After using the search function, I unearthed many useful facts about the 'bird headlights - thanks guys!
HOWEVER, what do you have to do to get the lights to go up and down manually? Does the ignition have to be on? Do the lights have to be on? Do I turn the dials slightly, or keep winding on them? When I tried winding them (Ign. on), the dial suddenly whipped back out of my fingers.

Incidentally, my headlights work fine (for now!) - the passenger's one sometimes lags behind the driver's one when being switched off.

Anyone shed any light on the subject? (Sorry!)

Cheers,
Mark (newb Limey Pontiac owner)

 

Yes turning the **** will manually raise or lower the headlights IF the gear (on 1982-86, aka 3-wire actuators) or gear bushings (on 1987-92, aka 2-wire actuators) are good. If the gear or gear bushings are stripped then you may not be able to raise them with the ****. You might be able to pull it up while rotating the ****. I sell a repair kit with a CNC machined brass gear to repair your headlight actuator. It also includes a trouble shooting guide to help track down the problem with your headlights.

Lon Salgren
Top-Down Solutions

 

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They're still receiving power to keep them pulled down. There are internal limit switches to prevent the motor from constantly trying to turn; when you turned the **** to lift the headlight, the limit switch made contact and pulled it back down on you.
If you wanted to manually rotate the ***** to raise/lower them, just unplug the 3-pin connector near the motor. If you want them to stay up all the time, turn the lights on to raise them before dis-connecting the plug.

 

Thanks guys!

Mark.