OK, I swapped Gen 2 headlights and harness into a 1986.

Headlight will go up and down when hood is open. It would not with hood closed (would not open door). I removed and inspected, and the gear is good and well meshed, and the 3 plastic bushings are new. Put back together and it will lift the door about 2/3.

Do I have a weak motor? Should I bite the bullet and buy a new one, or is there something I can adjust and align to get better leverage on the headlight door?

FYI, the other side once rebuilt operates fine.

could be motor, module and other things.
Does motor fully lift HL w/ hood open? Might narrow what is wrong.

If have Delrin pins then could be output shaft is starting to die. Many shafts don't die outright at first and try to lift until sees too much load.
See https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/128600.html
Most time that happens Output shaft won't turn under load but motor will spin then until module timer cuts power in ~ 5 seconds.

------------------
Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
(Jurassic Park)

The Ogre's Fiero Cave

[This message has been edited by theogre (edited 10-25-2017).]

yes it fully lifts open when hood is open.

then does motor stop at full open/close?
Have help to watch motor when HL switch is on/off

Well this is a strange fix of sorts. I could not figure this out by playing with it and making adjustments inspections etc. So the next day I go to start, and the battery is weak as can be, from fiddling with the car for days. Turns out, when the battery is fully charged it will open the headlight just fine. So we are all good! Sometimes the obvious this are overlooked.

No surprise...
All Motors will have problems w/ low battery or iffy grounds. Can fry any control running them too do this because high amp drawn.
See my Cave, Electric Motors

[This message has been edited by theogre (edited 10-31-2017).]

This is odd... I have an '88, thus the Gen 2 lights, and RM's low profile projectors.

They worked fine when they were first installed, but now the left one won't go all the way up, by about 5 degrees. But it seems to be a mechanical/geometry problem.
The light goes all the way up, and locks into place, as normal. It's just that "all the way up" isn't all the way up.
As I said, they worked fine when they were first installed.

quote Originally posted by Raydar: This is odd... I have an '88, thus the Gen 2 lights, and RM's low profile projectors. They worked fine when they were first installed, but now the left one won't go all the way up, by about 5 degrees. But it seems to be a mechanical/geometry problem. The light goes all the way up, and locks into place, as normal. It's just that "all the way up" isn't all the way up. As I said, they worked fine when they were first installed.

watch motor(s) same as above.
a broken output shaft or dowels doesn't always total die to start and try to open and/or close.
If motor(s) stop same time as output shaft then look for binding anywhere.

1 example: Many low lift mods cut off or otherwise eliminate HL lift bearing points that was to run on door plastic strips. W/o those bearing points the lift hit the door anyplace and can have problems no matter how good the motors and module are.

Those bearing points and Door slip strips to 99+% opening the door.
2 more aux contact points on HL trim may hit the door or not only when lift is all the way up.

[This message has been edited by theogre (edited 10-31-2017).]

quote Originally posted by theogre: ... 1 example: Many low lift mods cut off or otherwise eliminate HL lift bearing points that was to run on door plastic strips. W/o those bearing points the lift hit the door anyplace and can have problems no matter how good the motors and module are. Those bearing points and Door slip strips to 99+% opening the door. 2 more aux contact points on HL trim may hit the door or not only when lift is all the way up.

Those slip strips are still utilized. That's where the housings press when the lights are raised, even with the new setup.
I guess I neglected to mention that this symptom also occurs when the hood is open and nothing touches the headlight assemblies. It's still "down" by a few degrees.
As I said... purely mechanical. I guess I just need to take the motor apart and see what's going on.

My apologies for the hijack.