Headlight motors..

SGT.ROCK · Post by **SGT.ROCK** » Sun Dec 31, 2006 11:53 pm

My drivers side motor doesnt work unless I spin the knob a little then it pops up. Are the gears stripped? And while I was messin with the drivers side the passenger side went up and the motor wouldnt quit running,so I shut off the lights and the passenger side went down but it still kept running,so I unplugged the relay and it quit.Do I just need to replace both motors or is it something else? Thanks.

TrotFox · Post by **TrotFox** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 2:04 am

Sounds like they need to be rebuilt. It can be a simple job with the right parts, especially if they're '87-8 motors. What year car are they in?

Either way Rodneydickman.com is the place to look.

Red 5spd Formula
Trot, the gray, fox...

p8ntman442 · Post by **p8ntman442** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 10:02 am

Garunteed its an 86 or earlier car, the module in the 87+ cars wont cause this to happen. Also he said relays, thats a give away. You need to replace your lights with the newer style 87+ the whole harness from the front firewall is plug and play, and all the components can be had for about $100 or $150 online, or cheaper if you get them at a junk yard.

OR............................

you can keep dealing with the earlier design bullshit and rebuild your motors with rodney dickmans kits. www.thefierostore.com Its your limit switches that are the problem, not the gears.

stimpy · Post by **stimpy** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 12:45 pm

Upgrade to the later, you'll only ask yourself why you waited so long.

p8ntman442 · Post by **p8ntman442** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 2:27 pm

Im tempted to build a harness for people to retrofit, Im sure I could grab the connector from the old style harness at the firewall, and build the "module" fairly cheaply, and sell "new" install kits, only thing you would need would be the motors, but the harness could be made to accept the connectors from firebird motors.

SGT.ROCK · Post by **SGT.ROCK** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 3:16 pm

My car is an 86 SE V6.Do I need to replace the whole light system?Could you tell me what I need to get off an 87 or later car?

Dirty Sanchez · Post by **Dirty Sanchez** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 7:39 pm

To upgrade to the newer headlight motors ('87-'88) you need the motors, wiring harness (from the headlight motors to the isolation relay), and the isolation relay that is found bolted inside the driver's side front fender. You should be able to find these in an '87-'88 Fiero at the junkyard. You can also get the motors from the Firebirds that have the pop up headlights.

Series8217 · Post by **Series8217** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 9:42 pm

Dirty Sanchez wrote: You can also get the motors from the Firebirds that have the pop up headlights.

Do the Firebirds use the isolation relay as well?

Dirty Sanchez · Post by **Dirty Sanchez** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 9:28 am

They should as they are the same as the newer style motors. The first generation mototrs had limit switches in them, the second generation ones are turned off by the load sensing isolation relay.

p8ntman442 · Post by **p8ntman442** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 11:40 am

From personal experiance, I think the firebird motors have different connectors on them, when compared to the fiero motors.

sgt.Rock go find a donor car in the JY and start at the front firewall. Remove the connector, and unclip the wiring, pull all the wiring, The module in the fender, and the headlight motors. Removing the hood is a great time saver.

Its all bolt in, and worth the time.

While the new motors are out, rebuild them using Rodneys kit, or some pieces of Glue stick.

The Dark Side of Will · Tue Jan 02, 2007 11:42 am

Rodney has new gaskets

Tinton · Post by **Tinton** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 1:09 pm

Stay the FUCK away from the earlier design lights. I rebuilt mine and now the limit switches aren't working correctly, they'll sit and twitch all night and wear down the battery. There are so many things that can go wrong in the earlier system its easier to upgrade it all.

I'm about to get everything needed for this conversion. Need the later design motors, the front harness, the module for that goes in the wheelwell, and I think that's it. Things to look out for, the '88 harnesses only have a wire for a single horn. If you want both of your horns to work, get a '87 harness. Also, from what I've heard the fan relay isn't the same for the '88 or possibly for both '87 and '88. Might need an '88 fan relay too.

I don't think the earlier cars have a spot in the wheelwell to mount the control module, you'd have to drill and make the spot yourself. Or you could just mount it up by the fan relay, I've seen that done, and it makes it easier to get at the module if you ever need to.

stimpy · Post by **stimpy** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 2:41 pm

Tinton wrote:Stay the FUCK away from the earlier design lights.

Rather touchy, aren't we? I think we can temper our tone a bit when talking about maintenance issues.

SGT.ROCK · Post by **SGT.ROCK** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 4:47 pm

The Dark Side of Will has the best avatar I have ever seen.I wonder if I could make that into a screen saver? Would they still bounce and jiggle? Thanks for all the responces. I already ordered a rebuild kit from Rodney.I hope I dont regret it. :scratch: