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Old 02-09-2012, 05:34 PM   #1
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headlight wont raise

have the ls setup on my 97 TA, just replaced the motor in the light but now i tried turning on my my lights and the passenger side doesnt raise.. but makes the noise like the motor is trying to spin it but cant, not the gringing noise of the stripped gear. i cant see any loose wires or anything? any ideas? thanks
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Old 02-09-2012, 05:42 PM   #2
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How long ago did you replace that motor?
And does the light itself come on? Manually raise it and check.
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Old 02-09-2012, 05:53 PM   #3
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How long ago did you replace that motor?
And does the light itself come on? Manually raise it and check.
not even a month ago, and yes the light comes on.
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Old 02-09-2012, 06:25 PM   #4
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The motor shouldn't be bad, but try manually turning the headlight knob a few times towards the "up" position and then go turn the headlight switch/knob to ON and see if it raises the headlight or not.

Check for any wires or anything jamming the swing arm, as well.
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Old 02-09-2012, 09:32 PM   #5
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I don't understand... when they can't raise they grind like that horrible stripping plastic sound that they are famous for. If it ain't making any noise at all you gotta check it with a test light.

Oh and how long have they been wrenching on your car for?
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Old 02-09-2012, 11:02 PM   #6
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I don't understand... when they can't raise they grind like that horrible stripping plastic sound that they are famous for. If it ain't making any noise at all you gotta check it with a test light.

Oh and how long have they been wrenching on your car for?
i know. its weird, i didnt notice it untill it was too dark and i had my other car in the garage and wass just too much to pull it in to check it out. and i just got it back today, the thing was they worked fine when i brought them there, both of the headlights. and i got it back and one doesnt work.
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Old 02-10-2012, 07:17 AM   #7
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The motors and wormdrives are durable, usually the gear is stripped. Take it out, open it up and flip it 180*, epoxy it back together. Then make sure the 4 clips are tight that hold the motor to the gear assembly.

There is a website with step by step pics. Google "4th gen headlight fix". The website is by "bfranker"

Edit: just read you said its not grinding. Make sure you didn't get the pivot point of that arm reversed when you put it back together.
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Old 02-10-2012, 08:43 AM   #8
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If the other headlight is working, do the following to the bad one:

- Check how the working arm mechanism is connected and compare that with the other side. If they differ, that is likely your issue.

- Confirm with a basic test light that the motor is seeing power.

If it is identical and you have power to the motor, go through these steps.

- Confirm the headlight motor connector is actually plugged in (sounds dumb but maybe it wasn't reconnected). It's a while plug and should be easy to find right by the headlight motor.

- If its plugged in, then attempt to manually raise the headlight. Remove the rubbed boot on the top of the motor (if you still have it) and turn the knob. I forget which direction to go but if it tightens up going the other way, reverse rotation and keep going. This step confirms that all the mechanical bits are doing their job.

- If it doesn't do anything or appears like something is "skipping" then the teeth on the plastic gear inside the motor could be stripped.

- There is a nice trick which requires you disconnect the mechanical arm from the motor then rotating the motor until the the keyway is flipped 180 degrees. You do NOT need to remove or crack open the motor at all to do this. The headlights only use one half of the plastic gear. The cheap fix simply puts the other half in use which should be in good condition.

You should hear some ugly noises if the gear is stripped. It sounds like something is jammed or getting in the way of the headlight raising. Also make sure the plastic shroud surrounding the headlight is not in the way as sometimes this can get caught if out of alignment.

Hope this helps.
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Old 02-10-2012, 02:31 PM   #9
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pretty sure theres a wire stuck somewhere, the motor isnt bad at all and the teeth inside the gear are fine. u cant even raise the motor because it seems some kinda wire is preventing it from opening..just not sure how to remove the headlight now that i cant even open it?
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Old 02-10-2012, 02:39 PM   #10
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I would recommend going from the bottom and removing the plastic panel on the bottom of the car. Get a flash light and start looking around for anything that could be hanging it up.
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Old 02-10-2012, 04:24 PM   #11
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found the problem, just like you guys said had a couple wires jammed up in that arm and the plastic housing was rubbing on my fender. so i removed all the wires and sanded the housing down some. Thanks guys
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