JulieGTA

Yes, I know the topic's been done to death. I did replace the bushings with Lonsal's kit. The old ones were nice and intact. So, will I have to scavenge for a motor or does the local pep boys carry it? (I don't *think* its the relay. Could it be the same relay that controls the fan motor?)

llvll4l2c91350

they were a dealer only item

unfortunately im pretty sure they are discontinued

i would try the classifieds or ebay

JulieGTA

Are you serious? I was hoping it was just a rumor.

llvll4l2c91350

who knows. they may still sell 'em. if they do they are not going to be cheap.

FastBack

i found them online for my buddies 86 t/a once and they were wicked expensive. i would check the local junk yards too if you can't find them anywhere else. they are electric motors right? not the vaccum ones? cause i believe they used vaccum motors for some flip up lights. good luck with that one.

Matto'85TA

All 3rd gen motors were electric. And the motors are dealer only items. Unfortunatly the last time i checked(about 2 summers ago) the driverside was discontinued. And they are listed around 200 bucks. Try a junkyard or hawks or some used part place. I got mine from TacreationssUSA for 50 bucks. It was the earlier style motor though.

llvll4l2c91350

.

JulieGTA

I'm going to look around. I'm really cheap. I might find somebody who has some old ones that just needs new bearings, since I know how to do that. Ebay wants about $40 for used, no idea if they work, or about $150 'unused' from gm. Wow. And drivers side is hard to find.

lonsal

iTrader: (2)

If it is just the "motor" portion of your headlight actuation unit that is bad I can help you out. Otherwise I can direct you to a source that has rebuilt ones available. It's not difficult to swap the motor out and rebuild yours if you use the "paperclip trick" I describe in my instructions to hold the brushed retracted while you re-assemble it. E-mail me if you need help locating one or want a rebuilt one. Remember that 1982-86 used a different headlight actuation unit than the 1987-92 did. You can grab one from a 1987-88 Fiero also. The Corvettes use the same internal gear but have a different headlight actuation unit than the Fiero/Firebirds.

Lon

JulieGTA

Cool, thanks. I'll let you know what's going on with it. So far I found only the old type at the pick a part.

lonsal

iTrader: (2)

I read your post about finding and hiding an old style headlight actuator at the PAP for a possible future purchase. Leave it there. It isn't easily adapted to work for your car. It has different wiring (3 vs. yours having 2) and different relays and such. It is also an inferior design with two small gears that mesh together.

Lon

LAFireboyd

iTrader: (3)

Hey Julie, did you try IROCZDAVE? He's near you, and he's usually got pairs of used motors available on his website.

There's also a website www.rockauto.com that sells just about everything Delco makes at prices usually much lower than the dealer's. They show that they can get those units, but unfortunately, their price on these isn't so great. And just because they show them, it doesn't mean they can actually still get them(as I learned already when shopping for another Delco item).

I see you've rebuilt the gears with Lon's kit. That's good, it's a good product. But since that didn't do it, are sure it's not the relay? That relay is on the firewall behind the brake master cylinder(on my '87), and it's got two connectors plugged into it.

I had one light that would sometimes pop-up if I slammed my door just right, lol, but most of the time it wouldn't. As it turns out, it was relay-related. Both the motor and the relay were good, but one of the connectors wasn't plugged-in all the way. So I guess the jiggling of my door slamming was sometimes enough to make the connection, lol. I plugged it in, and it works perfectly. So with Lon's new gears and a good connection, my lights are like new again--YAY!

My car is 4 years older than yours, and it's got an obscene amount of miles on it. So if mine still works fine, I'd bet yours does too--though we all know that doesn't necessarily mean anything, lol.

brent4a

I have a 1990 formula and my repair book is confusing me. Where and how many headlight motor relays are there ? Any help would be great.....

LAFireboyd

iTrader: (3)

There's only one relay, Brent, and it doesn't show in my repair book either. The earlier headlight motors(thru '86) had a separate relay for each motor(attached to the motor), but our '87+ are different. Ours have no relays at the headlight motors. The relay is a flat-ish box, about 3" square, and it's on the firewall right behind the master cylinder. There are two connectors plugged into it(one on each side). Be sure each connector is securely plugged-in(wiggle them, maybe even unplug and replug them).

My problem turned-out to be simple in that one of my connectors wasn't completely plugged-in. But if your relay isn't working(neither motor runs at all), then you'll have to get a new one from your dealer. The relays don't seem to be available from auto parts stores.

And if it turns out that your relays and motors work, but the lights still won't go up or down, then it's the nylon gears inside the motors. Get Lon's repair kit from TDS for that.

moodude

year one makes headlamp motors but they are exspensive
if you want to look goto their web site www.yearone.com
they sell then for $222.00 ea
i would us this as a last resort
hope this helps

brent4a

Thanks LAfireboyd !!!

TJQIROC

iTrader: (1)

Hey LAFireboyd, I just did a search on Rockauto.com and found a bunch of matches for headlamp motors then I scrolled down and you beat me to it. Below is the GM part number that Rockauto listed that I used to search GMpartsdirect.com. I don't know much about firebirds but this looks like what you need. The rebuilt motors cost about 60 to 80 bucks.



GM PART # 16507924
CATEGORY: Concealed Capsule/Headlamp Control Drive
PACK QTY: 1 CORE CHARGE: $0.00
GM LIST: $232.38
OUR PRICE: $116.20
DESCRIPTION: ACTUATOR

HanSoloWS6

The junkyard was a good source for me. I needed new motors for both sides and they had them both for $20 for the pair. I got lucky and got them from a new arrival since they had no others in the yard. Also a good price on the entire headlight assembly for $75 for the pair. Everyone else wanted $100 and up each for motor and/or assembly.

94-6spd

I have 2 motors that I won't be needing. Let me know if you still need them.