head light operation

grumpyvette

Administrator
Staff member
onedef92
posted most of this info


"There are two motors, and three relays in the system. Here's how it works:

The headlight door motors reverse direction by reversing polarity. However, the automatic shut off (high torque switch, or HTS) makes that a rather more complex task than at first it might seem.

That's because when a motor reaches its limit, one of the 'wires' is disconnected from the motor by the HTS. Reversing the polarity at this point wouldn't do anything since the circuit is broken by the HTS.

Consequently, each motor has three wires for control. The combination of the blue wire, gray wire, and green wire provide polarity reversal to the motor (to make it able to run in both directions) and to run each motor from its resting state, after it has shut off.

There are of course two motors. They operate and are controlled identically.

Here's the matrix:

RIGHT HAND MOTOR

Blu Grn Gry
up: (+) (-)
dn: (+) (-)

That is, in order to run the motor up, the system connects the green wire to the hot side and the gray wire to ground. In order to run the motor down, the system connects the blue wire to the hot side, and the green wire to ground.

The left hand motor operates the same, except for its blue wire is actually blue with white stripes.

There is an actuator relay for each light mounted on the body of the light housing. There is also an isolator relay, mounted on the fender wall on the driver's side. When operating properly, the two actuator relays act identically.

The actuator relays get their instructions from the isolation relay. When the motors need to run down, the isolation relay is not energized, the blue (and blue/white) wires make with the hot side through the closed contacts of the isolation relay (which is not energized), and the ground is furnished to the motor through the closed contacts of the actuator relay until the circuit is broken by the HTS. When operating properly, neither the motors nor the relays draw any current in the full down position.

When it's time to go up, the actuator relays are energized when the pink wires coming from the isolation relay are connected to the hot side through the newly closed contacts of the isolation relay, the isolation relay is energized because the yellow wire coming from the head light switch is now hot.

When the actuator relays are energized, they furnish 12v from the always hot red wires, through their newly closed contacts, to the green wire. The motor is grounded through the newly closed contacts of the actuator relays. The motors will run up until the circuit is broken by the HTS. When operating properly, with the light doors in the full up position, all relays are energized and draw current, but the motors do not.

There are very counterintuitive things about this circuitry: When the motors are running UP, both the hot side and the ground are furnished by and through the actuator relay. However, when the motors are running DOWN, only the ground is furnished by the actuator relay because the blue and blue/white wires do not run to or through the actuator relay.

Similarly counterintuitive, when the motors are running down, the hot side is supplied by and through the isolation relay, but when they are running up, the hot side is supplied not by and through the isolation relay, but through the always hot fusible link.

That's how the headlamp door relays and motors work. The relays are not cheap but not terribly expensive, either: $17 ea for the actuator relays and $25 for the isolation relay. Proper trouble shooting can save a buck or two.

It is fairly easy to swap the actuator relays from side to side. If the symptoms change with them, then its probably the relays.

Although the actuator relays look similar to the isolation relay, they are very different, they cannot be swapped. Please not that the system is very interdependent, and it's easy to see why Chevrolet changed to electronic (as opposed to electro-mechanical) controls."


similar or related info

http://www.mamotorworks.com/corvette?frame=1.6128

http://content.madirect.com/pdf/601723.pdf

http://www.ecklers.com/product.asp?pf_i ... pt_id=1149

http://www.ecklers.com/search.asp?actio ... chHistory=
 
http://www.mamotorworks.com/corvette?frame=1.823

sizer

another option

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/prod ... ducts.html

http://www.corvettemagazine.com/2002/fe ... light1.asp

these are supposed to fit and function in the C4 corvette and DOUBLE the light the headlights put out,(not legal in all areas sold for off road use)

options

Sylvania H6054ST

Hella E-Spec lenses with 100/80 H4 bulbs
 
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