Confused on the Headlights

[73OpelMan]

Hi I own a 1973 Opel GT and Both the lights the first time I flipped the things over straight up blew out. I think I pushed the lever thing to hard. *hehe*. (First day I get the car I break somthing, sounds like the typical me).

Here is the question. I have re-installed new headlights and everything but there are two problems.

1. The spring that holds the light into place will NOT streach far enough to go back on and now the light somewhat dangles there. Should I get a new spring or does anyone know an easy way to get it on?

2. I have to push VERY hard and pull back VERY hard on the headlight lever for them to turn on and lock, and to shut and lock, and every time I am afraid I am going to blow the lights out again. Is the lever sposed to be so hard to push or pull? Or is somthing wrong with it that needs to be fixed?

[Bo Mows]

I almost bet you have a dead short in the wiring going through the rotators to the headlights or the microswitchs. With the headlights in the open position and the battery disconnected, ohm out the high and low leads to ground and see if you get continuity. As for the hard to open. Your cable and/or rod, rotators need to be oiled or greased. I had the exact same hard to open with mine. I drilled a small hole into the cable in the middle and oiled the cable and greased the buckets and rotators until it moved free. HTH

Bo

[tealcarver]

The wiring needs to be replaced to avoid the lights blowing up. It is a short caused by the old wiring. Just finished installing my light buckets (all new teflon coated wiring too) and they work very easily. Your cable could be dragging inside the sheath, you can always put some silicone to make the cable slide easier. Check the handle itself, could be binding on something making it hard to move. Lastly, the entire mechanism up front could be binding from a lack of lubrication. Lots of things to check, but try to get it working without having to remove the buckets. If lubricating all the moving parts does not do the trick, then you will need to remove the buckets and check the front pivot point, and the actual light mechanism with the micro switches. They can become rusted, or just plain dirty. After cleaning mine up and polishing the pivot points, the buckets roll with the slightest pressure on the inside handle. Good luck, I hope some of this helps.

Bob

[markandson]

A short in the wiring will cause a fuse to blow, or a wire to burn if there is no fuse, it will NOT cause a bulb to blow out. The hard open hard close thing is just a matter of taking the entire mechanism apart and cleaning it properly. If you just squirt oil on it I am sure it may work for a while but it will eventually fail again. You need to get all the dirt and rust out of it and then lube it properly. BTW, it's a s*** load of work, but worth it when you can open and close the lights with 2 fingers instead of 2 hands. In order to replace the wiring you have to get pretty deep into the mechanisms anyway.

[soybean]

Also check out this thread on relays. http://www.opelgt.com/forums/2c-gt-headlamps-troubleshooting-removal-repair/7899-headlight-relays.html
Helps a lot after you get the Gremlins out of the headlights. Jarrell

[Bo Mows]

Jeff, You are right EXCEPT when your PO rewired the headlights and didn't include the fuse in the 12ga wire going to the relays and the relays are toast. Ask me how I know.. Also correct you are on the taking it apart, but YES it is worth it. I had to use my foot to push the handle the first few times. So i would check with a meter for grounds before taking apart. but i think you'll find that Jeff and myself will be right saying you'll be happier and thank yourself for doing it right now instead of late one night when it just won't open at all!

[namba209]

For the hard operating headlite handle, how about a little bit of trouble shooting just to see where the problem is. Forward of the radiator where the cable attaches to the rods that rotate the headlites, you can disconnect the cable from the rods, then operate the handle and see if the cable is the problem or the rotating mechanism. The cable may have a kink in it causing the problem, or the rotating mechanisms are so gunked up, they will need a thorough cleaning and lube, or it could be a combination of both. For both the wiring and mechanical problems there is a wealth of info on this site about how to cure each problem. HTH.

[nobody]

Ok I've seen this many times and often it is the culprit to hard turning lights. That little opening around the headlight lever is in fact magnetized and causes loose change and other things to fall in and bind it up. I know it seems stupid but it's funny what a penny wedged into one will do. Just an idea. Magnetics is my only guess on why they always go in there. I'm pretty sure the electric choke on a solex produces the same thing. Why else would everything you drop go straight in?

[Bo Mows]

All my other cars and trucks have had magnets in the defrost vents on the dash. I sure hope my 1 and only Opel dosen't.

Bo

[namba209]

Yeah Dave, I hear you on that. I had pulled the new exhaust manifold access panel off Willit? to pull the engine after OMC, and while I was working on hooking up the headlight cable, for some inane reason couldn't get the lites to rotate to the full open position. After checking all the normal stuff, I looked down that hole and one of the allen head bolts for the access panel was stuck down inside. A small pair of forceps got out the culprit, bent washer and all, then the headlites worked normally again. There must be some residual Murphy magnetism still in there.

[markandson]

There is a huge magnet underneath my work bench, and a deflector on the toe of my shoe. Seems every time I drop something it hits the toe of my shoe and shoots directly under the bench:o

[jlthunder]

I think we all have one under our cars. Every time I drop something, it rolls directly under the center of the car

[opelgtguy]

I think my car has one of those anti-matter generators or something ........
I have lost count of the number of bolts, screws, nuts and even an allen wrench that have been "swallowed up" by that engine bay
Rick

[wrangler]

It operates on the same scientific principle that governs the displacement of socks in your household dryer. Studies have shown that it takes 0.96 socks to dry a load of clothes and provide a sufficient amount of lint to fill the lint trap. I suspect that your missing bolts and screws are needed to provide the balance between your need to go back to the parts store, and the need of person driving behind you to go to the tire store to repair their flat.
But back to topic... Spencer, if you need help working on your lights, remember I'm just a few miles down the road and will help any way that I can. I have quite a few projects to start this weekend myself, one of them also being the headlights.