Headlights
Headlights Anyone know how to fix the headlights on a Trans Am? My drivers side goes up and down. But, when the light is finished going down the motor keeps going for about 10 sec and makes a Nasty noise. Anyone have any suggestions?
the gears in the motor are going, the gears are stripped, they're plastic and cheap. you can uninstall, disassemble and turn the gear 180 degrees to get some life out of that one but most just replace it. There is also a site that sells the motor with a brass gear in it that will take much longer to strip. can't remember what the name of the site is but I'm sure someone will chime in.
turn on your headlights
Disconnect the actuator arm that connects to the headlight motor
Now, with the arm disconnected, manually turn the **** that opens and closes your headlight. Pay close attention to where the arm connects. Turn the manual **** until you turn the place where the actuator arm connects to 180 degrees.
Reconnect the actuator arm and turn your headlights on and off a couple of times.
This works if you haven't rotated the gear before.
I tried this on my T/A, but still had the grinding noise. I bought the brass gears for both headlight motors and was able to repair both sides in about 40 mins.
Removing the headlight motor is easy. Just unhook the actuator arm and remove the molding around your headlights. The headlight motor is held in with 3 bolts. The bolt furthest back is a pain to get to, but after some time you can get it off.
Once it's out, disconnect the harness going to the motor. Replacing the stripped gear is as easy as prying open the motor, removing the old gear, and the shredded bits of gear in there, greasing up the new brass gear, and epoxying the cover back on. It's VERY easy and well worth the time. No more gear noise for me.
