99 Trans Am headlights out of sync

[danielh85]

I recently rebuilt a headlight motor for the passenger side headlight but when I reinstalled it they are out of sync now. I tried manually lowering and raising the lights but that doesn't work either. Tried switching module with another but same effect.

[Cutlass]

Out of sync how? like one is up and the other is down when they should both be up or both be down?

[Spaz]

he means when he turns the lights on they don't both pop up at the same time...

[danielh85]

like cutlass said. when lights are on driver side is up and passenger side is down and vise versa.

[TokerM]

That sounds like backwards wiring?

[danielh85]

no wiring was changed. just unplugged the power to the motor and headlights. you can only put the connector in one way. this is someone else's car. i had the same problem with mine. mine where out of sync at first but flipping the lights up and down a few times. the lights went back in sync by themselves.

[TokerM]

Seeing as I don't have those fancy peek-a-boo headlights, I'm not sure how the motors are mounted, but...

If they are mounted in a "mirror image" fashion, then one motor needs to be wired opposite the other. As that's an internal motor thing, I would assume there should be a different motor model #'s for drivers/passenger.

If its mounted the same both sides, but the output shaft is on opposite sides, then... you got me...

[danielh85]

the motors are the same but the shafts are facing opposite directions

[Cutlass]

did you change the headlamp opening motor itself? Or what exactly did you do when you rebuilt the headlamp?

[danielh85]

i rebuild the "MOTOR" that lifts the headlights. there is a circle piece that is glued over the gear to hold it in place. you have to take this off to get to the gear inside. the gear was stripped, so i had to get a new one. replaced the circle piece with epoxy. reinstalled the motor just how i removed it. now when lights are turned on, one light is up and the other is down and vice versa when the lights are turned off.

[cpop98ws6]

I'm having the same problem, did ever find anything out?

[richberube]

I realize this is an old thread but I am having the same issue, headlights our of sync. I replaced both motors and now they will not open together or close together. When turning them on, the driver side opens with the light on and the passenger side does not open but the light is on. When I shut the light off, the driver side goes down with the light off and the passenger side comes up with the light off. I thought it was the linkage but that does not seem to be the case. I ordered another replacement motor and the same thing happened. I thought the wiring was backwards but guess not.

[SMWS6TA]

Check the grounds.

[richberube]

SMWS6TA, Thanks for the advice. I figured it out late last night. It turned out that the wires on the plug to the actuator motor needed to be reversed. I took apart the plug, pushed the pins out and reverse them and reinserted into the plug. It worked. I was in contact with Cardone support to help with this. They provided the schematic that showed the pinout description on the plug. Not sure how this happened but it did. This was the second motor I tried and believe the first one was wired wrong as well. Before I switched the wires, found a Headlight Control Module at a salvage yard, installed it and the same thing happened. I wanted to see if it was the module vs. the wiring. So I would suggest checking the wiring first for those who have this problem. If anyone is looking for a Headlight Control Module, I have one