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The main problem seems to be the crap plastic housing. You can move the motor piece pretty easily and its only held dont by four metal pieces. See pic:
When its loose it will give slack or "play" with the gears, causing them to strip.
Adjusted the motor to where it better lined up with the gear and it is still grinding at fully opened and fully closed. This is a freakin nightmare! Maybe the sensor in the motor is just shot? I don't know. Buying a new motor today, hoping for the best!
Does the motor make any noise when you turn the headlights on? If it does, its a stripped gear. If it doesn't, probably the motor is out.
My left headlight gear got stripped last fall and the right headlight just stopped working a couple months ago. Replaced both motors and it works well now. Although the passenger one was initially operating backwards (headlight up with light off when the switch was in the off position and the headlight down with light on when the switch was in the on position). I returned the motor thinking it was defective, the next one was the same. It ended up being the power wires were backwards in the harness, switch the pins and works perfect now.
Alright, after reading through the 80 pages for the past 2 hours, here's one i didn't see:
Installed new motor and connector on the driver's side (bad connection caused motor to burn out). Didn't touch the passenger's side. Lights will flip up fine, but when i go to turn them off, they'll both go down, and after a couple of seconds, the driver side will pop back open, and the other side stays closed.
Also, the passenger side will pop open and close anytime i hit the lock or unlock on the alarm.
Could it be a motor issue, or possibly a grounding issue somewhere? I pulled the fuse for the driver side and it's getting really old manually opening and closing the damn thing.
Could it be a motor issue, or possibly a grounding issue somewhere?
I'd start with a hopeful mindset and watch the lights go down, with the hood open. Does the door arm hit the stop and stay there? (If the arm rotates around and just catches the stop for a second and then skips it, the door could open again.)
It's not uncommon for the arm to not be fully seated on the motor or the stop being bent, causing problems here.
The lock/unlock thing sounds like the classic a gear problem...
I'd start with a hopeful mindset and watch the lights go down, with the hood open. Does the door arm hit the stop and stay there? (If the arm rotates around and just catches the stop for a second and then skips it, the door could open again.)
It's not uncommon for the arm to not be fully seated on the motor or the stop being bent, causing problems here.
The lock/unlock thing sounds like the classic a gear problem...
It goes down and catches the stop, sits there for about 5-10 seconds, then opens up again, and it only happens on the driver side.
Could it be a gear problem even if there is no grinding noise? Like i said, it's a new motor. Worst case scenario, both motors have lifetime warranties on them, so I was also thinking about just swapping both motors
It goes down and catches the stop, sits there for about 5-10 seconds, then opens up again, and it only happens on the driver side.
Could it be a gear problem even if there is no grinding noise? Like i said, it's a new motor. Worst case scenario, both motors have lifetime warranties on them, so I was also thinking about just swapping both motors
That's weird. Swapping both motors should be telling as to what the problem is.
My driver's side headlight was making the jackhammer sound for 5 seconds after closing. Did the 180 degree trick using the other side of the gear and now it's nice and quiet. I have a brass gear on the way for when the other side eventually strips though.
This thread has been invaluable in helping me diagnose the headlight issue on my 98 TA. Specifically, wssix99's advice and tips to others; thanks dude.
Had the classic symptom of three dim headlights and one bright one. Then the driver's light stopped popping up. It all stemmed from the main headlight connector. The bright green wire's insulation was rubbed off and eventually severed the wire, which prevented the headlight from popping. The dim headlight was another issue with corrosion in the connector.
I cleaned out the corrosion of the visible male and female leads the best I could but that only lasted a few weeks. I took out one of the pins to inspect and the pin inside the connector was disgusting and covered in corrosion.
Instead of cleaning each pin I just bought the new connector (
Now my passenger side light won't go up at all. The lights come on, the fuse is good, and i get 12 volts to the top two pins which go to the motor. I touch one meter probe to the top pin and the other probe to one of the bottom three pins. Then do the same with the 2nd pin from the top. Doing this I get 12 volts. Touching the meter probes to the top two pins at the same time I get nothing. Hopefully I'm testing it correctly. Does this sound like the motor is dead?
Now my passenger side light won't go up at all. The lights come on, the fuse is good, and i get 12 volts to the top two pins which go to the motor. I touch one meter probe to the top pin and the other probe to one of the bottom three pins. Then do the same with the 2nd pin from the top. Doing this I get 12 volts. Touching the meter probes to the top two pins at the same time I get nothing. Hopefully I'm testing it correctly. Does this sound like the motor is dead?
Two wires operate the motor. The rest are the wires for the headlight bulbs. Your picture looks either like you may have the corrosion problem or maybe just a bright flash.
If you have the corrosion, you may test good for voltage but not make a good enough connection for the motor to work.
Two wires operate the motor. The rest are the wires for the headlight bulbs. Your picture looks either like you may have the corrosion problem or maybe just a bright flash.
If you have the corrosion, you may test good for voltage but not make a good enough connection for the motor to work.
Thanks for the reply. I think it's just a bright flash as the contact points don't look corroded. I'll try cleaning them up some just to be sure though. I know I can use a pencil eraser, but could I also spray some MAF cleaner on them as well?
Am I testing for voltage correctly? If I touch the meter probes to the two contacts for the motor at the same time I get no voltage. However if I touch one lead to a motor contact and then the other lead to any of the other non-motor contacts I get 12 volts. This is the same when I test the two motor contacts separately and get 12 volts on both. Is that the correct way to check?
It depends on the wires and the polarity. You need to know which wire is your ground. The two motors for the motor will also switch polarity for up/down, so that can throw you off also.
The wires for the headlights will only be energized when the lights are on, etc. So, you really need to have a schematic and analyze the colors.
It depends on the wires and the polarity. You need to know which wire is your ground. The two motors for the motor will also switch polarity for up/down, so that can throw you off also.
The wires for the headlights will only be energized when the lights are on, etc. So, you really need to have a schematic and analyze the colors.
So the plug is not corroded at all but I don't think the contacts are making a strong connection. If you hold it together everything works normally. So I did what any worthy redneck would do and I ziptied the plug together while being careful not to pinch any of the wires. So far it works normally even after bouncing around on the roads. Hopefully that problem is solved, at least for a while.
Although that problem seems to be fixed as of last night the gear started grinding when I turn the lights off. So now I need to replace the gears in both headlight motors. One step forward and two steps back...
So the plug is not corroded at all but I don't think the contacts are making a strong connection. If you hold it together everything works normally. So I did what any worthy redneck would do and I ziptied the plug together while being careful not to pinch any of the wires. So far it works normally even after bouncing around on the roads. Hopefully that problem is solved, at least for a while.
Although that problem seems to be fixed as of last night the gear started grinding when I turn the lights off. So now I need to replace the gears in both headlight motors. One step forward and two steps back...
Just another update... the ziptie remedy on the passenger side is still working (as of about 10 on/off attempts) and I replaced the plastic gear with a copper one on the driver's side. So far that one is also working very well (as of about 5 or 6 attempts). I greased the copper gear before I put everything back together. Not sure if I really needed to but I figured it couldn't hurt. I got the copper gear off ebay for a decent price. Good luck out there!
06-30-2015, 01:20 AM
Amazon.com: ACDelco PT284 GM Original Equipment 5-Way Female Black Multi-Purpose Pigtail: Automotive ) and installed it with the supplied heat shrink butt connectors. The best part is that it's prime eligible and I got it in one day. 
