Notplayn

Ok, I know there is alot of posts on headlight motor repair. When I turn on the headlights the lights come on but they dont come up. Also there is no clicking noise coming from either side. The right side light acts like it wants to come up but does not. Anyway with that said I can pull up on either light and open and close them by hand, thats with or without the headlight switch on. Does that sound like the striped gear problem? Thanks

Vader

If you can raise/lower the lamp housing without turning the manual ****, the mechanism may have a gear problem.

Notplayn

Well the motors diffenently need to be rebuilt. What is the best way to get those rotten, broken screws out. Drilling is the only thing I can think of. Can anyone offer up a plan of attack on these things, seven out of twelve broke.

Notplayn

Ok, I got one motor rebuilt and it goes up fine. However it does not go down. What causes the motor to bring the headlight door down?

Difflock

Check this thread for a wiring diagram, if applicable. It may help

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=308557

Cheers,
Mark.

lonsal

iTrader: (2)

The schematic in that thread is not correct for 1987-92 Firebirds.

Back to what is wrong with your headlight actuator unit. The actuator uses 3 hard gel bushings or inserts inside the gear to transfer the load from the gear to a 3-lobe casting on the shaft that lifts and lowers the headlight bucket. With time and cycles these break down to a spoonful of chunks. The headlight motor is turned on and off by a large relay called the headlamp control module. It is located on the firewall between the brake booster and windshield wiper motor. The headlight control module senses the spike in load when the headlight bucket hits the upper or lower stop and shuts off the power to the motor. If your bushings are bad the relay won't sense that the headlight bucket has hit the stop, so it won't immediately turn off the power. It is very easy to repair the 1987-92 Firebird headlight actuation units by replacing these OEM gel bushings with Delrin bushings. I sell the headlight repair kit to repair these. If it were me I'd rebuild the motors using the headlight repair kit. Then I'd unplug the connectors at the relay and spray them with contact cleaner. Make sure the conncetors are plugged in snugly. Chek out the instruction sheet from the TDS 209280 headlight repair kit and you'll understand how to repair it.

Good luck,

Lon Salgren
Top-Down Solutions

Notplayn

I have not opened the right side motor but the left side is ok.. When I turn the lights on, the headlight goes up quickly with no clicking noise or anything. It just will not go down. Thanks for the info on where the module is, I will clean the connections and try it again. If that does not fix it do I need a new module? If I open the right side and it needs the bearings I will order them from you. I will be getting the repair kit from you for the trunk pull down, I already have looked that up on your site. Thanks again.

Notplayn

I took the control module for the headlight doors apart. The seal seamed to be ok and when I turn the lights off the relay in the middle of the module clicks. Is it still possible for the module to be bad? Or is there something else that could be causing the light not to go down. Again if I manually lower the light and turn the light on, it goes up quickly with no clicking. I only have one light/motor hooked up if that makes a difference.

shipfitter_sjd

My daughter brought home an '87 Firebird this afternoon. Passenger head light goes up and down fine, the drivers does not.

I can lift the headlight door up. When raising or lowering the lights you can see the **** spindle (plastic **** is gone) on top of the motor spinning away as fast as can be. I cannot raise or lower the light by turning the **** shaft/spindle.

Is this a motor problem, linkage problem, headlamp control module problem or something else?

Repair or replace?

Thanks!

Klortho

What yours are doing is exactly what mine on the GTA did. It is what Lon posted in his reply about the little bushings going out. Best thing to do is buy the repair kit from his site (TDS: Top Down Solutions, one of the above sponsors) and rebuild both since you will get the parts to repair both. This way you don't have to worry about the other one doing the same thing. The kit costs 20 bucks plus shipping and is very very well worth it, I fixed both of mine in about an hour or so after I got mine and they work like a charm.

lonsal

iTrader: (2)

REPAIR. You're in luck that she brought home a 87 Firebird and not an older one. Nothing against those of you that have an older model, it is just that the headlight motor in them is costlier and more of a pain to repair when they fail. As Klortho wrote, you need to repair it using one of my 209280 headlight repair kits. The fact that the motor spins is definitely good news. So repair is the correct answer.

Lon Salgren
Top-Down Solutions

shipfitter_sjd

Well. Tonight I rebuilt the headlight motor assembly/mechanism. Mechanically it works perfectly. The instructions were right on.

But, now the motor does not work. Everything spins and operates freely. Ball bearing is in place at the head of the worm gear.

I did not take the motor all the way apart. Just enough to get the nylon gear off of the shaft.....and the motor reseated with no difficulty.

Could the brush have come loose? How can i check this? Apparently I said the motor was working........

HELP!!!!

lonsal

iTrader: (2)

By carefully taking the motor off again. This time take it further out and see if the springs are still behind the brushes. Then use the paperclip trick to keep the brushes retracted while you install the motor.

Lon