Headlamp Lift Motor Not Working

[NoahR]

Hi All,

Unfortunately, the driver's side headlamp lift motor has stopped working on my 1991 Elan SE. It will wind up and down by hand, so I assume that means it's not a gearing issue. I have checked both the fuse and the terminal the motor connects to using a multimeter to isolate - both are fine.

Would this mean that the issue is directly with the motor, or is there anything else I should check out? I have seen one video of someone saying they changed the bushes in the motor, but is a motor rebuild normally an option, or would buying a new one be the next step?

Thanks in advance.

Cheers.

[Tuga2112]

From what i have seen others mention (and personal experience in some cases)

the most common pod lift failure reasons are in the following order

1 - nylon cilinders inside the motor gearing damage and end up crushed to dust (different degrees of damage show different symptoms)
2 - pod lift module failure (usually only affects one side, but its not unheard of affecting both because of previous bad "repairs" )
3 - nylon gear inside the motor failure (craking and breaking into 2 pieces)
4 - instalation of LED bulbs without the required additional paralell resistor
5 - incorrectly setup the rods for the level mechanism (adding too much strain to the movement and the computer stops them from opening)
6 - pod delay module failure (not your problem)
7 - damaged/detached or inverted polarity wiring

i have never heard, or seen someone refering to the motor brushes wearing out, or any internal component of the motors themselfs being the issue.

given your description i would suggest to diagnose with specific focus on 1,2,3,5 in that order

theres mentions in the forum about these. but specifically 1 is FAR more common than all the others..

[Steve A]

Sometimes it's possible to wind the pod up by hand, but fail when trying to do it electrically. But in this case you should be able to detect the nylon internals faltering or skipping until they find grip. When you try electrically, can you see the manual knob turn ?

[chrism]

I think I've heard Tuga's 3 nylon cylinders (that you might have seen in the video in) referred to as 'bushes'.

You can buy pairs expensive replacement kits but after I did one of mine from the remains of a kit from a previous owner I bought a length of plasticky rod that I can chop 1cm lengths off...

[dapinky]

....... I bought a length of plasticky rod that I can chop 1cm lengths off...

Yep, being from a USA version of a GM product it is a non-metric dimension, but as either 10mm or 12mm will work (one a bit loose, and 1 a bit tight) I ascertained that the little white bits were made from 7/16" nylon bar (11.3mm)....... it can be hard to find Imperial diameter bar in the UK, but there are often a few listings on ebay and plenty of other websites.

[NoahR]

Thank you all for the info and advice.

The knob on the motor doesn't turn at all when I turn the headlights on from the switch in the car, however, it spins smoothly without issue when I wind it up and down by hand.

[Tuga2112]

The knob on the motor doesn't turn at all when I turn the headlights on from the switch in the car, however, it spins smoothly without issue when I wind it up and down by hand.

#2 and #5 seem more likely. i would try adjusting (or compeltly detaching) the rods to completely rule out the possibility of 5 as a diagnosis step

[NoahR]

Update/Fix:

Just a quick update for anyone reading this down the line. - A firm bash with my hand sorted the issue out a while ago, and I haven't had any issues since.

I imagine there was some sort of loose electrical connection somewhere.