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crazy headlight problem... help

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Old Sep 17, 2005 | 04:22 PM
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Default crazy headlight problem... help

a friend of mine just called. he has a 98 firebird v6. he said when he starts the car the headlights pop up and turn on. he can operate the headlight switch and it does nothing. when he turns the car off the lights go out and close. has anyone else had this problem or know how to fix it?
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Old Sep 27, 2005 | 09:25 AM
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I am having the same problem and I don't know what is causing it. I haven't done alot of troubleshooting though, and I was planning to take my car to Pontiac to have it looked at. My headlights switch does not engage the popups, rather it just turns the headlights on in the unraised position. Sometimes at night, the popups don't even raise automatically. Its a strange problem.
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Old Sep 27, 2005 | 12:24 PM
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Bad/stripped headlight motor gear

Site with good info and fix guide

http://www.bfranker.badz28.com/headl...ear%20failures
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Old Sep 27, 2005 | 01:58 PM
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Originally Posted by transam1998
Bad/stripped headlight motor gear

Site with good info and fix guide

http://www.bfranker.badz28.com/headl...ear%20failures
I always hear this, but how could a stripped gear cause the headlights to randomly raise/lower? I've had probs with mine in my old car, and now this new one and both problems are the same, I just get that grinding noise when I shut them off and they go down.
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Old Sep 27, 2005 | 02:10 PM
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Originally Posted by DarkOneX
I always hear this, but how could a stripped gear cause the headlights to randomly raise/lower? I've had probs with mine in my old car, and now this new one and both problems are the same, I just get that grinding noise when I shut them off and they go down.
Because the computer gets confused and can't tell if the headlights are up or down or if the sky is falling....
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Old Sep 27, 2005 | 02:38 PM
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Originally Posted by transam1998
Because the computer gets confused and can't tell if the headlights are up or down or if the sky is falling....
But stripped gear on both headlights? My popups raise and lower as if they have a mind of their own. At night they don't always come up. And the switch will turn the lights on, but it never engages the motor to pop up the lights. But when they do go up and down automatically, both motors seem to work fine and sound good/smooth.
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Old Sep 27, 2005 | 08:46 PM
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mine just don't flip up...so i gotta turn the car off and restart it and it will work???

but this happens like once every 6 months so i ain't to worried about it
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Old Sep 28, 2005 | 01:37 AM
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Originally Posted by Scarano
But stripped gear on both headlights? My popups raise and lower as if they have a mind of their own. At night they don't always come up. And the switch will turn the lights on, but it never engages the motor to pop up the lights. But when they do go up and down automatically, both motors seem to work fine and sound good/smooth.
Loose/corroded connections perhaps?
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Old Sep 28, 2005 | 02:31 AM
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Originally Posted by ACW
Loose/corroded connections perhaps?
I think that is possible. But it could also be my headlight module being defective. It sounds like I have 2 problems -- 1) the headlight switch doesn't raise lights 2) they don't auto pop up at the appropriate times. These 2 problems could be intertwined at the headlight module. I dunno. How do I even begin testing when I don't have replacement parts.. how would I know if a headlight module is bad? Its just a chip or something isn't it?
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Old Sep 28, 2005 | 09:58 AM
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Yes, both headlights will get wierd if one of their gears is stripped..

If you already knew the solution, why are you asking
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Old Sep 28, 2005 | 02:14 PM
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Originally Posted by transam1998
Yes, both headlights will get wierd if one of their gears is stripped..

If you already knew the solution, why are you asking
He's probably right. I mean 99%. Almost every bizarre headlight issue is motor/gear related. The resistance switch that tells the motor when to stop, or when it is up or down is to blame for all of it. And it does effect 2 even if only one gear is faulty.

If a Firebird or T/A has a headlight issue, it is nearly always the gears: check them first.
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