Hello,

My name is Tarra and I am having a problem with my 95 firebird's pop up lights.

Here's the thing...

Firstly, both my headlights go up and down fine. Its just a week ago when I turned my driver-side headlight off, it would go down and the motor wouldn't stop trying to bring it down. It was grinding. It has been happening since.

Today, I went out to my car and only opened my door. When the interior lights came on, a clicking began near the driverside firewall. I assume it was some sort of relay? So each time it clicked, my head lights would go up then down, then up and down... again and again very quickly. Finally, after 10 seconds of embarassment (after ive closed my door), they finally go down... Then the grinding motor on the driverside light begins for the next 8 seconds.

Can you tell me what I need to replace, and where it is, and how to replace it... what where how? I need help!!!

Thank you so much!!
Tarra

 

The TDS part number 509210 headlight repair kit will repair the headlight motor on your 95 Firebird. The plastic gear inside the motor has gone bad. Click link for TDS (Top-Down Solutions) on the right-side of this page.

Lon

 

How do you know its the plastic gear... The relay keeps clicking too! My car is now dead also, which is odd. My alarm light keeps going on in my car ( i disconnected the horn a while ago because it always would go off). The gear is still moving the lights up and down. It just isnt disengaging. Couldn't that be a relay/switch problem?
-tarra
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One more thing... Where is my headlight motor? Is there one in the middle, or is there a motor for each light?
-Tarra

 

There are two motors, one for each headlight. I said it is gear problem because the gear is plastic and seems to be the weal-link in the system. Yes it COULD be a relay problem. The "relay" is actually called the "headlight control module". It is located on the driver’s side under the hood beneath the air intake snorkel. The module has a square black plastic case with the word "GUIDE" molded into it.

If you have a 1995 Firebird Service Manual it should have a diagnostic checklist to go through to determine what is the problem with your headlight doors. The manual is available online from Helm Inc. at www.helminc.com. You can also find used ones on eBay from time to time.

The grinding your hearing is most likely either the plastic gear or the rubber insert inside the gear being chewed up. The headlight switch sends power through the headlight control module to each of the headlight motors. When each motor has reached the end of its cycle there is a spike in the current. The module senses the spike in current and shuts off power to each of the motors. The headlight module has two circuits. The primary circuit shuts off the headlight motor by sensing the spike in current. If there is no spike in current the module continues to send power to the motor. That is when a second circuit comes into play. The second circuit is a timer circuit. It is supposed to shut off the motor in roughly 6-8 seconds if the current spike hasn't been sensed by the module. There are couple of reasons that this second circuit would have to be called on. If the plastic gear or the black rubber insert inside the gear is bad the motor will continue to run. It could also be that the primary circuit of the module that is supposed to sense the current is bad.

Lon