Post by TexasG8 on Jul 10, 2009 13:41:42 GMT -6
Alright lately Ive seen alot of threads asking why all of a sudden is there a "noise" when I lock/unlock the doors, why do the headlights pop up and down when I use the remote (along with the noise), or why do my headlights come up when I just turn on my park/fog lights. The answer is that one of your headlights has stripped its plastic gear.
The headlights on the Trans Am/Formula/Firebird measures amperage (resistence) to know when the headlight is fully up and fully down (controlled by the BCM). When a plastic gear in the headlight motor gets stripped, the system keeps powering the motors and thats why you hear a jackhammer/grinding type noise coming from the headlight motor when you lock/unlock the doors or when you turn on/off the headlights.
There are two options to solve the problem.The gear in the OEM motor only uses half of a side to raise/lower the lights, so you have another half of the gear that has never been used.The first fix is the 180 temp fix, this is when you rotate the gear in the motor to the unused portion. The second is to replace the plastic gear that has worn out with an aluminum gear.
Heres a step by step write up for the "TEMP FIX" on that same page you can order the aluminum gear to replace the plastic stock ones.
Also the harness underneath the headlight tends to develop corrosion over time, check this if you experience a dim light (bad ground), or no power to the headlight motor.
If your little white stopper has fallen off or missing a chunk of it don't panic. All you need to do is grab a roll of electrical tape and just put enough wraps/turns of tape on the end were the stopper is or was. Works perfect!! Signs of a missing stopper is, the headlight goes fully down then pops up just a little, or vice versa.
If your headlights act or sound like this you have a stripped gear:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOVqS7_Ca9A
Heres a video that shows you how to do the repairs:
The headlights on the Trans Am/Formula/Firebird measures amperage (resistence) to know when the headlight is fully up and fully down (controlled by the BCM). When a plastic gear in the headlight motor gets stripped, the system keeps powering the motors and thats why you hear a jackhammer/grinding type noise coming from the headlight motor when you lock/unlock the doors or when you turn on/off the headlights.
There are two options to solve the problem.The gear in the OEM motor only uses half of a side to raise/lower the lights, so you have another half of the gear that has never been used.The first fix is the 180 temp fix, this is when you rotate the gear in the motor to the unused portion. The second is to replace the plastic gear that has worn out with an aluminum gear.
Heres a step by step write up for the "TEMP FIX" on that same page you can order the aluminum gear to replace the plastic stock ones.
Also the harness underneath the headlight tends to develop corrosion over time, check this if you experience a dim light (bad ground), or no power to the headlight motor.
If your little white stopper has fallen off or missing a chunk of it don't panic. All you need to do is grab a roll of electrical tape and just put enough wraps/turns of tape on the end were the stopper is or was. Works perfect!! Signs of a missing stopper is, the headlight goes fully down then pops up just a little, or vice versa.
If your headlights act or sound like this you have a stripped gear:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOVqS7_Ca9A
Heres a video that shows you how to do the repairs:
