924Board.org

[sbarc]

A bit of history. My 1981 931 had some issues with the headlights thanks to the PO. I don't know the cause, but it appears one of the headlight pods was in a slight accident which lead to the drivers headlight not retracting fully which seems to have lead to 2 feet of burnt wiring leading to the headlight motor. In the process of fixing this, I replaced the burnt out wiring, installed a used headlight motor and 2 used headlight pods as both original pods had "issues" (missing screws etc due to failed repair attempt by PO). I replaced the damage wires with the proper gauge wire and I heat-shrinked each wire connection after it was connected and then heat shrinked the 4 wires leading to the headlight motor.......it looks just like it came from the factory. Each wire was hooked up to the correct wire......I was very careful about this.

The used headlight motor didn't come with a headlight motor relay, so that could very well be the issue as I used the original headlight motor relay from the headlight motor that had the burnt wiring leading up to it.

I unplugged the wire connector from the headlight motor and turned on the headlights. Then I checked the voltage on the 4 prongs in that connector.....red prong from my tester was touched to each wire while the black prong was a ground. I got 0 voltage on all 4 prongs on the headlight motor wire connector....I have no idea if this is normal or if this is the correct way to test anything.

Is there a fuse for the headlight motor and how can I test the headlight motor and headlight motor relay?

Also....what else could be causing the headlight pods not to go up and down? There is no sound from the headlight motor when I turn on the headlight switch. Both headlight do light up just fine.

Any suggestions?

Thanks for any insight you can offer.
_________________
1981 931 (Canadian car)
1981 931 (US car)
1990 928GT (ROW car)
1991 Toyota MR2
1989 Toyota MR2 Super Charged
1985 Toyota Supra
1973 Triumph GT6
1971 Opel GT

[sbarc]

I just placed an order for a new headlight motor relay as I figure I should replace that as the first step in finding out the problem.
_________________
1981 931 (Canadian car)
1981 931 (US car)
1990 928GT (ROW car)
1991 Toyota MR2
1989 Toyota MR2 Super Charged
1985 Toyota Supra
1973 Triumph GT6
1971 Opel GT

[RC]

There is at least 2 different type motors and wiring designs for these. Early cars (NA anyway) use diodes in the motor while later does not. Establish you have fitted the correct same motor. All been discussed before & posted pics so do a search.

IIRC the motor plug has one connection to 12V switched and one constant 12V. Thats early ones though so check the wiring diagram. Sure the switched 12V line is fused so check appropriate fuse too.

[RC]

Then found this pic next to it in my photobucket account, obviously the early motor with diodes. Mine are bigger but same place. I believe your 81 931 will NOT have any, neither should the replacement.

[sbarc]

[sbarc]

I just read the Haynes manual regarding the headlight motor. It say to check the headlight motor relay and replace it if it is faulty......same with the headlight motor.......but it does say how to actually test these components. I did a search for "headlighht mtor" which pulled up every post with the word "motor"......then I did a serach for headlight adn this pulled up every post relating to the headlights and some helpful info but not much directly relating to my problem.

The headlight motor relay doesn't click.......but it seems there is no power getting to the headlight motor anyways.

I'll have to run direct power to the headlight motor and see it that does anything.

I will be checking the headlight switch as well for possible problems.
_________________
1981 931 (Canadian car)
1981 931 (US car)
1990 928GT (ROW car)
1991 Toyota MR2
1989 Toyota MR2 Super Charged
1985 Toyota Supra
1973 Triumph GT6
1971 Opel GT

[ideola]

Make sure you have the key in full on position, turn the switch on, and then test the connector again. If things are wired correctly, you will no get 12V at the harness with the key out or in the off position. The main headlight switches can and do fail; if you're not getting 12V at any of the pins at the headlight connector (as you describe in the OP), it is possible / likely that the switch has failed.
_________________
erstwhile owner of just about every 924 variant ever made

[sbarc]

I just pulled the headlight switch......and my heart sank. The culprit in the melted wiring by the headlight motor was the red/green wire (which is a power wire). I replaced 2 feet of it until I got to good wire in th wiring harness up by the headlight motor and all looked good. But that same red/green wire was burned by the headlight switch and that heat badly melted the insulation on that wire. At this point it is impossible to see the extent of the damage to the neighbouring wires.

To do a proper fix I will have to pull the dash. To do a temporary fix I could just run a new wire from the headlight switch to the headlight motor....then I can test to see if that solves the problem.

I badly need to get this car inspected before I can insure it, so I plan to do the temporary fix and do the proper fix this winter.

How easy is it to pull the dash on a '81 931?

While I have the dash out I'll probably send it to just dashes and have them refurbish it for me.

Thanks everyone for your help.
_________________
1981 931 (Canadian car)
1981 931 (US car)
1990 928GT (ROW car)
1991 Toyota MR2
1989 Toyota MR2 Super Charged
1985 Toyota Supra
1973 Triumph GT6
1971 Opel GT

[ideola]

Pulling the dash is not that hard, just tedious, as there's a lot of stuff you have to remove. But it's all easy stuff, no special tools required. From memory:
- Pull the center console (including gauge cluster, radio, and heater controls)
- Remove glove box (handful of philips head screws)
- Remove the passenger side kick panel (6 philips head screws, 3 up and 3 down)
- Remove center speaker grille.
- Remove steering wheel (uses 24mm socket)
- Remove turn signal and wiper switch assembly
- Remove steering column surround (2 pieces, just behind switch assembly)
- Remove three primary gauges & bezel
- Remove headlight switch
- Remove defrost switch
- Remove A-pillar trim
- disconnect the HVAC flex hoses to the side vents

Once you have that done, you can get the dash out. There is a nut behind the center speaker grill. There are two philips head screws on each side of the dash under the A pillar trim. There are two more screws, one on each side just under the dash and above the respective kick panels. There are two large screws that attach the dash to thin metal strips just beneath the center HVAC vents. I might have missed a few small details, but that's basically it, the dash can come out now.

If you're going to send your dash out for recovering, might I suggest Classic 9 Leathershop? He offers vinyl, leather, or alcantara covers, and his prices are very competitive with just dashes. I can get you a small discount off his retail price if you're interested.

While you have the dash out, now would be the time to replace the heater core. I would also highly recommend removing the entire HVAC box and carefully inspect and clean the heater fan. You can only get to it with the dash out.
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erstwhile owner of just about every 924 variant ever made

[sbarc]