Headlight Doors module broken

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pippo

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People,

1987 sunbird GT non turbo, headlight doors do not open. Did all the electronic checks in the shop manual, and all the terminals check out, and manual says if they check out it has to be the module. I am afraid it is hard to find a replacement. Could not find any on ebay. Has anyone found a way to bypass this module/make a homemade one? Maybe hard wire the terminal to open the doors?

Thanks, people.
 
Check the fuse , wires , connectors and the relay first , you can send the box to be repaired at this place , if it needs repair....( as per the Firebird forums )

Or you can open the box and look for loose solder connections.
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Doug in P.R. :cool:
 
Thanks, Doug. Can you describe where I would find the relay (if there is one for the module)? Why doesnt the shop manual mention it(?). I will check the fused tray under the dash, meanwhile. (unless theres another location for that one fuse).
 
Should be by the motors

Firebird diagram:

Doug in P.R.:p:cool:
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Looks to me that power is applied to both to open and close the doors, which means the motors go forward to open and reverse to close.
Not like the old days of vacumn assisted headlight doors.

Best bet is to send it out out for repair, and
apply power to the motors connector to get them to open and stay up untill you get the controller back.( or try manualy to get them to stay up)

Doug in P.R. :cool:
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From what I read in the manual , the the headlight switch triggers the module to apply a ground to the motors to activate, they have power all the time to the module.

So basicly, the module has 2 forward and 2 reversing relays.( 2 for each door )

Doug in P.R. :cool:
 
Right! BTW, I have those drawings in my (same) shop manual, but thanks for putting them up. Yes, I followed those steps to troubleshoot the module. They all checked out, meaning, "replace module", according to manual. I found no fuse near the motors. I might crack open the module to view if any obvious solder defects. Then decide to send it out to the place you posted. Thanks again.
 
Well, got it fixed. How? By myself, shocking as it may sound. I did open it up myself, against your careful advice, Doug. But I was careful, and learned that the solder joints on the back side of the 2 connectors can sometimes get "dry", and quit, even though to the naked eye they appear good. Added flux with a toothpick to each joint (4 on one clip, 5 on the other), and heated with the tip of a temp controlled iron (to about 350 Deg C). Remelted the solder. Then I did the same to the other 9 joints on the BACKSIDES of the 2 connector pins. Then tested it and BOOM, it works now!

Wanted to share my experience to maybe save the next guy here the worry as to how to fix. This fix apparently will work most of the time for a failure, but there are other possible sources of problems, like corroded relay contacts. I was lucky.
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