C5 Pop Up Headlight Problem
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Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 11
C5 Pop Up Headlight Problem
Up until last fall my pop up headlights worked perfectly on my 2000 C5.
That's when my drivers side headlight gear stripped out. I then repaired both sides with metal gears. The new gears work much better than the OEM nylon gears. The issue I have been having since then is that my headlights don't always pop up when I turn them on. Sometimes just the driver's side or passenger's pops up other times they both stay down. The lights do illuminate and I have checked and cleaned all of the connections. I have also gone through all of the troubleshooting diagnostics outlined in the Chevy service manual and everything has checked out to be good and the computer is free of codes.
The only thing that helps this condition is if I manually back off the motor by turning the gear one revolution counter clockwise. The only thing I have concluded is that when the headlights close, the motor seems to be over torquing the gear at the bump stops as the manual **** is quite hard to initially back off. I am not missing any bump stops and all are in the correct place.
I'm not sure what else to look at, I shouldn't have to back the motors off after each use to have them work correctly the next time I turn on the headlights. I have read other forums where others are having the same issues but no real solutions. Some say bad or dirty connections, bad headlight control module, missing bump stops, linkage problem, bad headlight switch. Again I believe I have ruled these out and if I back off the motors after they are closed each time, they will open perfectly the next time.
Any advise here would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance...
That's when my drivers side headlight gear stripped out. I then repaired both sides with metal gears. The new gears work much better than the OEM nylon gears. The issue I have been having since then is that my headlights don't always pop up when I turn them on. Sometimes just the driver's side or passenger's pops up other times they both stay down. The lights do illuminate and I have checked and cleaned all of the connections. I have also gone through all of the troubleshooting diagnostics outlined in the Chevy service manual and everything has checked out to be good and the computer is free of codes.
The only thing that helps this condition is if I manually back off the motor by turning the gear one revolution counter clockwise. The only thing I have concluded is that when the headlights close, the motor seems to be over torquing the gear at the bump stops as the manual **** is quite hard to initially back off. I am not missing any bump stops and all are in the correct place.
I'm not sure what else to look at, I shouldn't have to back the motors off after each use to have them work correctly the next time I turn on the headlights. I have read other forums where others are having the same issues but no real solutions. Some say bad or dirty connections, bad headlight control module, missing bump stops, linkage problem, bad headlight switch. Again I believe I have ruled these out and if I back off the motors after they are closed each time, they will open perfectly the next time.
Any advise here would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance...
Junior Member
Joined: Sep 2024
Posts: 1
Are there any remedies for the C5 headlight doors closing too tightly?
Up until last fall my pop up headlights worked perfectly on my 2000 C5.
That's when my drivers side headlight gear stripped out. I then repaired both sides with metal gears. The new gears work much better than the OEM nylon gears. The issue I have been having since then is that my headlights don't always pop up when I turn them on. Sometimes just the driver's side or passenger's pops up other times they both stay down. The lights do illuminate and I have checked and cleaned all of the connections. I have also gone through all of the troubleshooting diagnostics outlined in the Chevy service manual and everything has checked out to be good and the computer is free of codes.
The only thing that helps this condition is if I manually back off the motor by turning the gear one revolution counter clockwise. The only thing I have concluded is that when the headlights close, the motor seems to be over torquing the gear at the bump stops as the manual **** is quite hard to initially back off. I am not missing any bump stops and all are in the correct place.
I'm not sure what else to look at, I shouldn't have to back the motors off after each use to have them work correctly the next time I turn on the headlights. I have read other forums where others are having the same issues but no real solutions. Some say bad or dirty connections, bad headlight control module, missing bump stops, linkage problem, bad headlight switch. Again I believe I have ruled these out and if I back off the motors after they are closed each time, they will open perfectly the next time.
Any advise here would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance...
That's when my drivers side headlight gear stripped out. I then repaired both sides with metal gears. The new gears work much better than the OEM nylon gears. The issue I have been having since then is that my headlights don't always pop up when I turn them on. Sometimes just the driver's side or passenger's pops up other times they both stay down. The lights do illuminate and I have checked and cleaned all of the connections. I have also gone through all of the troubleshooting diagnostics outlined in the Chevy service manual and everything has checked out to be good and the computer is free of codes.
The only thing that helps this condition is if I manually back off the motor by turning the gear one revolution counter clockwise. The only thing I have concluded is that when the headlights close, the motor seems to be over torquing the gear at the bump stops as the manual **** is quite hard to initially back off. I am not missing any bump stops and all are in the correct place.
I'm not sure what else to look at, I shouldn't have to back the motors off after each use to have them work correctly the next time I turn on the headlights. I have read other forums where others are having the same issues but no real solutions. Some say bad or dirty connections, bad headlight control module, missing bump stops, linkage problem, bad headlight switch. Again I believe I have ruled these out and if I back off the motors after they are closed each time, they will open perfectly the next time.
Any advise here would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance...
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2022
Posts: 978
From: Idaho
I have not had a c-5 assembly apart but it sounds as if it is over tourqing and binding. lube is something to look at and make sure the lights turn freely without the motor attached. Is it possible to retime the gears to the motor, maybe back the gear teeth one or two teeth? I'm not sure that would work, do you think it would? I'm not sure what makes the motor stop, switch or pressure.
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