bryan623

Okay so I came home tonight and upon turning off the lights the passenger side headlight isn't going down. So I am guessing the motor is stripped? What should I do? Is replacing the gears easy enough? Could it be the gear or something else? The light works, it just doesn't go down. Doesn't make any noise either when turn them off. Could it be something else besides the motor or is it just the gears have probably stripped?

bryan623

Found the replacement kit on Top-Down Solutions. I am going to get the control module and the replacement kit for both motors (might as well right?), but should I get the aluminum gears or just the plastic ones with the bushings?

bryan623

Also to note the Headlight used to make a real loud squealing type noise when it was going up. Could that have been a problem as well?

bryan623

UPDATE: Okay the headlight is working again. It seems the light or actuator was stuck? I popped the hood and turned the **** and it went back down. I then raised and lowered the light a couple times and it seems like it is again working okay. Still I am gonna pick up that headlight kit just in case.

lonsal

iTrader: (2)

Do you know the history of the car? The reason why I ask is if you are saying that the headlight actuator (motor) was stuck or jambed in the "up" position, that symptom leads me to think the headlight actuator was repaired at one time. If the motor was removed from the actuator housing it is common for the small ball bearing that is on the end of the worm-drive shaft to fall off. That ball bearing must be there. The ball bearing is supposed to be captured between the cup on the end of the worm-drive shaft and a mating cup on the stub shaft on the opposite side. If the bearing is missing the worm-drive shaft can climb the OD of the large nylon gear and jamb. That sounds like the symptom you are describing.

If the headlight actuator housings are repaired using a headlight repair kit this condition usually happens on the drivers side since you must remove the motor from the actuator housing on that side in order to remove the gear to do the repair. On the passenger side you don't need to remove the motor to get the gear out. But if someone wasn't following instructions to do the repair and removed the motor from the housing on the passenger side, then that could explain your problem.

If you remove the motor and find (as I suspect) that the ball bearing is missing, I sell it on my web site under the "Body-Electrical" category. Email me and I'll send you a copy of my instructions. There is a trick to holding the brushes retracted while reinstalling the motor. Oh, yes I also sell the used brushes if they get damaged.

Lon Salgren