RHD S2 passenger headlamp pod issue

[BarryDalHerbert]

My RHD S2 has a curious passenger side headlamp pod problem. Every so often the pod does not lift, and once this has happened it never lifts again until I turn the manual pod lifting knob anticlockwise by the merest amount. Then it is OK until the next time that it is not – which doesn’t appear to be related to either elapsed time or the number of times the pod has been raised.

I’ve watched Toby’s REPAIRING THE HEADLIGHT MOTOR ON THE LOTUS ELAN M100 YouTube video and read the LEC’s headlamp pod message threads, so I know about the three plastic dowels that disintegrate, but this does not seem to be a problem associated with that failure, if only because the pod does work as advertised for 20, 30, or more times before having a hissy fit, and it does so just like the other one - without any hesitation or stuttering.

When the passenger pod does not lift:
* Neither the lighting switch or the headlamp flasher switch have the desired effect.
* The light always comes on. Not much good with the pod closed!
* The manual pod lifting knob does not move at all, it certainly doesn’t spin.
* The driver’s pod behaves as required.

When I turn the manual pod lifting knob just a couple of degrees anti-clockwise, to begin with it is tight and then becomes completely free. It is as though the last time the pod closed the mechanism went fractionally past the correct resting point, leaving it in a state where there is too much resistance for the mechanism to overcome the next time that I want pods up.

I read the Lotus headlamp adjustment instructions, but there is nothing to suggest that there is a home or resting position.

All suggestions gratefully received…

BdH
Tuross Head NSW
9-Jan-21 18:47

[Fredjohn]

Despite your doubts it is not the 3 dowels, it probably is. The dowels or their remains get clogged inside the casing, causing inconsistent grip.

It's a cheap and easy job. Just fit new ones. If I'm wrong and it's something else, at least you know you have new dowels and can forget about them for several years.

[Saltire]

I guess the only other option might be that the gear wheel itself has been damaged in some way. With a couple of stripped teeth, you might get the symptoms you're describing.

Whatever, you'll only find out by removing and dismantling the headlamp motor

[TorqueHorse]

You could also look at the actuating link/rod and the connections to see if there is any excessive play. You could even disconnect the rod from the motor and manually have the light pod go through the range to see if you feel anything tight or hindering the movement. But I would concur too that it is probably the dowels, whose dust + the grease could act a bit like wet sand and get compacted to work(or bind) for a bit, then crumble, then get compacted again, etc.

[BarryDalHerbert]

To put the other bookend on this posting; as predicted by all, the problem with my left pod got worse to the point where the pod did not lift at all, so I had to investigate.

But because I was first working on the right headlamp, and it seemed fair to assume that pod would also begin to misbehave, I dismantled that motor first. And everything was perfect. Clearly this had been reconditioned in the recent past while in the vehicle’s previous owner’s care.

When I dismantled the left pod lift motor the problem was immediately apparent. That too had been reconditioned, but the buffoon who did the work did not refit the brass “top hat”, so this was allowing the white nylon gear wheel to ride up enough to disengage from the drive cog, but it was also able to slip back into place sufficiently to intermittently make the pod lift.

I made a replacement “top hat” that is certainly not of the same quality as the original, but it will still be working when the nylon lozenges crumble or I do (whichever comes first!).

I did take pictures of all of this, but they appear to have gone into the twilight zone, so the attachment shows images I edited from
The Lotus Elan M100 Restoration Series on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT7soO ... QTA/videos
Specifically: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTjPoKfafSY

BdH
Tuross Head NSW
Fri 29-Dec-23 21:04

[chrism]

Good news then, and now you know that both sets of those little dowels are good to go for a few more years
(Thanks for sharing the 'resolution'...) and Happy New Year.