
Pull the fuze for the headlight motors.
Your headlights will stay in the up position all the time, which could be better, but they will still work and no grinding noise. There is a fuze for the left and right light, so you only need to pull one, but why would you want 1 functional light? I would pull them both.
Until you get it fixed, here is a trick to stop the noise.
Turn the headlights on (they flip up).
Turn them back to fog (they stay up, but turn off).
Pull the fuze for the headlight motors.
Your headlights will stay in the up position all the time, which could be better, but they will still work and no grinding noise. There is a fuze for the left and right light, so you only need to pull one, but why would you want 1 functional light? I would pull them both.
I replaced the gears in both headlight motors and haven't had a problem in over a year. I would say try the free mod first, and WHEN (not IF) your headlight gear gets completely stripped, pick up some brass ones from Brent Franker found in the stickie. Make sure that when you put the gear in, you lube it well with a bunch of grease and then clean the case extremely well before you glue it to make sure it doesn't begin to separate 
.
Tom
.Tom