[DeTomaso] Headlights don't go up, take II

[thomas]

Charlie's gear is not welded to the bar. 

Thomas

> 31 aug 2014 kl. 21:24 skrev Mike Drew via DeTomaso <detomaso at poca.com>:
> 
> Charlie,
> 
> It's a bit confusing to follow your narrative. You say you opened the motor up, but I assume what you mean is that you opened up the 'transmission' that has the plastic gear inside?  Connected to the electric motor?
> 
> The plastic gear (large) has a shaft in the center connected to a small steel gear. That engages the curved gear welded to the headlight bar and raises and lowers the lights. 
> 
> It sounds to me as though the interface between the small steel gear and the curved gear on the bar wasn't great and at some point the gear teeth started skipping. 
> 
> While you have the mechanism in your hand you should definitely install a metal gear in place of the large plastic one. Otherwise fate will dictate that it breaks 1.0 miles after you put it all back together and drive off!
> 
> Are the headlights free to go up and down by hand with the motor and transmission removed?  (Please say yes!)
> 
> If so it's just an adjustment issue. Install a new gear just because, reinstall everything, and ensure the interface between the small gear and curved gear on the bar is super tight. It's easily adjusted. Methinks yours got misadjusted.
> 
> Mike
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On Aug 31, 2014, at 9:20, Charles McCall <charlesmccall at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>>  Thanks for all the replies regarding how to remove the headlight motor.
>> 
>> 
>>  It wasn't fun, but there are worse jobs. The good news is that I got
>>  the headlight motor out and opened it up. The bad news is that it looks
>>  perfect.
>> 
>> 
>>  The headlight motor was actually quite well sealed, and took some
>>  persuasion to get it open. But the grease was still greasy and the
>>  insides looked really in pretty good condition. This is bad news
>>  because I was expecting to see a broken plastic gear, which I was
>>  betting was the cause of my problem. Since it isn't broken, now I'm
>>  sort of out of ideas.
>> 
>> 
>>  Before removing the gear, I had my wife turn the headlights on while I
>>  watched the motor. The motor gear turned, the headlights began to raise
>>  a quarter inch, but then the gear started skipping and the headlights
>>  stopped going up. I had assumed that this juddering was due to a jammed
>>  plastic gear.
>> 
>> 
>>  The only other thing that occurs to me is that perhaps the motor has
>>  somehow come out of adjustment and wasn't making good contact with the
>>  headlight raise mechanism and it was skipping teeth? The motor gear
>>  "wheel" was all coated with years of road crud, which may inhibit
>>  making good contact, but I've never heard of the teeth of this wheel
>>  getting filled up with road crud and not meshing well enough with the
>>  raise mechanism.
>> 
>> 
>>  Any other theories other than something moved somehow and the motor and
>>  headlight raise mechanism aren't making good contact and I'm skipping
>>  teeth? Is it even possible to adjust to engage the teeth more or less?
>> 
>> 
>>  Thanks
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