Pop up headlights don't pop....up!

[Black Beauty]

Evening all,

Not used the headlights all summer and come to use them tonight and they don't pop up.

Things i know, the lights are on, the fuse is ok. Clarks garage mentions a relay, but didn't think there was one?

All pointers appreciated

Spence

 

[alwigley]

I think the relay is mounted on the raise/lower motor...... likely to be nothing more than a dodgy connection - I would get the bonnet up and wiggle/wd40 the motor connections, along with giving the manual adjuster a turn to see if the motor kicks in, but remember to keep your fingers clear of the mechanism unless the battery is disconnected as they kick in very quick and will trap unwary fingers in a second !

 

[Mike_Pollock]

Theres a 5 or 6 way connector near the motor that sometimes gives trouble and a relay somewhere there. Unplug and replug is likely to work.

 

[Black Beauty]

I wiggled the plug and relay, but lights didn't move. So i turned the manual adjuster with the fuse out and they came up with no issue, so is it likely to be motor or relay? Anything else i can check?

Ta

 

[pauljmcnulty]

Loose connections or chaffed wiring are common; it's 25 year-old cable and has been flexed so many times with the pop-up system, let alone being in the engine compartment with all that heat and damp.

Please be careful though, the motor really can hurt if it kicks in whilst you're wiggling wires. I'd always pull the fuse. []

 

[924nutter]

Underneath the rubber cover is indeed the lift lower realy. It is likely,but not guaranteed, to be that if the handwheel raises the lights smoothly, and as you say the fuse is intact. Stick (not literally) a meter across the feed wires to the motor to check for continuity. A carbon brush could have stuck in its holder due to corrosion in the either brass or copper brush holder, especially if the rubber boot is not completely sealed or has cracked with age. I take on board Paul's comments about flexing conductors, but I believe that the mechanism and its 12v suplly do not flex. Now if it was one or both of the beams not illuminating, even with good fuses and a new lamp, then Paul's suggestion would be the first place I would look as I have had a dip beam wire break on my old 944S and a main beam wire break on my 924T.

 

[simdel1]

The previous suggestions are the most likely culprits. However, I had this issue when my battery was on the way out. A new battery sorted it for me. It could just have been coincidental though..