65 headlight will not sleep

[JIMMY ROGGENBUCK]

I have been working on my headlight on drivers side and it will not turn the light down on that side. I have moved it down manually and it comes up just fine it just has to be manually put back down by the turn knob. I looked through the archives and did not see this problem. The ground should be good, since it goes one direction, the power is there and the other side works fine. It is not bound up it moves freely so before I remove and check the motor gear maybe a dead area? I thoght I would check for additional advise on additional options or trouble shootig

[Stephen L.]

Re: 65 headlight will not sleep

Sounds like the circuitry (motor winding for "open") is open for the direction that it won't rotate. I assume "down" means "closed". To check this out, disconnect the wiring at the motor. Using an ohm meter check for continuity between each wiring contact on the motor (there will be 2) and motor case (ground) I'll venture to say that only one will show continuity and the other is an open circuit. If they both show continuity then you have a wiring problem in the harness some place between the point where the wiring branches to the particuliar motor.... you could also be suffering from corrosion on the contacts for the faulty motor. Try unplugging... check the connector and clean as required.... reinstall and try the motor electrically for operation.

[Gordon Peterson #4961]

Re: 65 headlight will not sleep

I'll bet when all is said and done here, you will have pulled the motors, opened the gearboxes, cleaned out all the hardened grease (literally, it gets to be like hard plastic in some areas), and re-lubed it. I've had to do this twice in my 32 years of ownership of my car. In both cases, the symptom started out as the housing either not operating or operating very slowly. After the re-lube, they'll pop up and down for another 15 years.

But I guess it's a good idea to check everything else first!

Pete