popup headlight problems

[USC Justice]

Ok, new to the 240SX, but not new to Nissan. Between the wife and I, we currently own a 91 300ZX TT, 93 240SX Vert, 94 J30, 00 Frontier CC, and an 03 G35 Sedan.

That being said, I have used the search feature and not come up with an answer for my headlight problem. the 240SX headlights will pop up, but not go back down. I do have a parts car, and the headlights work just fine on the parts car. I have now swapped the motors, all 4 relays (one on left block by the battery, and all 3 in the block under the airbox piping), the pop up button, and the turn signal/headlight stalk have all been replaced.

The headlights still pop up and do not go down again. I have even gone so far as to change all three fuses with headlight marked on them.

I'm looking for suggestions, and/or things I might have missed. That's the only frustrating thing so far with the project toy.

Thanks much

[sclay115]

it's amazing, i am having the exact same problem! i was about to even make a new post. maybe someone on here can help us out...mine is a 89...

steve

[slidewayz_s13]

I have the same problem with just one of my headlights and i have done everything i could possibly think of and nothing has changed. i have come to the conclusion that i will have to dig throughout the wireharness and i am thinking they may have put something in the wire harness that may have come loose. i will be doing this tom. morning and i will post back and let you know if i find any little secrets to getting them to work

[240sxdominos]

Have you checked the headlight motors? There is one next to each headlight, short cylindrical motors. This happened to mine, they would go up but then only one of them would go down. I just turned the motor manually with my hand and it went back down and i havent had a problem since, it was probably just out of sync with the other one. I think you may have to remove a plastic cap on top to get to the part you can turn but mine was already off on the bad headlight, worked for me. good luck

[95lstegman]

when you guys say you replaced the motors, did you replace the whole assembly, or just the motor part of it? i'm pretty sure the problem lies in part of the control circuitry within the rectangular case attatched to the motor. there is a chip that goes bad, if i'm not mistaken. perhaps if you only replaced the motor end of the whole gizmo then you wouldn't have fixed it.

also, i'm assuming you replaced with used motors (assuming you replaced the whole gizmo). many older cars' motors have already gone bad, so perhaps it's just a matter of finding a pair that work, or ::gasp:: going to the stealership.

[sclay115]

i was messing with mine last night, and the h/l control relay on the passenger side of the engine bay was clicking, i could hear it click when i turn the lights on, then when i shut them off it clicks again, i'm assuming this is the actual relay for the motors...so i'm thinking the problem, like 95lstegman said lies in the motors or the boards in the motors, since i can hear the rest of the parts working. and when i put them down manually, if i turn them on they pop up, just not back down....so maybe i'll just replace the motors....and see what happens.

steve

[mallbor240SR]

I do have a parts car, and the headlights work just fine on the parts car. I have now swapped the motors, all 4 relays (one on left block by the battery, and all 3 in the block under the airbox piping), the pop up button, and the turn signal/headlight stalk have all been replaced. Thanks much

I think you are missing another relay , there is one located behind the passenger side kick panel, thats the one you have to mess with when doing a sleepy eye converssion. i dont remember the exact name for it but i know its there for sure

[USC Justice]

I have an entire parts car (sans engine). I took a battery to the parts car, hooked it up and checked the lights. both motored up, and when the lights turned off they motored back down. I then took the entire motor assemblies off the headlights, including the arms that go up to the light. I also took the three relays from under the intake tubing, and the relay from the opposite side by the battery. I also took the push button to make them pop up from gauge cluster, as well as the turn signal stalk. I have since swapped out all of these pieces to no avail.

I was not aware that there was a 5th relay.

Upon consulting the FSM, I only see the description of 4 relays, the motors, and switches. I will look around for this other relay.

Thanks,Donald

[mallbor240SR]

im sorry its not a relay , its called headlamp timer , its a small box behind the drivers kick panel, under the fusebox

[sclay115]

im sorry its not a relay , its called headlamp timer , its a small box behind the drivers kick panel, under the fusebox

can you hear it click or anything? i knw the timer on my MR2 had two relay/coil looking things in there....

steve

[silpena]

hmm mine used the have the problom but al i did was tap it on the top and it go down or the slightest vibration woud make it move i think its a relay that get s loose. it stopped now.... don't know why.

[sclay115]

hmm mine used the have the problom but al i did was tap it on the top and it go down or the slightest vibration woud make it move i think its a relay that get s loose. it stopped now.... don't know why.

tap on what?

steve

[sclay115]

hey just an update here, i went to the junkyard, got all four relays, the H/L timer, and the stalk switch totalling 20.28$, went out the parking lot, plugged them all in, installed the switch, and boom, works perfect, one of my motors squeeks like it hates life, but it still works. so for a minimal amount of work(very easy to remove the parts) and for very little cost, i've fixed everything at once, i highly suggest it. and now i dont look like i have a broken car anymore.

steve

[silpena]

oh i just tap the top cover and it goes down .....wierd thing.

[USC Justice]

Ok, just to come back to this as an update since I have had the time to go to the parts car and pull the headlight timer out from the drivers side kick by the fuse panel. That too has now been replaced, and still the headlights will go up but not down.

Still seeking suggestions. I have now changed all the relays, the fuses, the headlight timer, the pop up switch, the turn signal stalk, and both motors.

I'm out of ideas. By the way the parts car that I have that everything came out of was functioning, and was checked in the parts car before pulling.

[mallbor240SR]

did you just bought that car?maybe the previous owner tried to do the cheap sleepy eye conversion and cut the brown wire that goes from the headlamp up/down switch to the h/l timer.the switch is located right next to the dimmer buttons on the left side of the dash. press that button and see if the headlamps go down a little bit if it does then try pressing them many times till they go all the way down.

[USC Justice]

nope, no cut wires behind the dash, or with the turn signal stalk. If you push the pop up button, they go up, but not down, not even a little bit, even if you push it several times.

Anything else I might be missing?

[Toshima]

My car is doing the same thing. But when I pushed down on the relay by the passanger side it would go up and down. Changed relay and still they go up but not down.

[titanium240]

It seems like the wiring's gotta be messed up if the lights went down in your parts car and not your daily. Personally, I'd bypass the stock wiring and buy a pivot controler... but that might not fix the problem either, just a thought.

If you don't wanna spend $100 on a pivot controler, I ran across a thread about substitutiing a RadioShack Potentiometer for the controler, they're like $3, here's the thread if you want to look into that:

zer...56438

Good luck, eh?

[TegConvert]

Im new to nissan but not new to mechanics,it sounds like you have an open circut on the side that allows the lights to go down,if you have a multi-meter you can check and see if you have continuity from the control switch to the light.I would tell you all of the color connects but I dont have a manual for the car yet.

[Sr20detwins]

Try the timer under the kick panel. I changed motor, and all four other relays. Timer Fixed It.