3G headlight retractor acting up...????
 

i did a search for headlight and retractor but came up with nothing. so, we are going through my dad's old 86 TA and trying to sort out all the little problems and get everything working right and looking right.

so, what happens is, the headlight/s dont want to raise when you turn the switch on. so, when you begin to turn the motor manually under the hood, the motor kicks on after a few manual turns and raises the headlight like it should.

it seems like there is a switch circuit that is either worn or dirty and not making contact. the headlight motor is not getting a signal/power/current to energize the motor and raise the headlight to its pre-determined stop, which is indicated by whatever contact points are inside the motor.

are these contacts inside the motor itself and the most likely culprit or would it be another problem located somewhere else?

the headlight switch seems to work by turning the lights on and getting one of the lights to pop up. since at least one of the lights pops up on its own, and the other when you "kickstart" the other motor, id say the headlight relay is also good. the only thing left in the circuit would be the motors themselves right?

what do you think?

thanks
chris

Re: 3G headlight retractor acting up...wtf?
 

This used to happen on my 84 all the time..

Here's the deal (at least on the 84 model): There are three "headlamp actuator relays" under the hood. There is one that controls the driver's side actuator, one that controls the passenger side actuator, and one that controls both of those actuator relays, (a "master relay" of sorts). If one even gets close to water, it'll short out and you have to buy another. I think they're all around $8.

I'm not entirely sure how my friend's dad would diagnose which exact relay would fail (when it did fail), but he did. My advice to you would be to shell out the $24 from the dealer and get all three replaced. Then tape them up with electrical tape good and tight and you shouldn't have to replace them for awhile. But make sure when you're at the dealership that they have the diagram laid out on their computer in order to give you the right relay(s).

Hope this helps.