Peter F

My driverside headlight adjustment motor makes a very fast klicking noise when i switch on the parking light and still makes the same when I continue to raise and switch on the headlights.
Is the motor faulty or do I need to look into something else here?
Anyone else experiencing something similar?
How do I remove the motor and where is the connector to it so I can shut it up until replaced?(If that is what it takes)

/Peter

928Myles

Peter,
My understanding of the system:
Later cars:
There are two motors associated with the (ROW) headlights - the main one that raises & lower the headlights and a smaller one that sits inside the cradle below each headlignt that allows for you to adjust aim 'on the fly'.

The main motor is located in front of the radiator opposite to the PS reservoir. This doesn't sound like your problem.

The individual adjustment motors sit in the cast cradle that supports the headlight. These are attached to the cradle by a couple of tabs.

To get them out you need to remove the cradle (unplug wires, remove wheel liner & remove two ?5mm? allen bolts from underneath the cradle, then rotate the motor anti-clockwise & pull out.

The electric plug for the motor is easy to see with the wheel liner removed so unplugging is easy.

These motors have a plastic gear inside & adjust by a variable resitor.

'Alan' gave me a lot of information in a post I made earlier this year - a search for that post may be helpful (under my username).

Earlier cars:
The aiming mechanism is vacuum controlled - doesn't sould like your problem.

Cheers,
Myles

Alan

Peter - sounds like you have a fault in the system. I had one motor that constantly hunted due to a broken link to the potentiometer - in fact the potentiometer can just drop off the linkage to the shaft so it can possibly be a simple fix.

Myles described the situation accurately - you must go in via the wheel well to get this out - you have to remove the headlight and the headlight yoke to get the motor out.

When out the motor can be diassembled & reassembled successfully. The face comes off via small tabs at the sides. there is an O ring - don't loose it - the mechanism is pretty clear when you are inside.

My repaired motor is working fine still after 3-4 years.

Alan

OJ GTS

I had a similar squirrelly sound from my headlight adjuster after the front wing received a whack in a Pub car park which, based on Alans post, probably broke the link in the potentiometer

I had it unplugged and manually adjusted, the adjuster switch didn't work anyway

Peter F

Hi guys,

thanks a million for good directions and great pictures Alan
My motor was hunting a bit last season and now it got a whole lot worse.....
I actually pulled the electrical connector for the time since it was really loud.
Went ahead and ordered a new motor and will replace it when back home from the US week after next.
I will open the old motor and see if it can be repaired, might come in useful when other side decides to give up

Thanks again for great replies!

/Peter

VCat

A hunt of the old threads has revealed this solution to a gem of a problem I noticed when cleaning my headlamps.

Thanks Alan!

fonetico

I seem to have this problem.

It means the motor is constantly spinning whenever the lights are on. I suspect it's about to expire as it's literally screaming at me now.

Until I get a chance to take the thing apart, does anyone know how to disable it as a temporary measure? I've disconnected the switch but that has no effect.

Does the relay XXIII-XXIV play a part in this?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Alan

HL relay is not involved - this system is quite independent it operates whenever the marker lights are on.

See the flat black connector I posted - behind the CE panel (fish it out from behind - likely no need to remove the panel itself) - unplug it.

This is rather less work than taking a wheel/splash shield and wheel liner off to unplug the connector at the motor. However that is what you will have to do next to repair it. BTW in case it wasn't clear earlier - you MUST remove the HL and HL yoke to get the adjuster motor out.

If the motor still moves I think its likely to be repairable.

Also once repaired you have to manually set the aim equivalancy to the other side (assuming that one is still right) via the manual screw feature of the adjuster end, after that they will track together.

Alan

fonetico

Brilliant, a simple fix at last. Thanks.

Looks like a lot of wires attached to that connector though. Can you tell what else I'm disconnecting?

Alan

It does also disconnect the alarm horn (will not audibly alert - though the alarm stays functional and WILL still disable ignition), the main horn stays active. It also disconnects the hood contact from the alarm (so will not trigger when the hood is opened). The hood switch -> cooling fan after-runnning disable interlock stays active - so no loss of that safety feature.

I figured you'd never notice these - and of course this should be just a temporary fix. If you have a decent jack getting to the motor isn't too time consuming.

Alan

fonetico

Eternally grateful.