headlight woes!
Thread Starter
TECH Resident
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 777
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From: Mentor, Ohio
headlight woes! The electrical contacts in the "weather-tight" connector for the right passenger headlight were severally corroded; to the point where the headlight stopped working. I tried to bypass the connector completely and connect the headlamp motor's wires outside the GM connector but it still didn't work. I think it didn't work because the other three pair on contacts left inside the GM connector were corroded too. I got all new GM contacts to replace the originals but I haven't installed them yet. I left the motor out and the lamp down for the time being. With the right headlight's motor gone the light system is screwy. The turn signals sometimes don't work and other times they work act variable flashing speeds. When the keyless remote entry is used the left headlamp activates also; for instance, when I exit the car, close the door, push the lock button on the keyfob the horn honks as normal but the left headlamp goes up completely then back down. The left headlamp also raises/lowers when the alarm is deactivated. Is this caused by the circuit not being complete because the right headlamp's motor is removed and the two wires from the harness are hanging free, that are suppose to be wired to the motor's wires? Will this problem go away once I replace all the corroded contacts and re-insert them together into the GM connector?
Deranged Rat Fink
iTrader: (3)
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 4,495
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From: Right here at my laptop, DUH!
when you start getting screwy problems like you describe, 9 times out of 10 it's a ground problem , trace down your grounds , especially the battery to body ground, make sure it is not corroded or loose ,it is also possible that one of the wires in the connector is the main ground in the lighting circuit .when you lose that , electricity seeks the path of least resistance on the 12v side and does some really strange things, look for black wires , these are generally ground circuits on GM cars . good luck with it.
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 11,331
Likes: 346
From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
The left headlight reacting to the alarm setting is a normal side effect of problems with the headlight motor. The alarm is designed to make sure that the headlights are closed but having the one motor disconnected makes it think they are still open - so it raises and lowers them.
The same thing will often happen when one of the headlight motors strips its plastic gear.
The same thing will often happen when one of the headlight motors strips its plastic gear.
