My driver side headlight is stuck in the up position. I just bought the car on saturday and the guy I bought it from said it's been like that since he got it. Any insight is much appreciated. It's a 90, if it matters.
there is a small electric motor/servo which opens and closes the headlight on each side, and also has an adjustment knob (red). Do you hear the motor running that moves the headlight when you turn them on/off?
if you can't see and hear them while you turn the switch on/off get another person to turn them on/off while you watch and listen closely..
could be a fuse blown if that don't work,, mine have never gone bad and are the orignal, so unless it was in an accident, I would think they would still all be good....
365,000 miles..
1989 Corolla SR5
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1989 Toyota Corolla SR5, Carb.
1993 Camry LE
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either the motor is dead or disconnected OR the relay is burnt... wait, only one side does not go down? I can't remember if there's a relay for each one.
So I got a headlight motor, (thx 90gp) now I need to know how to get the bar that attaches the motor to the light off. Do I need some kind of special tool? Im lost on this one. Think I might take it to a toyota dealer around here, maybe they will know how to get it apart. They will probably tell me that they have no idea how to fix it seeing how the car is older than most of the ppl who work there, and it's built better than any of the new ones. Any ideas??
Just a guess but it may simply pop off. I wouldn't try forcing it however. Any chance it has a small clip at the end of rod that holds it in place? Checking with the dealer isn't a bad idea. If you want to hit a good one drive to D. Joseph in Kent and ask at the parts dept. They are usually helpful . Hope your problem isn't a relay issue instead of the motor acting up.
thanks for the help 90. i could hook up the power to the new motor and turn the lights on and off, that would tell me right away if it's the relay. if it is the relay, im screwed right?
Called the dealer in Kent and talked to a guy in parts who says if it were the relay, it would affect both lights. As far as getting that "bar thing" off, they say I should be able to pop it off with a flathead if I'm careful. We'll see.
I had the same problem on mine. All you need to do to test and see if it is the motor first is to plug the line into the new motor and have someone see if the motor is turning when you flip on the headlight. If it turns then it is the motor if not then you have another issue. To remove the rod you just tug on it and it pops off. there arent any clips holding it in place.
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Glad to hear the relay covers both lights. Unless you have a bad/corroded connection at the electrical plug that should rule out anything electrical. Maybe you could use a pair of vice grips to clamp on rod near where it connects to motor(if there's room) and use screwdriver to gently pry it off.
I found this info on how to operate the headlights manually. Might want to check to see if previous owner put it in manual mode . Assume the fuse is in the fusebox under the hood.
MANUAL OPERATION OF RETRACTABLE HEADLIGHTS
The retractable headlights can be manually operated if their electrical mechanism fails. To raise or lower the lights, Turn the ignition and headlight switches OFF and pull out the "RTR MTR 30A'' fuse. Unless the power is disconnected, there is a danger of the headlights suddenly retracting. Remove the rubber cover from the manual operation knob (under the hood next to the headlight unit) and turn the knob clockwise. Manual operation should only be used if the system has failed; be sure to check the electrical operation of the lights as soon as possible. When the headlights are retracted, they should match the silhouette of the vehicle body.
yeah there is a knob that you can turn to raise/lower the lights on each side but the right side works fine. think i've got it licked. the rod was my biggest worry, but it makes sense that it would just pop off with a little finesse. I had the same info in my chilton manual about raising/lowering the lights, but nothing about taking the whole assembly apart. funny, that book will tell you how to basically disassemble the whole damn car, except the pop up headlight assembly.
Chilton's and Haynes can be very vague on some service procedures which makes no sense at all. Guess the only way to get all that info is the factory service manual .
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