I've had a recurring problem with one of my headlights since I've bought the car, originally I assumed it was the motor which did bugger up and die a while back so it got replaced but the headlight started getting sluggish again recently and would only go up if I physically pulled it up a bit , so this time I thought maybe the struts were on their way out, so the other day I got the pleasure of meeting Jeff and seeing his wonderful collection and to also pick up some new struts!
Stuck them on this weekend and it unfortunately didn't make much difference, but the old ones were looking a bit tired so was still worth putting on!
Then had a bit of a brain fart and thought to check the actual switch and sure enough there was a small bit of crud on one of the spade connectors, quick clean and now they work perfectly!
Can't believe it didn't think to check it first but it's still a win in the end
My 480s so far!
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- Themasteryeti
- Knows where Volvo is from
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- Joined: Wed Aug 24, 2022 11:20 pm
Re: My 480s so far!
1973 vw beetle
1993 480s
1993 480s
Re: My 480s so far!
Do you mean the rotary light switch on the dashboard?
I have a sluggish drivers side light and want to get it sorted.
I have a sluggish drivers side light and want to get it sorted.
White 1990 480 Turbo Auto
Caspian Blue 2015 V70 D5 SE Lux
Previously G reg 480 ES Black and D reg 480 ES in Silver
Caspian Blue 2015 V70 D5 SE Lux
Previously G reg 480 ES Black and D reg 480 ES in Silver
- Themasteryeti
- Knows where Volvo is from
- Posts: 134
- Joined: Wed Aug 24, 2022 11:20 pm
Re: My 480s so far!
That's the one! Give it a bit of tug and it'll come out
There's a few spade connectors on the opposite side, I just cleaned them up, stuck it back in and violà
1973 vw beetle
1993 480s
1993 480s
- Themasteryeti
- Knows where Volvo is from
- Posts: 134
- Joined: Wed Aug 24, 2022 11:20 pm
Re: My 480s so far!
Back at it again with my everlasting headlight problem! After my last fix the headlights they seemed to work okay for ages but the past month or two the same drivers side headlight had stopped popping up. Now all it took was to gently pull the headlight and it'd pop straight up, first thought was maybe it just needed greasing so I sprayed sime wd40 all around the moving parts and it seemed to work again for a day until it rained amd washed it all off, so then i went for some propper grease which again worked for a day or so then when back to not working properly but now with the next MOT coming up next week I thought I'll dig into it a bit more
Two things I noticed when pulling it all apart
1. The angle of the arm attached to the motor was at a different angle to the other one
2. The arm wobbled on the motor like so even with the nut done up fully
This is the spare motor that was in the boot when I bought the car so I assume that this is probably the reason it was taken off in the first place, I'm currently on the hunt for a new one ATM but they seem to be quite scarce so as a quick fix I put two washers here (forgot to take a picture with the washers actually on) and put a new nut on too as the old one was pretty shagged, all this to take the slack off it and it has stiffened it up and seems to be working pucker again but ill have to give it a few weeks of use to be sure but thought id bring it up in case anyone else has this problem and needs a quick fix!
Altho my other issue I'm finding is one headlight (obvs the problem one) doesn't quite pop up as high as the other one, it seems if I adjust it so it goes to the same position as the other It then sits to high in the closed position and the cover won't go low enough and bottom out on the headlight I tried several positions and moved the arm on the motor about but nothing seems to sort this, don't suppose anyone else has managed to sort this problem?
Two things I noticed when pulling it all apart
1. The angle of the arm attached to the motor was at a different angle to the other one
2. The arm wobbled on the motor like so even with the nut done up fully
This is the spare motor that was in the boot when I bought the car so I assume that this is probably the reason it was taken off in the first place, I'm currently on the hunt for a new one ATM but they seem to be quite scarce so as a quick fix I put two washers here (forgot to take a picture with the washers actually on) and put a new nut on too as the old one was pretty shagged, all this to take the slack off it and it has stiffened it up and seems to be working pucker again but ill have to give it a few weeks of use to be sure but thought id bring it up in case anyone else has this problem and needs a quick fix!
Altho my other issue I'm finding is one headlight (obvs the problem one) doesn't quite pop up as high as the other one, it seems if I adjust it so it goes to the same position as the other It then sits to high in the closed position and the cover won't go low enough and bottom out on the headlight I tried several positions and moved the arm on the motor about but nothing seems to sort this, don't suppose anyone else has managed to sort this problem?
1973 vw beetle
1993 480s
1993 480s
Re: My 480s so far!
Have you tried adjusting the cover to make it sit flush. If you loosen the 4 Allen screws which hold it in place, I've found a good 5 to 10mm adjustment.
White 1990 480 Turbo Auto
Caspian Blue 2015 V70 D5 SE Lux
Previously G reg 480 ES Black and D reg 480 ES in Silver
Caspian Blue 2015 V70 D5 SE Lux
Previously G reg 480 ES Black and D reg 480 ES in Silver
- Themasteryeti
- Knows where Volvo is from
- Posts: 134
- Joined: Wed Aug 24, 2022 11:20 pm
Re: My 480s so far!
If the headlight sits at the same level as the other even with the cover adjusted as far down as it'll possibly go it still sticks up to high!
1973 vw beetle
1993 480s
1993 480s
- Themasteryeti
- Knows where Volvo is from
- Posts: 134
- Joined: Wed Aug 24, 2022 11:20 pm