Headlights stuck up + won't switch on

So, those '5 minute jobs' that always take two hours... lol


Finally got round to sorting this out as not being able to go out after 4pm was getting quite restrictive

What had happened was the connector to the nearside lamp unit was off to the side behind the cover - meaning it was getting trapped between the 'support arm' holding the rubber stop that stops the headlight from popping up too far, and the mechanism when it had moved up to lift the unit. It had got slowly eaten, to the point that the wire casings were worn and had shorted out on the arm itself.


Simple enough fix, no?


Well, after I'd:


- got the lamp unit out

- seen I couldn't disconnect it because the connector was trapped

- put the lamp unit back in

- changed the fuse for one that works

- dropped the headlights (as I'd put them up on the dash button to stop them trying anything unexpected)

- failed to move the wire out of the way sufficiently from behind the unit

- popped the headlight back up

- seen the orange warning/operation light on the dash hadn't gone out

- pressed the button to drop them again and try to turn the warning light off

- seen the offside unit drop but the nearside unit stay up

- popped the offside up again to try and fix the issue

- smelt a slightly burn-y smell from the nearside unit motor...

- hurried to try to cut the power by disconnecting the battery, involving laying on the damp floor with one arm and a spanner underneath the boot to get to the nut that was otherwise spinning freely with the bolt I had a ratchet and my other hand on inside the boot, which was holding the battery in place (because bodged and not the OEM setup) - because I couldn't get a spanner on the terminal clamps where it was

- forgotten / ignored / not seen the motor unit power connector just off to the side of the motor, which would have been much quicker and easier...


- scooped out most of the inch and a half of water sitting in the boot well

- wondered exactly how much rust it takes to rust through entirely


- moved the motor unit down halfway manually when the power was finally cut

- cleared the connector and wire from its trap-able position

- electrical taped the bare wire on the connector

- broken out the zip ties and bodged one around the connector in a place that didn't interfere with the wires coming into it, and then tied that one to another one that was tied to the other side of the internal mechanism, to keep it out of the way of the supporting arm thing when the unit is moving

- reconnected the power loosely

- tried out an alternative headlight that I got off someone on here and hadn't got round to fitting

- decided I was used to the beam pattern on the current set up and put the unit back in that I'd removed

- checked the lights still worked and weren't shorting

- checked the units were dropping and lifting properly (remarkable how the motor didn't burn itself out earlier TBH!)

- roughly checked the alignment was still okay

- put everything back together

- reconnected the battery properly and lain on the floor again to do it up securely


- topped up the screenwash and got it everywhere

- thrown some more water at it to rinse it / at least dilute it

- topped up the oil

- checked the coolant level

- opened the rad cap and wondered WTF all the brown gunk was that had collected on it

- cleaned off the mystery substance (which I think is oil still in the system from when the head gasket went ages ago... but then it will just be lubricating the water pump... won't it? )

- refitted it

- cleaned the vast amount of condensation off the inside of the screen

- cleaned the lights

- looked at the foglight bracket so I could work out how to replace the snapped-off-but-now-held-in-place-with-zipties current unit

- tidied all the tools away and walked round to make sure I'd not been a total div and left stuff laying around

- felt mildly satisfied but wondered if I am suffering cognitive decline given it took such a ridiculous amount of time, faffing about and putting tools down and forgetting where I'd left them