Opel GT Light Problem

[RobtheSwordsman]

Alright, so I finally have the car.

I have a problem that I assume is somewhat common.

Two weeks ago, when I first saw the car, the lights did not flip over. It took me a while, but I finally got it.

Now, they don't flip over at all. The lever is down and kind of at an angle, but no matter how hard I push they won't budge.

I was thinking of applying some oil somewhere, but I wasn't sure exactly where I should put it on. Any suggestions would be awesome.

Thank you very much.

[Gary]

Mod Edit: Moved to the GT Headlamps forum.

Try searching this thread. There is some good info in here.

[baz]

do you feel any resistance when you pull and push the lever ?
if not have a look at the cable that moves it (which is 1 place to oil )under the car and in front of the rad

[Willy_g77]

mine didnt flip over when i bought my car either. so i looked at every thing real close and found that where the bracket is welded on to the car at the front of where the hood closes was broken.. and so i drilled a few holes, lined the two peices up and put a small bolt in it... sprayed some WD-40 in the cable.. and then push the lever foward and the turned over very smoothly

[Lindsay]

PB BLASTER
Price: $5.95

"BEST PENETRATING OIL MADE.....IF YOU WORK WITH RUST, THIS IS THE PRODUCT TO TRUST!"

Should be available at local auto parts stores. All OPEL Owners' should own at least one can.

[greensmurf20]

i've never tried PB blaster, but i would like to vouch for "Tri-Flow" in a black can with orange writing. really great stuff, works better than anything else so far.

[Matt M240Z]

It probably is a common problem. When we first got my car, the lights would roll over most of the time but would not lock in the on or off position. Sometimes the headlights would bind up and not move even when I pushed on the handle with a lot of force. I found that by giving it a quick, hard hit with the palm of my hand, it would break free. Now I wouldn't recommend using that as the only way to be able to open your headlights. It is a good bit of work, but you need take both headlight assemblies out of the car and clean them completely if just oiling the cable doesnt work.

[soybean]

I agree with Lindsay and would try the PB Blaster first, then do like Matt said when you get the time "take both headlight assemblies out of the car and clean them completely if just oiling the cable doesnt work" Mine started to lock up and I gave them a shot of PB Blaster which worked well, until I rebuilt the car at which time I pulled the cable assembly out and re-oiled the whole thing. HTH, Jarrell

[namba209]

This is off the top of my head, been a while since I've pulled the headlights when I stripped the GT, but I think there is a safety pin type clip that attaches the cable to the headlight actuating rods. If so I would pull the pin and disconnect the cable from the rods to see if it is the cable that is the problem and not the rotating mechanism. If the rotating mechanism is the culprit, they can be accessed by removing the headlight cover and liberally lubing the back top corners of the mechanism where the latches are and the center rotating gear. This should free up the whole mess until a more permanent fix can be done. Again, this is just from memory, and you all know how it is with us old folks.

[nobody]

Ron is right on target about seperating the actuator rod and lever from the actual rotators to find the problem. 4 things I've seen alot of on the light assemblies are rust at the rotators or in the cable, broken teeth in the gear section of the rotators, misallignment or something fallen into the opening for the lever in the car. loose change or a stray nut or bolt really have an effect.

The problem with a rusty cable is it's usually not near the ends but where it loops back up to the lever that it rusts. It's hard to get a penatrant into that area with it in the car.