95 Firebird TA Headlight issue...

[vegaslt1]

The headlights open up fine on my bird but when they close it makes a noisy gear grinding noise after the headlights close down. Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks...
vegaslt1

[fritcr]

It is the plastic gears are stripped out in the headlight motors. It is a really easy fix but if I were you I would buy the brass gears to replace them. I got mine for my 96 TA from this web site and they worked great.
http://www.rodneydickman.com/n113.html

[FormulaForce]

If you don't want to spend the money, there is a fix you can try. The round plastic gear inside the motor is worn out on one side only. The other side should be in good shape. You can disconnect the headlight raising arm from the motor output shaft which has a squared-off end. Then manually, using the knob under the rubber boot, turn the motor until the shaft is rotated one-half way, then put the arm back on the shaft. I tried this but someone had already done it and worn out both sides. It's worth a try and doesn't take long.

[fritcr]

I hope that works for you. I had forgotten about. I tried it too but then my lights would grind when they went up instead of down and they would not go up far enough and I was looking at the ground! hahah

[sandybayou]

Originally Posted by fritcr

It is the plastic gears are stripped out in the headlight motors. It is a really easy fix but if I were you I would buy the brass gears to replace them. I got mine for my 96 TA from this web site and they worked great.
http://www.rodneydickman.com/n113.html

I was having the same problem. It was very embarrassing To pull up with my shinny Red Fire bird looking so cool ....until I turned off the lights. What a racket!!!!

Thanks for the link. The picture and directions helped. I just turned the gear to fix my lights. Took about one hour. Positioning the gear so the bad part (teeth) will never be used was no big deal. Just a little observation and trial and error.