headlights go up when turned off (with new gears)

[jim2000]

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[Junkman2008]

Originally Posted by jim2000

... Could this be a headlight control module, replay, or bad ground issue, or could I have put it back together wrong (left out parts, etc...)? I hope someone can help me figure this out! Thank you!

Bingo, fixed it for ya'.

Okay, let me guess. You made the first cardinal sin that I tell guys never to do, which is you took both headlights apart at the same time, correct?

[jim2000]

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[Junkman2008]

That depends. I need to try and see what you're seeing through posting. Hopefully I can get a clear picture that way. If not, we'll need to talk on the phone.

WARNING: Before you do ANY more work on the lights, take the following precaution. Manually raise the headlights and then unplug the gray power harness that controls the headlight motors, located just behind the headlights.



Failure to do this when working inside the cavity of your headlights can result in a very nasty hand injury. Even if the car is turned off with the keys removed, the headlights WILL CLOSE AUTOMATICALLY AFTER 15 MINUTES. This is BY DESIGN to save the battery if you accidentally leave something powered up in the car. Do NOT work on your headlights without doing this first. You've been warned!

The very first thing that I need to know is whether or not you have HID's. Answer me that. The second thing I want you to check for are the bump stops. There are 4 of them per headlight. Look at the pictures below.





Make sure that all 8 of yours are present. If they are, pull each one off and flip it over. The headlights will not work correctly if these bump stops are worn or missing.

If everything is still not working, move to the headlight module under the passenger's side headlight assembly (pay no attention to the text in the picture).



COMPLETELY unplug BOTH connectors that plug into that module. Then plug the connectors back in again. Make SURE that they are fully seated.

If one of those things does not fix the problem, we'll go from there.

[Vettmann17]

Since your buckets operate normally while the engine is running perhaps you simply have a weak battery. Have your battery checked and replaced if needed. Weak batteries often make weird things happen with these cars, so since they close while the car is running, a weak battery would make sense since the computer doesnt get the correct voltage reported from the lights thinking a light is bad and keeping the buckets up. I hope it's a simple as that, good luck.

[Junkman2008]

Originally Posted by Vettmann17

Since your buckets operate normally while the engine is running perhaps you simply have a weak battery. Have your battery checked and replaced if needed. Weak batteries often make weird things happen with these cars, so since they close while the car is running, a weak battery would make sense since the computer doesnt get the correct voltage reported from the lights thinking a light is bad and keeping the buckets up. I hope it's a simple as that, good luck.

You would be 100% correct... if he has HID's. That's why I asked. If he doesn't, I have never seen a weak battery cause this issue with stock lights. The may go up and down slower, but not go one way and not the other. If there is enough juice to open them, there's enough juice to close them.

[Junkman2008]

So what's the story on this OP?

[jim2000]

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[Junkman2008]

Just an FYI, you need to check back a LOT quicker to your threads. If a person waits 2 months to respond, I get board and move on.

Two questions. How did you know what fuses to check if you don't have the service manual? Two, your overall problem could very well be the multifunction switch. A Tech II could easily verify that.

[jim2000]

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[jim2000]

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[Junkman2008]

Originally Posted by jim2000

Hi Junkman2008...

I do apologize for the lapse in my response, but an unforeseen event caused me to be unable to deal with my car until now. I very much appreciate any advice you can give me to fix this issue.

To answer your questions, the fuses I checked were under the hood, and the plastic cover indicated which fuses where for the fog lights. I have checked every fuse under the hood and in the passenger foot well with a test light, and they are all good. I was not sure if there was a known relation of the fogs lights not working intermittently and my headlight issue.

That's why you need the service manual. You can't trouble-shoot electrical problems with this car unless you know for a fact, what is connected to what. You don't know the history of your car OR the technical ability of the previous owners. I seen some hack-ass repairs done to these cars by people who couldn't afford them or people who didn't car because they were going to sell it. You could be a victim of both so you need the service manual so that you can check things out properly.

One thing that you cannot check out by looking at the fuses is the headlight control module, which is located on the passenger's side headlight. There's where the service manual pays for itself if you know how to read a schematic.

Originally Posted by jim2000

I am sorry for the dumb question, but what is a Tech II? I have a friend with a scanner that can pull codes. Is this the same thing?

Not even close. A Tech II is a diagnostic tool capable of reading data about the car directly from the on-board computers. Data like misfires and idle rate, cam position and host of other stuff. The Tech II can send commands such as raising a headlight and lowering it. It is the tool that GM technicians use to trouble-shoot problems with your car, IF they know what they are doing.

Originally Posted by jim2000

I thought at one point that the multifunction switch may be causing the issue of the lights going up instead of down, but from what I read, the multifunction switch is completely bypassed electrically when the twilight setting is set to "on", so it should not affect the headlights from closing properly. Do you know if this is correct or not? Also, I have done countless hours of searching, and I cannot find anyone with this same problem. Of course, I find many people that have issues with the lights not going down, but no one stating that they go up when turned off.

With all that said, I'm going to send you right back to the work you did on the headlights. As I posted earlier, the bump stops can easily affect this problem. You never did address that suggestion that I posted months ago. Did you follow that advice? Also, as Vettmann17 posted, now I'm curious about the battery in your car. Exactly who's battery is in your car and what are the CCA and the RC values?

Originally Posted by jim2000

As you mentioned before, if one of the lights were burned out, the bucket would remain open when turned off.

Where did I say that? I don't remember saying that???

Originally Posted by jim2000

If there was a short in the bulb itself, would that cause the buckets to stay open?

The bulbs don't have anything to do with the bucket operation.

Originally Posted by jim2000

Do you know if ONE of the bulbs were burned out, would it cause BOTH buckets to stay open or just the ONE bucket with the bulb out? I just cant seem to figure out what would make the motor run in reverse like this, and I hope that you can help me figure this out! Thank you in advance!

Answered above. Now YOU need to make sure that you answer EVERY question that I asked in my post. So before you hit the post button, ensure that EVERY question is answered.

[jim2000]

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[Junkman2008]

I haven't responded yet because I am still working on possible solutions (along with other member's issues). Stay tuned.

[jim2000]

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