I'm a new owner of a 83 Trans Am. The car didn't come with any headlights so I got some off my neighbors dad. Before they were pulled they were tested and the motors worked fine. We did multiple cycles just to make sure they fully worked. Got them home and the lights turn on fine but the motors aren't working correctly. When I first put them in, the drivers side would go up once in a while but not go back down, and the passenger side would do nothing. I replaced the headlight switch and that didn't do anything. I also hard wired from the battery and the drivers side would go up, but not down. The passenger side wouldn't do anything. Both sides are getting power.

The only thing I can think of is a bad relay, but I don't know where it is. Any ideas? Thanks!

 

what year car did the new lights come from.

 

I believe it is a 85 maybe a 86

 

I called my neighbor the firebird the headlights came out of was a 83 as well. Any ideas?

 

Check "firebird headlights", original post by "dillardracer", I wrote a paragraph that explains about most common problems.

 

Theres relays for those light and almost allways over looked.. There located behing the headlights and attached to the fenders. you cant miss them.they look kinda square with a bunch of wires comming from the bottom. Try tapping the relay, with the light switch on, or wiggling the wires and watch the lights. If they go up or down or even move an inch while your playing with the relay then its bad.......

~Vinny

 

Vinny, read the other thread... The isolation relay, dealer or junkyard item, will ruin your day like a bad ground (-). Any of them are susceptible to corrosion, and if serviced, and re-sealed, will last w/o the immediate cost of replacement, just pry carefully, open the present without tearing the wrapping paper!

 

hey, im not sure i know what your talking about. But i was tring to do a search and i cant figure out how to search with this new forum.

 

If the search is still down, and it may be, you'll have to browse through the message board under electronics, and you'll find the thread I spoke of in an earlier post...

 

Well, spring has sprung [only on the calender], so I am again blessing this forum with my presence.

I had the same issue with my '83.
The relays have their pull-in coil wires wire-wrapped to their connection posts.
This makes them of poor design. Once I soldered the pull-in coin wires to their posts, the problem was gone. Simple fix. That was in '99, and they still work.

Seth

 

as soon as i get time i wanted to do something like that, solder and clean the wires. Its been a while since i looked at the relays but i remember that the connectors were so dirty and was a bi*ch to clean. I wanted to take the wires out if the harness but couldnt get em out. Isnt there a GM tool to take the wires out of the harness to get to them? How did you do it?
Thanks ~Vinny

 

When I purchased my car, it was 16-years-old, but had never been out in the rain. The wiring harness connections were not an issue. I only dealt with the mentioned relays. While there is a tool for pulling the wires from the harness, 1st just concentrate on those darned relays.

On any wire connection, solder [+ shrink tubing] is always better than push-on fittings.

Seth