Headlight Motor Question

[timotheous]

The bushings in my headlight motors have pretty much turned to dust. My plan was to replace them and the gears the next time I had 4 hours to spare. Last night, however, I turned on the headlights and they came up okay, albeit the motors ran for an extra 10 seconds as is the case with worn bushings.

The thing is, last night the headlights would not go down. I listened for the headlight motor but it wasn't running at all. So, to summarize, when I turn on the headlights, they come up and the motor runs for an extra 10 seconds. When I turn off the headlights, the lamps go out but the headlights dont retract, and the motor stays motionless. I'm now wondering if something more is going on now. Any ideas, anyone?

 

[Edmond]

It is possible that the motors have burned themselves out; but I doubt that has happened. Those motors are made to last the life of the car.

 

[Hrtbeat1]

I would guess that part of the relay has given up the ghost. It should control the power on and off. It sounds like the off portiion is constantly open.

 

[onedef92]

I'll lay odds its your bushings. Go to Home Depot and ask for item number 595609. You will need six of these nylon spacers to repair both headlights. They cost me .69 cents (plus tax) for a pack of three at my local Home Depot store.

Much cheaper than the $7.99 price in MAD, Eckler's and some of the other specialty catalogs and they are the exact same Delrin spacers. Go figure.

If there's a TechTips portal on this Forum search under "headlight bushings." If not, let me know and I'll see if I can get you a copy of the instructions I used when I replaced mine a couple of months ago.

 

[timotheous]

I replaced the bushings in the headlight motors this past weekend and now the headlights come up and the motor stops running as it should (there was nothing but dust left of the old bushings). The problem now remains that the headlights won't go down once they are up - no power to the motors when the switch is turned off. The concensus seems to be that the headlight actuator control module has failed. A test light should confirm/disconfirm whether this is the case.

 

[behnevette]

I'll lay odds its your bushings. Go to Home Depot and ask for item number 595609. You will need six of these nylon spacers to repair both headlights. They cost me .69 cents (plus tax) for a pack of three at my local Home Depot store.

Much cheaper than the $7.99 price in MAD, Eckler's and some of the other specialty catalogs and they are the exact same Delrin spacers. Go figure.

If there's a TechTips portal on this Forum search under "headlight bushings." If not, let me know and I'll see if I can get you a copy of the instructions I used when I replaced mine a couple of months ago.

Do not buy the ones from Home Depot! They are not the right size, and you'll be rebuilding your motors again very soon!! I found this out the hard way!! Spend the extra few bucks and fix it right!!!!!!

 

[timotheous]

Bushings/Shearing Pins

Do not buy the ones from Home Depot! They are not the right size, and you'll be rebuilding your motors again very soon!! I found this out the hard way!! Spend the extra few bucks and fix it right!!!!!!

Good point, I got them from MidAmerica.

I did get the shearing pins from Home Depot and they were a bit long so I used a hack saw and file to cut them down to the right size. Since they were so cheap, I bought a few spares in case my sizing efforts failed (they didn't).