1988 headlight

[Gregoryb]

So I will start by saying yes I know this topic has bee brought up tons of times but mine seems a bit different than I have read.

I live in Minnesota and I took my 88 coupe into service Monday and had to take it home in snow and freezing rain Tuesday when I was warming it up I popped the lights one opened and one went up a little less then half way I got lucky I did this a few times it would go up half and go down then finally it went up.

i got home put the heat on thought it was frozen but nope the same thing 😡

when up in half way mode you can grab it and it’s stuck with about 1 inch of play like I said it goes up and down fine to that half way point.

Any advice to start with would be great.

 Thanks 

[Ronnie]

Open the hood and find the knob that can be used to manually raise the headlights. That knob is on the end of the shaft in the motor that opens the doors. Then have someone turn on the headlights while you watch the knob turn.

 

If the knob keeps on turning when the headlights stop going up, it means the headlight motors need to be rebuilt by installing new plastic bushings in the gearbox and/or crankarms. This is most likely your problem.

 

If the knob stops turning when the headlight stops going up it is likely that something is binding in the headlight door mechanism. 

 

 

[Gregoryb]

Thanks I’ll give it a snoop tonight.

maybe the dealership left a wrench under the hood😂

[Gregoryb]

I just got home and no assistance popped the light up by hand working manually all the way up and goes down fine but as soon as you go automatically it stops half way 

[2seater]

You need a helper to watch the spinning knob to test as Ronnie suggested. Which light is it? There are sometimes issues with a headlight wire breaking inside the insulation from flexing which affects the bulb but shouldn’t bother the operating motor.

[Gregoryb]

After getting tires it’s working now I got a code b482

[2seater]

58 minutes ago, Gregoryb said:

After getting tires it’s working now I got a code b482

According to the FSM, that has to do with the anti lock brake system pressure???

[Jim Dear]

I purchased the kits from East Coast. The first instruction is to "manually raise the headlamps". I'm focusing first on the passenger side as that's the side that does nothing. When I spin the manual turn knob under the hood (it spins pretty freely), nothing at all happens. It stays locked shut. I've tried it with ignition on or off. Driver side works fine, though I'll do that side, too. Just wanted to start with the passenger side. Hints? I'm sure there's some easy trick I'm overlooking and making this harder than necessary.

[DAVES89]

The How to is in the "How to" on the tabs at the top of the page. Good luck.

[Jim Dear]

Thanks Daves89. I did see that. It's a fabulous "How To"... but I'm turning the knob plenty and pulling up pretty hard on the door and it won't budge. Not an urgent project as we don't drive it in the dark. Maybe I'll wait until next winter when I can take a slower approach. This site is a great resource. This is far from my first "classic" car or first challenge, but I've not previously owned any with pop-up lights, so there's always a first to tackle anything. That always goes the slowest as you're always afraid of breaking something made of unobtainium.

[Ronnie]

Remove the plastic cowl from over the radiator so you can see what's preventing the headlight from coming up. You can probably remove the linkage from the crankarm with the cover removed if needed.

 

[DAVES89]

The only thing I will add to the How To is that I remove the top bolt holding the reinforcing plate next to the headlight motor and push it away from the motor to give me clearance to get at the motor arms.

[Jim Dear]

Thanks for all the help. Turned out the problem was the shoulders that the bolt from the motor turns were smoothed out, so turning the motor did nothing. The arms were also stuck. I was able to work them loose with a long screwdriver.  Driver side worked fine, but I went ahead and replaced both. Everything works terrific now. Next stop... the radio.

[Samakijoe]

.

 

OK,  Below is a video of the best learning, in 28 min, you will get this week..

I'm waiting for parts to do mine this week also............ I buying the kits with the Aluminum gear...

Yes, you need to do both............

 

 

.

 

Edited September 8 by Samakijoe

[2seater]

6 hours ago, Samakijoe said:

.

 

OK,  Below is a video of the best learning, in 28 min, you will get this week..

I'm waiting for parts to do mine this week also............ I buying the kits with the Aluminum gear...

Yes, you need to do both............

 

Thanks for the video. I am not sure what kit contains an aluminum gear but I have never seen the gear go bad and even if it has a bad spot, it can be rotated 180deg for fresh teeth.

.

 

 

[Ronnie]

6 hours ago, Samakijoe said:

OK,  Below is a video of the best learning, in 28 min, you will get this week..

Thanks for posting the video. I must admit, I'm not very impressed with how he did the job. It seems to me like he removed the motors the hard way. He accomplished his goal of getting the doors to open and close so I guess you could follow his instructions and do the same.

 

Edit: BTW, using power tools on the screws in the motor was a really bad idea. They are easily broken even when you do it with hand tools.

[Ronnie]

6 hours ago, Samakijoe said:

I buying the kits with the Aluminum gear...

Yes, you need to do both............

I don't know of any rebuild kits that include an aluminum gear and a steel crankarm. The aluminum gear isn't necessary but in a lot of rebuilds the crankarm is. I wouldn't buy a kit that doesn't include a new steel crankarm (sometimes called a bellcrank). Do it right the first time and be done with it.