I have a 98 Firebird. Today it was raining and turned on headlights and heard a weird noise. The headlights pop up and work, but when I shut them they close and make a rattling noise. Also when I use the remote they open and shut and make the noise. That has never happened before. Also now when I turn on the parking lights the head lights pop up,there not on . But is very confusing. Is this a short in the system ? The noise is mainly on the drivers side. Is my head light motor going bad ? They seam to open and shut okay,I can't understand the rattling noise. Thanks for any replys

The rattling noise might be because one of the screws in the plastic housing came loose - causing the plastic to be unsecure and rub against everything as the light is going up and down. Have you taken a good look for something like that? Otherwise, I'm not sure why the headlights are popping up with your dims...

I have a 98 Firebird. Today it was raining and turned on headlights and heard a weird noise. The headlights pop up and work, but when I shut them they close and make a rattling noise. Also when I use the remote they open and shut and make the noise. That has never happened before. Also now when I turn on the parking lights the head lights pop up,there not on . But is very confusing. Is this a short in the system ? The noise is mainly on the drivers side. Is my head light motor going bad ? They seam to open and shut okay,I can't understand the rattling noise. Thanks for any replys
had thesame proble with my 98 ta you have a bad headlight motor i am 100% sure mine did the same thing. pgreen1@quik.com

I had the same prolem w/ my 97 T/A. All it is, is the motor gear. All u have to do is take the motor out, take it apart and you will see the plastic gear and 1 side of the teeth stripped. Turn the gear so that the teeth on the other side is in contact with the motor. This will fix the problem with out you having to spend around 200 dollars on a new motor.

It's definitely your headlight motor. I have a 1998 Firebird with 30,000 miles & have had to replace both sides already. Price for part & installation is around 260.00.

It's the headlight gear and even if you open the motor to switch the gear to the side with the good teeth it will eventually mess up again. The best thing to do is to order them from rodney dickman. They run around 80.00 for both gears. Even though you are only having problems with one the other will more likely go out in a matter of time.

I found some gears on ebay for 12.50...for plastic kind

and 39.00 for bronze...

:)

You sound like me 3 months ago. For sure headlight motor. Mine was left side you can find a motor for reasonable price on ebay. The hardest part of all this is trying to realign the headlight so it doesnt hit your hood so watch for that. PS: Mine also did it when i used my remote and that noise was so horrible. Mine also happened after raining. Dont replace gears just get the whole assembly you will have to splice in the wires but thats easy. Good Luck I have a 99

Dont replace gears just get the whole assembly you will have to splice in the wires but thats easy. Good Luck I have a 99
Dude if your gonna say not to do something ...you should always explain yourself....

We all would like to put a brand new motor in...

but if the problem can be fixed by just buying a gear to replace....for 12.50 why not!

I tried to replace gears on my Power antenna motor and the headlight motor and they never work after. I think i might screw up all the magnetic stuff or whatever but if u have experience and convidence then do the gears i guess

just used the side of the gear that has not been used.
The system only use 1/2 of it. How?

To start, place the headlights up position.

For those w/ big hands, you probably would need to
remove the plastic cover around the headlight. (very
easy)

Then, just need to unscrew the shaft nut the pull out
the raise/lower arm from the motor shaft.
http://www.bfranker.badz28.com/headlightfix/headli
ghtgear07.JPG

Then rotate the manual knob to any direction (15-20
times) in order to move the undamaged part of the
gear to an useful position.
http://www.bfranker.badz28.com/headlightfix/Light
1.JPG

Place the arm back to the shaft and check if is
working. If not rotate the manual knob another 10
time and check again.

Cost? $0.00

If it worked for me, why not for you.

The down side....................... eventually the gear
will f*** up again and then............. the only thing
you can do is to either replace the gear w/ one of
those metal ones or just change the entire motor.
For any of both choices, motor removal is necessary
and that is bi** to accomplish.

Guys think about it. Anything that flaps up and down will not last long. Yes the gears are bad. IF you really browse the internet you will find someone sells the bronze gears. This really fix the problem. The remote problem will also resolve if you replace the gear. Believe me after you replace the gears make sure you dont make a mistake by placing the light arm to the motor incorrectly orlese you will strip the white plastic stopper and the light will not open and damage the arm to the gear. Good luck.