Mid year headlight bucket and headlight motor question

[Jef S.]

So i finally got the headlights to open and close. At last some kind of small victory. Is there a way to adjust the speed at which they operate to get them to operate together? And what is happening inside the left bucket when it wins the race to close while the right bucket moseys to the closed postion are the gears attempting to self destruct?

[Harry S.]

Re: Mid year headlight bucket and headlight motor question

So i finally got the headlights to open and close. At last some kind of small victory. Is there a way to adjust the speed at which they operate to get them to operate together? And what is happening inside the left bucket when it wins the race to close while the right bucket moseys to the closed position are the gears attempting to self destruct?

Jef, there is no adjustment for speed. They probably never closed at the same time but were about a second apart. The usual cause of a slow motor is either both or one of the following. 1) the grease in the gear area had hardened to the point where it restricts motor movement and/or 2) the main gear in the motor has been damaged and needs to be replaced. As I recall the gear is about $25.00.

Both of these items can easily be fixed by you as it is a straight forward repair. Good Luck.

[Paul J.]

Re: Mid year headlight bucket and headlight motor question

Jef, there was thread on this a couple of days ago.

https://www.forums.ncrs.org/showthre...-will-not-turn

Here is the rebuild procedure.

https://www.ncrs.org/qc/Seminars/MidYearHeadlightsSeminar2011.pdf

Paul

[Joseph U.]

Re: Mid year headlight bucket and headlight motor question

Jef,
I just did the rebuild and it was simple. For me the hardest part was getting the gear out which was jammed in. If you have a problem I would suggest a rebuild before they get ground together and jammed in as mine were.
Really an easy fix. The motor gears are $26.50 at CC.
Joe

[Jef S.]

Re: Mid year headlight bucket and headlight motor question

Yes gear replacement solved problems. They still sort of mosey on up and mosey on down at thier own pace though

[Carl B.]

Re: Mid year headlight bucket and headlight motor question

Also possible frozen or almost frozen pivot balls

[Frank D.]

Re: Mid year headlight bucket and headlight motor question

Unless you do the Detroit Speed electronic headlight motor conversion the lights buckets will always seem lazy....its part of the adorable aspects of these cars. They will never be 'snappy' in operation...in original form...

I haven't dug into the threads cited but there is a preload adjustment you do not normally have to mess with, but, if its too tight it can affect motor operational speed... Its a long shot that that is your issue...

[Jim D.]

Re: Mid year headlight bucket and headlight motor question

Yes gear replacement solved problems. They still sort of mosey on up and mosey on down at thier own pace though

When you removed the motors, how did the buckets rotate? When everything is adjusted correctly, it should take ZERO effort to rotate the buckets. If they move freely, then your issue lies with the motors or wiring. Since you already replaced the gears and re-lubed everything, either the brushes/commutator are worn/dirty or there's a resistance issue in your wiring. The headlights should open and close within 1 second of each other and do it quickly, approx. 3-4 seconds. DO NOT use the armature adjustment screw to change the speed of the motor. It should be adjusted so that there is a very slight free end movement of the armature. There should be NO pre-load against the armature. I rebuilt my first set of these motors over 40 years ago and have dozens of them since, including the ones I rebuilt just last month.

[Frank D.]

Re: Mid year headlight bucket and headlight motor question

As to the second part of your question; the limit switches do not 'turn off' the current; they are dash warning light triggers. So yes the closer you can get the two motors to run the better and 'hanging' on the dash button longer than necessary is not good either.

[Timothy B.]

Re: Mid year headlight bucket and headlight motor question

Where is the best place to purchase the pot metal gears, I have a issue with my 67 motor and want to remove and overhaul this winter.

[Richard M.]

Re: Mid year headlight bucket and headlight motor question

Where is the best place to purchase the pot metal gears, I have a issue with my 67 motor and want to remove and overhaul this winter.

Tim I'd think they all come from the same source. Last pair I got from Zip last year were fine.

Earlier repros were not to spec and caused a bind when tightening the covers, so I suggest buy new stock from suppliers and not NORS from any other sources.

Rich
ps BTW this thread is nearly 3 years old

[Frank D.]

Re: Mid year headlight bucket and headlight motor question

Where is the best place to purchase the pot metal gears, I have a issue with my 67 motor and want to remove and overhaul this winter.

Long Island Corvette has everything you need. Never hurts to buy new nylon motor bushings too part number 04-35. The gear is number is 04-47R. Best to disassemble your motors first so you know everything you need before ordering...

Haven't been doing it for 40 years but I've had some motors apart that were missing the curved washer for instance....part number 04-55..