headlights turn on and will go down but not up

[White Comet]

for starters, before i get blasted by it, i searched all last night and have tried almost everything i can think of.

The Problem after doing my extensive wire tucking and relocating i went about testing the electrical system. everything so far works fine with the exception of this one problem. the headlights will light up but still remain in the down position, illuminating the ground beneath them. when i crank the lights up manually they will once again turn on with the stalk, but when i turn the lights off they will go down, but not come back up unless i crank em manually again.

What i've tried so far - replacing the 3 black headlight retract relays in the d side fuse box. even after replacing them it seems as if only 1 of them clicks.

- replacing the stalk since i know that can cause problems. the one i replaced it with was used as well but i'm gonna pull the one off my brother's car just to be sure since his definitely works.

the only other thing is can think of is the harness has the brown wire cut/ sleepy eye mod, and i want to try replacing the 25a fuse in the pass side fuse box. but any help and insight into anything i may have overlooked is appreciated. thank you

[blacksrjdm]

Stupid question but you did hit the headlight flip button, mine did the same thing and just had to hit the flip button (left of the steering wheel) and then they worked fine.

[White Comet]

yeah i tried that button both in and out since the car has the brown wire cut. thanks for the fast response

[locoluna825]

mine do the same exact thing but not all the time mostly when its cold outside

[White Comet]

this car has done it everytime i've tried it and its sitting inside and its summer

[blacksrjdm]

this car has done it everytime i've tried it and its sitting inside and its summer

Indeed the cold wouldnt be the factor...Ya, I dunno, my car is an electrical nightmare, so, I was just kinda shooting from the hip there.

[White Comet]

yeah any ideas are helpful. i thought it might be the 5a fuse for the light motors but i'm certain its good or else the headlights wouldnt move at all

[240tunerguy]

i would try reconnecting the brown wire and trying it, unless it did this before the brown wire was cut.

[White Comet]

i'll give that a try but it worked before with the brown wire cut, but i'll try anything

[driftneil]

Im pretty sure it's not the brown wire...The headlights do this, but in reverse, on my 91. I assumed it was a relay.Free bump for an answer.

[240tunerguy]

eh, its worth a shot. my 90 does that and my brown wire is still intact. they wont go up unless i hit the up/down button. once i turn my lights off, they go down. it looks like there are a few of us in this headache.

[White Comet]

almost every other post of read through is the opposite of mine, headlights go up but not down so i'm really puzzled but i'll keep trying stuff

[Jdmstyles]

I've had a similar problem. one day my headlights wouldnt go up anymore unless I used the high beam. I replaced the flip up button or whatever you wanna call it (left of of the stalk) and it works again. The problem could be that the button's internals are corroding and what not. Either take your brothers and see if it works on yours or just go to the near by junk yard and throw one in your pocket :d

Hope it works.

[driftneil]

almost every other post of read through is the opposite of mine, headlights go up but not down so i'm really puzzled but i'll keep trying stuff

Perhaps you have the same problem as us all...But wired the polarity wrong.

[240tunerguy]

now all i need is a button. if it worked for you it should hopefully work for the rest of us. fingers crossed

[White Comet]

I've had a similar problem. one day my headlights wouldnt go up anymore unless I used the high beam. I replaced the flip up button or whatever you wanna call it (left of of the stalk) and it works again. The problem could be that the button's internals are corroding and what not. Either take your brothers and see if it works on yours or just go to the near by junk yard and throw one in your pocket :d

Hope it works.

i'll try my bros since i know his work, at a junkyard its hit or miss. i have a few of the buttons from junkyards but you can't tell if they work or not.

Perhaps you have the same problem as us all...But wired the polarity wrong.

a good idea but it isnt possible. the headlight wiring wasnt really tampered with at all and i'm 100 percent positive the wiring is fine since we were so meticulous about it

either tonight or tomorrow i'll try these suggestions- try headlight switch that i know for a fact works- try headlight button that i know for sure works - replace 25a fuse - reconnect brown wire

[Jdmstyles]

I'm confident it'll work again once you try those suggestions out.

As for the hit or miss ordeal. Well I felt the same way so what I did was collect like 4-5 of them and stuck them in my pocket. Yeah I know stealing is wrong and all and those wouldn't cost much, but I hate waiting in the never-ending line. So, if the problem does turn out to be the button, just do what I did.

ohh. and of course that's only possible if you can even find that many s13's at the junkyard. Perhaps I was lucky as I live in CA.

[Csomme]

On a couple people's 240s when they do sleepy eyes, i've seen part of the harness get fried where the lighting s*** is. It did it on mine like a year and a half ago, and burnt right through the wire itself, caused it to short out.

I'm almost positive this is your issue, because I've seen the exact thing multiple time. Just follow all your headlight switch and relay wires. Sounds like a pain, but I'm willing to bet that's it.

[White Comet]

i really don't think the brown wire is the culprit since i would have noticed fried wiring but i'll do more poking around just in case.

i tried the new headlight button and 25a fuse and still nothing, i'll try the new headlight switch tomorrow

[White Comet]

well i've tested a few more things and come upon an interesting discovery. i hooked the brown wire back up and the lights go up and down, but they still arent working properly. with the brown wire hooked up i have to turn on the lights then hit the button and the lights will come on and up. to go down i have to turn off the lights and hit the button again. so the lights will turn on and off like before but i have to hit the button before the motors do anything everytime. any thoughts?

[blacksrjdm]

"New" light combo switch. "New" flip up switch.

[White Comet]

^ none of the above.

ended up being a stupid ground i missed.

[adrianfromthecastle]

^ none of the above.

ended up being a stupid ground i missed.

pfff....

but ykno... if all else fails... you could just go silvia front, lol

[mrgreeneyes]

thats why they call me "moses"

if all else fails... CHECK YOUR GROUNDS NICO

[White Comet]

pfff....

but ykno... if all else fails... you could just go silvia front, lol

hey its not entirely my fault, i have wires everywhere, and i didnt even noticce this ground in the mess. and no way i'd go sil front on a hatch

thats why they call me "moses"

if all else fails... CHECK YOUR GROUNDS NICO

yes indeed. i checked after you left the magic ground that made the difference was the one that you bolted on the dash bar in the middle of the pass side. you can tell by looking at it that its one of the headlight/headlight motor grounds. the other one is out at the lights. i didn't even see it til you pulled it out of the bundle