OlberJ

Hi folks, sorry to bring this up as i know it's an oft asked question but i am off on a trip on Fri and headlights are a must.

I've looked over threads discussing the light issues etc but need a little clarification.

Car is a 90 s4 auto, uk car.

The headlights work when raised manually but you can hear a motor running under the right hand lamp constantly (adjuster motor? Electric at this age?).

The lights lower on their own but only raise half way and seem to stick, then needs manually raised a little and they pop up.

Bar turns correct way towards the front of the car and bolt is tight, c clips present.

The relay i disassembled and cleaned. Assuming as the lights work, that's ok?

The motor i disassembled and cleaned the tracks.

The only things left are the bar not located correctly on the spindle or the switch? Would a bad switch give the above symptoms?

If the lights are up and the switch is in the on position, where should the bar be located?


Thanks in advance, if we could nail this I'd be a very happy boy.

Olie

928Myles

Olie,
I can't help with most of the issues but you are correct that the motor running continuously under the RH lamp is the adjuster motor. I have one I need to change out on my car but I have found that if I turn the rod that the motor connects to the light with a couple of turns (it has a Phillips head) then the motor usually behaves for some time after.
Be careful of the little white plastic clip it goes into. This should have a black plastic hat that needs to be pried off the clip before removing the rod (and of course needs to be pried back on to re-assemble). This can all be done with the headlight on the car.
You will need to adjust the aim once you have done this.

Hope it helps.
Myles

OlberJ

Cheers Myles, that's the motor underneath accessed from the wheel well right?

hagen454

If the motor keeps running and the headlights stop part way up it's because the motor gear is missing a couple of teeth. They are made of plastic and once the motor keeps running they are toast. Same thing happened to mine. Until I got a replacement motor I just kept the headlights in the up position and unplugged the motor. The headlights will work normal and you wont burn out the motor. You can go about business as usual.

OlberJ

That's the main headlight motor you mean?

I've had it in pieces to clean the tracks and the teeth looked ok. Or you mean the adjuster motor?

I'll disconnect them both for trip if i have to.


Thanks folks.

hagen454

I meant the main motor. I am not sure how much they differ Euro Vs. U.S . My car only has one motor.

What I did was take my motor apart and inside was where the gears were stripped. Sorry if my comment only confused the situation. At the very least you should not miss your trip because of the headlight motor. The only inconvenience should be going around looking like a shark to looking like a frog w/ the headlights deployed.

Matt

OlberJ

If i can unplug the motor and manually raise them at night I'll do that.

The adjustment motor (for when you're carrying a big load) runs on and off constantly "hunting" under the right hand light when the lights are on. If i can unplug that too I'll do just that.

928Myles

That's correct. A bit of a PITA to get to, hence why I havn't done mine yet.

Myles

hagen454

Sounds like the S4 is different from the OB S that I have. Mine only has the one motor. Hope your trip goes well. I just put 600 miles on mine this past weekend and got to hang out with some of the local shark guys from rennlist. Had a blast.
:cheers
Matt

OlberJ

Ok I'll disconnect main motor and adjuster motor tomorrow and see how we go.

Managed to blow both low beams today too (fuses ok) so will get them replaced too.

Appreciate your help guys and should be quite the trip, line up sits at :

- 10 991 GT3s
- 1 993 TurboS
- 1 997 GT3RS’s
- 2 997 GT3
- 1 996 C2S
- 1 Boxter Spyder
- 1 GT2
- 1 928
- 1RUF RgT (or another GT2!)
- 1 Ferrari 360
- 1 Ferrari 430
- 1 Lotus Elise
- 1 Lotus Evora
- 1 Audi TTrs
- 1 C63 AMG
- 1 Range Rover

AirtekHVAC

The euros have an adjustment for raising and lowering the angle a little bit.....on the OBs, it is hydraulic, on the newer, electric...

My US OB somehow squeaked into the U.S. With the hydraulic system in it.....non working.....I have no knowledge of the electric system

Good luck, and let us know what you find as the cure.