hullkinghitman

I have seen some pics of firebirds with the fog lights on and the headlights down.
I love the look and want it for mine, except my fog lights don't come on until the lights pop up.
Is there an easy fix? do I need to wire it to a remote switch? looking for the eastiest and nicest look.

F-117HWK

iTrader: (1)

On mine you just turn the headlight switch to P and the headlights stay down, then just flip on the fogs. If that doesnt work turn the headlights fully on, then turn on fogs, then shut the headlights by switching back to P. Other than that I don't know, hopefully that works!

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

Yea - see icon at left. Fog Lights on and switch to park.

If this doesn't work for you, it may be a bad headlight switch. (There is an internal connection in the switch that links the park mode with the headlight mode and gives power to the fog lights.) ...But I can't imagine that would be a common issue. You may try wiggling the headlight selector before replacing the unit. If the wiggle works - that could tip you to a worn switch.

hullkinghitman

I tried it soon as I turn it over to park, they pop up.
I have only owned the car for 3 summers, and I think it may have been hit at one point. Could the body shop have crossed something?
I hate wiring!
I will keep you posted.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

You don't hate wiring! - You hate electrical. Your wiring is probably fine...

OK - The switch and a Headlamp Opening Control Module both work together to orchestrate all of this.

If you turn to "HEAD" and then back to "PARK," the doors will stay open but the lights will be off. (This is normal.) So, make sure you are only switching directly from "OFF" to "PARK" and not turning the switch any further. (The doors should stay shut with this action.)

If that doesn't work and the doors still open at "PARK:"
- Do your Fog Lights come on when you turn to "PARK," then?
- Do the headlights turn on when the doors come up in "PARK" mode?

hullkinghitman

The headlights pop up at park and stay off, the fog lights do come on though. I went and tried to turn them as slow to park so I didn't over shoot the mark.
Still no luck.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

It sounds like the headlight switch is good, then. (If Park and Head were shorted to each other, I'd expect the headlights to also come on.)

The problem may be in the Headlight Door Opening Module, which is a flat square box in the engine compartment. Replacing that may be an expensive endeavor, so you may want to search some more threads here and look for that part. (Or maybe get one used and see if it gives you the action you want.)

hullkinghitman

Thanks for the info.
I don't do this very often but YOU are right.... I hate ELECTRICAL!

NHRAMAN

iTrader: (1)

I drive mostly with fogs/no lights..and they are down...

PonchoBob

If the headlights are popping up when the switch is turned to the "P" position-could that mean that the gears in both motors are bad? When the gear in one side went bad on my 95 T/A, that's what happened. Headlight would pop up even if the swith was just turned to the parking lights.

Sneakyws6

Is this car a Canadian model by chance?

hullkinghitman

I just had the vin broke down and yes it is Canadian.
Does this make a huge difference?

BubaGumpShrimp

iTrader: (1)

thats exactly his problem

needadvice

Canadian has nothing to do with anything.

It is 100% normal for the fog lights to come on with the headlights down.

The gears in these headlight motors strip and then the you will have all kinds of problems.

Your problem is: the gear, or both gears are just starting to strip. The gear is now turning that tiny bit extra, even though you are not hearing grinding or having any of the other symptoms of a stripped gear.

****This is the problem unless of course you do have some kind of short somewhere****

hullkinghitman

I do get the sound like the motor is still turning after it closes all the way.
Money is tight at the moment with premium being 4.14 a gallon so should I try the flipping the gear trick that is on the stick post?

needadvice

Oh, well if its making the noise, its definitely the gear starting to strip that causing the problem.

Yes, I've done it twice, it takes about 30 minutes to do it. I did it once after owning my car for just two years and it lasted about 2 more years. The second time I did it was about 5 years ago and its still holding up fine.

Sometimes it doesn't work too. Just make sure you ONLY turn the gear 180*, NO MORE. If you go too far you will allow the metal gear to start touching the bqad stripped area on the plastic gear and it won't last long. If you do it right, its basically good as new.

If you don't have it already, scroll almost all the way to the bottom for directions:
http://www.bfranker.badz28.com/headlightfix/index.htm

Sneakyws6

Yes Canadian will make a diffence as well. The Canadian model cars had a different DRL module than the US Fbody's.

On the Canadian cars when you put the lights on "Park" mode it still made the lights come up.

Try the gear trick, but I personally dont think that is the issue though.

needadvice

Not true. Mine was made in Canada, 1998 WS6 T/A. My lights do not come up in "P", they only come up when I turn it all the way to the right, with two new motors.

On my Canadian made F-Body, the gear stripping did exactly that, made it pop up when "P" was selected.

The gear stripping has nothing do with why all these wierd symptoms start. Its because the headlight can now move a matter of a few millimeters further and the resistors, that stop the motor from running when the stoppers bang into the stops, go nuts and don't know what to do, so all the wierdness starts.

The drivers side gear that I flipped over 5 years ago is still holding up fine but its still going a tad bit further than its supposed to, so right now my lights pop up when I select "P", both of them and only the drivers side is bad.