headlights

A few suggestions: First, take the limit switches out one at a time, take the covers off and spray them out with TV Contact cleaner. Wire-brush the external contacts. Second, the headlight motor/gearbox is identical to the window lift motor/gearbox, and is subject to the same splitting of the plastic drive gear. If the gear splits, Hercules couldn't rotate the gear. A bronze "window" gear replacement is then called for. Third, the drive motor has the world's funkiest connection to operate as an un-grounded DC motor; the key is a tiny insulating grommet attached to the motor case. If the grommet cracks, water & road debris can penetrate the insulator and create a partial short. The fix here is to discard the grommet entirely, connect the motor wire to its loom wire directly, insulate the connection with shrink-tubing and tie-wrap the thing away from any metal it might reach. One or more of these should fix your problem; incidently, they all assume the fuse contact is perfect. Be sure to thank Joe Lucas in your evening prayers....

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Originally posted by Jack DeRyke:
A few suggestions: First, take the limit switches out one at a time, take the covers off and spray them out with TV Contact cleaner. Wire-brush the external contacts. Second, the headlight motor/gearbox is identical to the window lift motor/gearbox, and is subject to the same splitting of the plastic drive gear. If the gear splits, Hercules couldn't rotate the gear. A bronze "window" gear replacement is then called for. Third, the drive motor has the world's funkiest connection to operate as an un-grounded DC motor; the key is a tiny insulating grommet attached to the motor case. If the grommet cracks, water & road debris can penetrate the insulator and create a partial short. The fix here is to discard the grommet entirely, connect the motor wire to its loom wire directly, insulate the connection with shrink-tubing and tie-wrap the thing away from any metal it might reach. One or more of these should fix your problem; incidently, they all assume the fuse contact is perfect. Be sure to thank Joe Lucas in your evening prayers....

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Jack, Is your recommendation to remove the wire that comes out of the motor case that is normally connected to the threaded post and connect it directly to the wire that's normally connected to the blade that's normally attached to the same post as in the attached photo? I just refurbished my headlight motor assembly and reattached the wire and blade connector per the photo taken before I disassembled. The motor does not work unless I connect the motor wire directly to the brown loom wire. Please advise.

Regards,

Ron

Not Jack, but, Yes, the wire coming out of the motor connects to the post, and the brown wire connects to the same post by way of a female connector.

The other wire, should be black, is the ground and connects to a ground wire coming from the front harness inside the drivers wheel well headlight bottom area.

Your picture is correct, just connect the brown wire to the tab and the ground.

Coz, That's exactly how I put it back together with the brown harness wire attached to the spade connector. Motor doesn't want to work in that configuration), but motor works fine if I connect the wires together directly. I don't see how the motor worked in the first place given the wires are separated by the backlite and plastic insulator and don't make contact with the post. Am I missing something?

Ron

Ron,
Just checked mine again and looked at the diagram.
The wire coming out of the motor that is closest to the terminal is hooked to the terminal, Brown is also hooked to the terminal via the spade. The black wire coming out of the motor is hooked to a Yellow Wire coming from the wiring harness. That is the correct way. The 2 wires, Black, closest to the post and the Brown wire should be making contact with the post. If not, that could be your problem.
Are you testing the motor in or out of the car ?
If in the car, you may have a break in any of the 3 wires in the wiring harness when you try it in the car. Have you put a volt meter to the wires in the harness and checked the ground wire by running a different ground ?
Do you headlights still go up and down hooked up your way in the car ?

Coz, The motor assembly is in the car, and the headlights go up and down just fine when I hook the brown harness wire directly to the wire that was originally attached to the post as pictured rather than through the post spade connector. The other motor wire is connected to the yellow harness wire as before via the male and female spade connectors.

The spade does not make electrical contact with the post since it's sandwiched between the backlite and plastic insulator. The motor wire connector is insulated from the spade connector but does make contact with the post itself through the washers and nut. How can current possibly flow in this configuration? Yet, this is how everything was hooked up before I started the project. That's why I took the picture in the first place, to ensure I put the thing back together correctly.

I plan to go ahead an wire direct if I can't figure out this mystery. At least the headlights operate wired like that.

Ron

Very strange Ron... Unless the spade isn't making contact like it should be.
But if it's working as it should and not blowing any fuses, as they say.....If it works, don't fix it... :-)

That's what I'm about to do, Coz, but here's what I don't get. The spade connector (photo attached) is completely isolated from the post (and apparently everything else), and the motor wire connector centers itself on the black plastic isolator that protrudes through bakelite. Therefore, how can the current ever travel through the blade to the motor wire?

Ron

Ron,
Mine has a little different configuration. I have the post coming out of the motor and an inside nut on it. Then the wire with the loop, then the spade without the surrounding body you have on your spade, a washer and another nut to hold everything on. Which means my wire and spade are making direct contact.

Another DeTomaso masterfull piece of wiring genius....

Ron[/QUOTE]

Interesting...