Headlight problem

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Aug 4, 2006 | 11:31 AM
  #1  
MAXIMO's Avatar
Thread Starter
TECH Fanatic
15 Year Member
iTrader: (14)
 
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,238
Likes: 0
From: Cleburne, TX
Default Headlight problem

Dont know what is going on this never happend to me. Go to my friends house drop of one of his movies. Come back out and hit the unlock button on my keyless and the light pop up then go back down. When they go back down they make a sound like a little generator or something for like a 5 seconds then it stops. Dose someone knows what is going on.
Reply
Old Aug 4, 2006 | 11:35 AM
  #2  
lt197formula's Avatar
TECH Fanatic
iTrader: (6)
 
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 1,070
Likes: 1
From: Buda, Texas
Default

Whenever I replaced my battery, as I was tightening the cables down, as soon as they touched my alarm would go off and my lights would pop up and down. Sooo I dunno maybe check your battery connections.
Reply
Old Aug 4, 2006 | 11:53 AM
  #3  
BAD2000TA's Avatar
12 Second Club
20 Year Member
Photogenic
Photoriffic
iTrader: (6)
 
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,338
Likes: 1
From: Friendswood
Default

One of the headlight motor's gears are stripped. Do a search on headlight fix. There's plenty of threads. There's an easy fix, too. Basically, the gear in the motor only uses 180 degees of the total 360. You can turn the gear one half turn and now use the "virgin" side of the gear. Of course, this is only temporary, as it will fail eventually. There's a guy that made brass gears for the headlamp motors. I bought and installed on my car. Works perfect.

Brian
Reply
Old Aug 4, 2006 | 12:00 PM
  #4  
MAXIMO's Avatar
Thread Starter
TECH Fanatic
15 Year Member
iTrader: (14)
 
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,238
Likes: 0
From: Cleburne, TX
Default

Originally Posted by lt1 97 formula
Whenever I replaced my battery, as I was tightening the cables down, as soon as they touched my alarm would go off and my lights would pop up and down. Sooo I dunno maybe check your battery connections.
Ill try that here in a sec.
Reply
Old Aug 4, 2006 | 12:04 PM
  #5  
MAXIMO's Avatar
Thread Starter
TECH Fanatic
15 Year Member
iTrader: (14)
 
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,238
Likes: 0
From: Cleburne, TX
Default

Didnt work when i turn the parking lights on they come up. They never used to do that.
Reply
Old Aug 4, 2006 | 12:09 PM
  #6  
lo_jack's Avatar
TECH Enthusiast
iTrader: (27)
 
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 741
Likes: 0
From: Anheuser Busch, Houston Texas
Default

It's your headlight gear(s), like Bad2000 said.
One is stripped. I'd explain why it messes with the lights,
but it's immaterial to the problem.

Replace the motor or gear that the noise is coming from.
Reply
Old Aug 4, 2006 | 12:15 PM
  #7  
MAXIMO's Avatar
Thread Starter
TECH Fanatic
15 Year Member
iTrader: (14)
 
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,238
Likes: 0
From: Cleburne, TX
Default

Originally Posted by lo_jack
It's your headlight gear(s), like Bad2000 said.
One is stripped. I'd explain why it messes with the lights,
but it's immaterial to the problem.

Replace the motor or gear that the noise is coming from.
huh so that would make the lights go up when the parking lights are turned on? If so Ill do that this weekend. I just thought it would be somekind of short somewhere?
Reply
Old Aug 4, 2006 | 01:14 PM
  #8  
lo_jack's Avatar
TECH Enthusiast
iTrader: (27)
 
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 741
Likes: 0
From: Anheuser Busch, Houston Texas
Default

Nope, no short. It has to do with the fact that the motors stop on impedence they sense when they hit a stop (those little plastic things the armature flips between), not because there is actually something in the motor to make physically stop. The motor has a metal worm gear (that can spin infinitely, by design) and a plastic round cog that attaches to the armature. When the cog is stripped, there is not enough resistance in the circuit to tell the motor to stop turning, so it keeps on going, making that blasted noise.

The motor itself does not "know" where the light is: full up, full down or in between. It only knows if it hits one of those bumpers and encounters a load. That is when it is supposed to stop. So, no load, no stop. Gears stripped = no load.

Because the headlights are on the same circuit (to raise both headlights when you hit the switch, not just one,) when one goes out, they both act funny. Hitting the keyless flashes the lights, and is more or less like turning the light switch on and off. So the motors go crazy.

Because of the design, the first way to fix this, and cheapest, is flip the gear 180 degrees in the housing so you have new teeth at the worm gear. It only uses 180* of the gear, so half of your gear is still good.

search headlight gear or brass gear for the details.
Reply
LS1 Tech Stories

The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time

story-0

Amazing '71 Camaro Restomod Is Modern Muscle Car Under the Skin

 Verdad Gallardo
story-1

6 Common C5 Corvette Failures and What's Involved In Repairing Them

 Pouria Savadkouei
story-2

Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph

 Verdad Gallardo
story-3

Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked

 Pouria Savadkouei
story-4

Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!

 
story-5

Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP

 Verdad Gallardo
story-6

Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes

 Verdad Gallardo
story-7

Awesome K5 Blazer Restomod Comes With C7 Corvette Power

 Verdad Gallardo
story-8

10 Camaros You Should Never Buy

 
story-9

10 LS Engine Myths That Refuse to Die

 Verdad Gallardo
Old Aug 4, 2006 | 01:26 PM
  #9  
MAXIMO's Avatar
Thread Starter
TECH Fanatic
15 Year Member
iTrader: (14)
 
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,238
Likes: 0
From: Cleburne, TX
Default

Thanks guys for the info.
Reply
Old Aug 4, 2006 | 01:30 PM
  #10  
MAXIMO's Avatar
Thread Starter
TECH Fanatic
15 Year Member
iTrader: (14)
 
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,238
Likes: 0
From: Cleburne, TX
Default

Ill check that out about the gears.
Reply
Old Aug 4, 2006 | 04:38 PM
  #11  
turbols1_05's Avatar
Launching!
iTrader: (2)
 
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 249
Likes: 0
From: H-Town/A&M College Station
Default

Originally Posted by MAXIMO
Dont know what is going on this never happend to me. Go to my friends house drop of one of his movies. Come back out and hit the unlock button on my keyless and the light pop up then go back down. When they go back down they make a sound like a little generator or something for like a 5 seconds then it stops. Dose someone knows what is going on.
Another reason why I love my Z28. Hope you get it fixed!!
Reply
Old Aug 4, 2006 | 06:26 PM
  #12  
98 Raptor TA's Avatar
TECH Enthusiast
iTrader: (9)
 
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 584
Likes: 0
From: Charleston, SC
Default

It's not that hard to fix, same thing happend to me right after i bought my TA, i bought a brass gear so i wouldn't ever have to change it again. (hopefully) lol. Go here for How To or to buy the brass gear: http://www.bfranker.badz28.com/headlightfix/
Reply
Old Aug 5, 2006 | 03:37 PM
  #13  
Abe99's Avatar
TECH Regular
20 Year Member
iTrader: (2)
 
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 447
Likes: 0
From: Longview, TX
Default

good explanation, lo jack!
Reply
Old Aug 6, 2006 | 01:46 AM
  #14  
komik's Avatar
TECH Enthusiast
iTrader: (7)
 
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 527
Likes: 0
From: Dallas, TX
Default

My lights just started acting up a few days ago. Today I did the free fix from Brent Franker's site. After turning the gear 180, the light wouldn't go all the way up. I went back and forth a few times and decided it was better to have one light lower than the other than have the lights popping up and making noise all the time. When I went out later, both lights worked like normal. Hopefully it will last a while.
Reply




All times are GMT -5. The time now is 08:57 PM.

story-0
Amazing '71 Camaro Restomod Is Modern Muscle Car Under the Skin

Slideshow: This heavily modified 1971 Camaro mixes classic muscle car styling with a fifth-generation Camaro interior and modern LS3 power.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-12 18:06:42


VIEW MORE
story-1
6 Common C5 Corvette Failures and What's Involved In Repairing Them

Slideshow: From wobbling harmonic balancers to failed EBCMs, these are the issues that define long-term C5 ownership and what repairs typically involve.

By Pouria Savadkouei | 2026-05-07 18:44:57


VIEW MORE
story-2
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph

Slideshow: A modern Camaro transformed into a retro icon, this limited-run "Bandit" build blends nostalgia with brute force in a way few revivals manage.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-04-21 13:57:02


VIEW MORE
story-3
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked

Slideshow: Cadillac didn't just crash the high-performance luxury vehicle party, it showed up loud, supercharged, and occasionally a little unhinged...

By Pouria Savadkouei | 2026-04-16 10:05:15


VIEW MORE
story-4
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!

Slideshow: Top ten most powerful Chevy trucks ever made

By | 2026-03-25 09:22:26


VIEW MORE
story-5
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP

Slideshow: Hennessey has turned the Silverado ZR2 into a 700-hp off-road monster with supercharged V8 power and a limited production run.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-03-24 18:57:52


VIEW MORE
story-6
Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes

Slideshow: A one-off sports car that looks like a vintage Italian exotic-but hides a C6 Corvette underneath-just sold for the price of a new mid-engine Corvette.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-03-23 18:53:41


VIEW MORE
story-7
Awesome K5 Blazer Restomod Comes With C7 Corvette Power

Slideshow: A heavily reworked 1972 K5 Blazer swaps its off-road roots for a low-slung street-focused build with modern V8 power.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-03-09 18:08:45


VIEW MORE
story-8
10 Camaros You Should Never Buy

Slideshow: There are thousands of used Camaros on the market but we think you should avoid these 10

By | 2026-02-17 17:09:30


VIEW MORE
story-9
10 LS Engine Myths That Refuse to Die

Slideshows: Which one of these myths do you believe?

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-01-28 18:10:11


VIEW MORE