wssix99

iTrader: (5)

This is common. The terminals will corrode around the small areas that are actually making contact and when the connectors are taken apart and re-connected, they make new contact on the corrosion. Taking the connectors out of the equation will solve that, but...

The gears and motors are another thing. I suggest you solve that first. If you are going to permanently spice everything in, you might consider some new Cardone motors with serviceable gears. I'm not a fan of the metal gears - they have proven to be a waste of money on my car. (Even the metal gears strip.) New motors spliced in should last you a long long time: https://ls1tech.com/forums/stereo-el...ght-doors.html

staff23

iTrader: (2)

Ugh, I did change out the driver side and so far (3 years) no problems but now I wonder if I should just go ahead and "break the bank" so to speak and go on partsgeek or Rock Auto. Do you suggest the Cardone brand? It looks like they all have the screwdown cover now.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

I don't know anything about the other brands. When I purchased mine, Cardone was the only game in town with the screw-on covers. There's a good possibility they could all be made by the same company and just put in different boxes with different company's names on them.

staff23

iTrader: (2)

True good point thanks again!

k3000

I must say, this is all great information!

I think when I run in to the motor issue I'm not getting the metal gears, just new motors!

I wonder why the metal gears worked so well for 82-92's, but not as much for the 4th gens?

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

Very early on, the original metal gear makers started shipping warnings and disclaimers that the gears weren't a panacea and that they don't combat the problem with the motor coming detached from the gear case housing.

Back in the day, replacement nylon gears weren't available from GM or the aftermarket and the motors were not serviceable. All that has changed now. Replacement nylon gears can be had for cheap and the replacement motors have serviceable gear cases.

cbrenthus

Ah, I looked at the LMC truck housings but wasn't sure they'd fit, so I just went with the standard sealed beams. I want to keep the halogen look to keep it period specific, but have better bulb options and especially was thinking silverstars. Oh well, I don't drive much at night anyway

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

Here are the lumen output ratings of the various bulbs or sealed beam lamps:

4703 low sealed beam... 439
4701 high sealed beam... 879

9006 low beam... 1000
9005 high beam... 1700

9012 low beam... 1700
9011 high beam... 2300

So you can see that each step up makes a significant difference in light output.

KILL*SHOT

If you read above in the thread VIP1 laid it out pretty clearly what works for lighting. I got the LMC Truck lights and they come with 9005/9006 bulbs installed. I opted for some LEDs but the Halogen bulbs will work too.

VIP1

Whitebird00, where did you find the lumen ratings for the sealed beams? Sylvania took those off their site and I couldn't find it elsewhere searching. Sylvania's site used to have lumen ratings for nearly all their headlight bulbs on a single page, but I can't find it anymore (I don't think they want it found given their experience with people pointing out their deceptive marketing of silverstar bulbs - even a legal case).

EDIT
I just found a listing on CEC Industries that matches those numbers although written a bit odd.
https://www.cecindustries.com/produc...tPartNum=H4703
https://www.cecindustries.com/produc...tPartNum=H4701
What's with the number after the comma? It is not the amount per pair. It doesn't look like a comma in place of a decimal. It doesn't make sense to be a rating at 12v vs 14v. These certainly can't be outputting the amount if you read all six digits as a single number. (Unless this is like Cal vs KCal, but Lumen aren't shown that way.)

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

There's a very extensive list on cecindustries.com. Each bulb listing shows more details, including lumens, when you click on them or use the search function in the top right corner. I've found it to be a handy resource over the years.

JohnR

iTrader: (1)

WOW, the 9012/9011 combo looks like a huge increase in light output compared to our crappy stock lights. Will the stock wiring handle the increased wattage?
Thanks for all the great data!
John

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

Yes, the stock wiring will handle any of the listed bulbs as long as you get the standard versions - there are 80W and 100W versions of those bulbs as well and they would not be a good idea with stock wiring. The standard versions draw the same power as the factory sealed beams... 55W for low beams (4703, 9006, 9012) and 65W for high beams (4701, 9005, 9011).

cbrenthus

I know, I didn't see this thread until after putting in new sealed beams. I think until I start really driving my T/A at night, I'll leave it be. But if I have to change even a single headlight bulb, I'm going this route

KILL*SHOT

Gotcha, Yeah the whole set with shipping was under $200. Pretty good deal i think.

myk

iTrader: (4)

Hello fellow bird people. Today, I turned the headlights on and only the driver side came up. I tried to listen for noise to indicate that the passenger side was at least trying to come up, but its kinda hard for me to hear from inside of the cabin. I popped the hood to make sure there was no interference, and there was none. My next step was to inspect the connections to the motor and verify power, so I manually popped up the passenger headlight door with an allen attachment on my drill. Out of curiosity I tried the headlight switch again and suddenly both headlight doors were working together perfectly; no noise or anything out of the ordinary. What gives? Has anyone every had intermittent problems with these doors? Based on everyone's experience does it sound like that motor is going out? Wiring harness corrosion? What should I be on the lookout for or try to inspect? Is the car mad because it only gets driven 500 miles a year? Thanks in advance; glad to see some of us still have these cars...

k3000

I'm NO expert, but sounds like a bad spot on the motor to me. Let's see what the guru's think!

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

Control Module. Start with Post 1838 in this thread and you'll see all the details.

myk

iTrader: (4)

Jesus, over 100 pages of this lol. Anyway thanks for the heads up-i never would've found post 1838 on my own. Ill pull the module out and look into the control board. What a pain in the a**. With all of the trouble these flip up lights cause I can see why some went to stationary lights...

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

It's better to look good than to feel good.