Headlight motor rebuild...Now with Delayed Action. Help? (Page 1/2)
dayv27 SEP 19, 04:48 PM
Opened up the headlight motor (Passenger side) and had this:


Rebuilt using Rodney's kit, and got it all put back together and now I get this:
https://photos.smugmug.com/...0/i-L86W74h-1280.mp4

Why am I getting a delay in opening and closing? The "clunk" on the driver's side has been there since I bought it, and I haven't touched that one at all yet, but why would the passenger side delay so much on both opening and closing?

And now, the motor is hot to the touch after sitting untouched for a while.

yes, I disconnected the battery again.

Thanks to buddycraigg for his how to video for some clarifications on the actual re-build.

[This message has been edited by dayv27 (edited 09-19-2021).]

fierofool SEP 19, 07:57 PM
You're wise to disconnect power if the motor is getting hot, but no need to disconnect the battery and kill the ECM memory. Just unplug the single wire going to the motor.

Many believe the headlights are supposed to be in sync, but truth is, they're each on their own circuit from the isolation relay. A little resistance can make one slower than the other. But, I've never seen one with that much delay.

If the motor is getting hot then there is power still going to it. That means the limiter switch isn't opening the points at the end of travel. I would suggest you take the motor out and look up underneath the knob to see if the rubber weather seal is visible. If it is, you need to disassemble the motor and put it into its cavity in the top of the motor case. See my article at http://gafiero.org on the Message Board, Club News, 2021 Newsletters, April edition. Refurbishing Generation 1 Headlight Motors.
skywurz SEP 19, 10:39 PM
theogre SEP 20, 12:41 AM
⚠️ Warning:
Gen1 motors get hot when the motor(s) have problems w/ the limit switches.
Motor shaft climbs up/down the bottom gear at End of Travel or assemble is jammed and activate a limit switch shutting off power.
WHEN that fails, The motor, relays and wiring gets over heated and over loaded and cycles auto breaker in the motor.
That can kill the battery to cause a car fire.

Delay issue is likely part of same problem and/or have jam problems after pulling HL lift assembly.

Disconnect Both motor plugs when you have electric problems.
Pulling 1 wire plug is only meant to disable motor closing doors in freezing weather or other mechanical problems.

"Rebuilding" HL motors right are harder then posted all over the place not just on PFF.
Bad news is only option because no-one makes new Gen1 motors unlike you can buy New Gen2 motors from Cardone etc.
Could upgrade to gen2 but getting the Control Box and wiring is getting harder to find too.

------------------
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(Jurassic Park)

The Ogre's Fiero Cave

dayv27 SEP 21, 11:19 PM
Took it apart again, and yes, I had the upper rubber D ring seal misplaced. So I re-did everything again, and it ran much smoother. But still having the delay issues, and the manual knob is still twitching. Watching some of the videos I did tells me that this means something is still not allowing the limit switch to trip, but I'm at a loss of what I can move/wiggle/change inside. The brushes on the motor are still thick and in great shape.

Thoughts?
Dennis LaGrua SEP 22, 01:33 PM

quote
Originally posted by dayv27:

Took it apart again, and yes, I had the upper rubber D ring seal misplaced. So I re-did everything again, and it ran much smoother. But still having the delay issues, and the manual knob is still twitching. Watching some of the videos I did tells me that this means something is still not allowing the limit switch to trip, but I'm at a loss of what I can move/wiggle/change inside. The brushes on the motor are still thick and in great shape.

Thoughts?


There is no limit switch on the Gen II motors. What happens is that when the lift hits maximum position the surge in the stall current draw trips the power via the headlight motor module. It sounds as though the motor power is not being disconnected.

------------------
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fierofool SEP 23, 10:00 AM
Davy27, raise the headlight with the hood open. Then lower the hood to the center catch point. There are two teflon rub strips on the bottom of the headlight door. The headlight assembly should be contacting those rub strips equally and make contact at the same time if you move the hood up and down. You can adjust the angle of the headlight assembly to accomplish this. They should be centered on the rub strips, too.
buddycraigg NOV 02, 09:41 PM

quote
Originally posted by dayv27:
and the manual knob is still twitching.


The motor is not actually making the limit switches snap to their open positions.
I love Rodney for him selling products to us.
I never used his rubber bumpers when I rebuilt a motor with the gear kit. I filled the void with JB weld.

You only have to unplug the blue wire to stop the down motion of the motor so that will stop your battery drain.

As far as the delay, swap the motor relay with each other and see if the problem stays on that side.
Then report back.
dayv27 NOV 02, 10:06 PM

quote
Originally posted by buddycraigg:

The motor is not actually making the limit switches snap to their open positions.
I love Rodney for him selling products to us.
I never used his rubber bumpers when I rebuilt a motor with the gear kit. I filled the void with JB weld.

You only have to unplug the blue wire to stop the down motion of the motor so that will stop your battery drain.

As far as the delay, swap the motor relay with each other and see if the problem stays on that side.
Then report back.



BuddyCraigg,
Welcome back!
First off, your's was the first video I found and went to when I had the issue, so thank you.

I was able to get new motors (set) from Fiero Factory and just replaced both.

So the headlights are no longer the major issue, I've moved on to thermostats, lack there of, new one installed and over heating instead of underheating.

These cars are fun!!!
buddycraigg NOV 02, 10:26 PM
Thank you for the welcome back.

I'm glad my videos helped with your headlight problems.
I hope someone has made some better versions. I did that with a VHS camera and the quality is horrible by today's standards.

Start a new thread about your heating problem and we can tell you how to fill your coolant system, and other people can read it.