Sab

OK, my headlight assembly overextends, which makes the lights come out all the way and then the lights tilt back up sightly.
I examined the mechanism and all seems to be in good order. I think the arm on the motor is supposed to rotate exactly 180 degrees, but mine travels 9 out of 10 times further then that and the lights point slightly towards the sky.

Is there a mechanical stop that I am missing or is the motor assembly shot?

Sab

Does anyone know what makes the headlight motor stop at the top position?

hacker-pschorr

I always thought it would be fun to drive around with the headlights on in the fully tilted back position.

Mrmerlin

take out the headlight relay, its the big one.
Remove the cover and clean the internal contacts and refit the relay to the CE panel

FBIII

"I always thought it would be fun to drive around with the headlights on in the fully tilted back position."
After I hit a horse my passenger side headlight projected at about a 45 degree angle.

Sab

I swapped the relay and no change in behavior. The motor arm still overshoots the final position and the headlights retract about 15 degrees....

It is no fun to drive like that at night. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Mrmerlin

try cleaning the internal contacts on the one you removed and please report.
If this is still no good then what was the last thing you fixed

Stylemobile

There is an arm tha extends from the back of the headlamp assembly that engages a socket. If this pops out, your headlights will still rotate up but will finish slightly high with the light not quite on the road. With the headlamps retracted, push down with about 5 pounds of force at the base of the glass headlamp. If you feel it either snap back into place or if it feels loose and not positively engaged, that aspect needs addressing. With headlights extended (turn key on, turn on headlights, turn key off) remove the headlight bucket (3 screws). The socket receiver is the usual suspect. Look in from the side at the bottom of the assembly. Don't be afraid to wiggle the assembly top to bottom to note it's behavior with regards to it's being solid or loose. It is a group of split tines that receive the ball end of that arm. If a few tabs are broken, a quick fix is a zip tie. close the zip tie so you make a small lasso. put it on over the arm, engage the arm into the socket and pull the zip tie tight.

I know this is an aged problem for you by now but if anyone is searching the forum for a similar problem, my two cents worth may help.

Cheers,

Allen