i have 2 pairs of headlights and motors one pair out of an 88 firebird and one pair out of an 86 firebird and what do ya know only one of the motors work. the one motor that dosnt work on the pair out of the 86 does nothing when i turn on the head lights and both of the pair out of the 88 worked but the gears wore out, i took them apart to try and figure it out my self and now they dont run at all this is after i found the repair kid for the gears on hawks 3rd gen......

i was wondering if anyone had any ideas like who could i take them to or if i cud get the head light set up out of a camaro and put it in my firebird and skip the whole problem

 

Did you attempt a repair using the 209280 deluxe headlight repair kit I make (that Hawks sells) or did you open it up without the benifit of the detailed instructions that come with the kit? Either way, I suspect you lost one or more of the brushes that push the brushes to make contact with the comutator.

Lon Salgren

 

I don't know about the 88's. But on the 86 model, if the motor isn't doing anything when you turn the lights on, it's probably an external problem such as a bad relay. I don't know the exact troubleshooting steps for it though. The control circuitry for the 82-86 headlights is pretty convoluted.

I suspect your 86 motor itself probably isn't bad, if it was it would probably be grinding/spinning instead of doing nothing. I'd try to find a troubleshooting tutorial for the wiring on those before deciding the motor is bad. But if you do decide to tear into the 86 motor, then this is a good video series for rebuilding it (7 parts, this link is just for part 1):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lUT_c-0vuk

It says it's for a Fiero, but that's the same motor which is used in 82-86 Firebirds.
From what I've read, the 87-92 motors are more reliable and usually easier to repair, but I've never dealt with them.