Lazy "EYE"

[nikker99]

My 1988 esprit drivers side head lamp goes all the way up but does not seem to lock in the up position!
The lamp starts to drop as I drive or the road gets rough. Has anyone else had this problem and how did you fix it??? The lamps go up and down every time the one is not locking into position once up. This just started happening. I have had the car for more than a year and never had a problem.
Thanks for any info into this.
Larry

[judgea]

Larry, I'm not sure what your problem is, b/c my car is a G-type. However, once when I had a problem w/my left lamp pod acting similarly, I found a small bracket to the left of the motor had broken. I can't even begin to try to correlate my bracket to yours, although your car probably has alot of comparisons to mine, but check closely for supporting bracket failure. Anyway, just wanted to note that, if that is your problem, I would probably never have found a replacement bracket, so I had mine welded back together, then sanded smooth again--worked perfectly. So I guess check the light pod's supporting brackets.

[nikker99]

Thanks for the info! I will check this out.

[ragingfool]

check out Sanj's site: www.turboesprit.tripod.com for the headlight motor repair. mine also started droping then wouldn't go up at all. the plastic gears were worn and slipped over bumps to the point where the motor will just spin without engaging the light. there is a $6 repair kit that Sanj uses in his pics and he has a link to that site. i just ordered the same, maybe the kit will be here tonight.
chris

[nikker99]

Thanks Chris,I looked into it further and I beleive I have the same problem.The motor runs and tries to keep the pod up but it slowly sinks back down. You answered my next question about being able to repair this without buying a new motor.Even when I try manually to raise it all the screw does is keep turning and does not lift it or get tight like the other motor. I am going to take it out since it does not look like a tough job and open it up.
Thanks for the help everyone!!!

[mgb driver]

I too have an '88. My headlights will go up/down with no problem. However, they tend to "bounce" as I'm driving. Is this common, or is it a sign of worn gears in the mechanisom?

Kevin
88 Turbo

[Esprit2]

mgb driver said:

My headlights will go up/down with no problem. However, they tend to "bounce" as I'm driving. Is this common, or is it a sign of worn gears in the mechanisom?

The bounce is not unusual and wear in any of the bits-n-pieces can contribute to the total. Worn gears, sloppy spherical bearing rod ends on the push rod, sloppy pivot bearings... they all contribute.

Finding which item is contributing the most bounce to your Esprit's headlights is just a matter of poking around and observing. Most likely you will find it isn't just one bad item... that would be too easy. Rather, all the bits have some minor wear each that when totalled up leads to bounce. And it's so much fun working down in those wells. ;-)

Regards,
Tim Engel
Lotus Owners Oftha North
Minnesota, USA

[nikker99]

Follow up ---
Fixed the headlight. Pulled motor out and took it apart. The plastic triangle spacer that goes in the gear housing had disintergrated. That was why the shaft was turning freely. Made a spacer from some aluminum to take up slack where spacer had been. WORKS GREAT AGAIN!! and took all of 30 minuted to do.
cost $00.00.You have to remove the motor section with the screw shaft in order to pop gear out. Watch for the 2 springs that are behind the magnet brushes they tend to pop out. To put back in I use some bent wire to hold the brushes back on each side than slid the wire out after I put the 2 housings toether worked great also. Hopes this helps anyone with the same problem.
My pods also bounce a little bit when driving as was mentioned, mostly from wear. Check to make sure all nuts & bolts are tight they tend to loosen over time from vibration