Any tips for eliminating headlight wobble?!

[Llewelyn82]

Hi all

My headlamps wobble a bit when they are up which is annoying at night (also conscious it's probably annoying to other road users if my lights are flickering at them as I am blistering towards them!!)

I've checked for play but don't really see anything obvious, everything seems to be in good order. 

Anyone got a fix for this?

[silverfrost]

They should not move at all,     Normally it is the pivots on the pod body,  they seize and as the headlight is raised the pop rivets tear through the fiberglass meaning the the pods shake when driving.  

Another reason could be the light backing plate that the two light units attach to,  they are steel and rust is very common due to the light pod drain hole normally blocking up and filling full of water,  sometimes when you check for movement on the later cars the plastic trim cover hides the fact the metal plate is on its last legs,  pnm do a stainless backing plate.  Remove the plastic trim to check the condtion and try and move the lights.

Also it could be a bulb dislodged at the back check for that also ?

Good luck,  I am sure it will be easy to find. 

 

[Llewelyn82]

Cheers for the advice Dan! I will have a look at some point... It's not something I've investigated in too much detail to be honest, I'm hoping the rivets haven't torn through the fibreglass though

[910Esprit]

I understand the end float on the motor (adjustable from the outside) is also a potential culprit

[eeyoreish]

On my X180 I have new pivots, arms, PNM lamps/backplates and refurbed/adjusted motors and one of the pods still has some play in it

I think it's just an accumulation of tiny movements in the chain of parts. The holes in the lift arm rose joints fit around threaded bolts so there is some small clearance there. Also at the pod end the same bolt goes through a metal bracket attached to the base of the pod. It's all a bit 'agricultural' and TBH I think that's where my play is. it's not bad, but annoying when all the parts are basically new.

I think maybe the G car setup is different so I'll investigate that when I get into that end of my TE. A fully rose jointed mod might loom...

[CarBuff]

To summarize,

 

 

Yes, it could be ALL the mentioned points.  A little slop can add up.

 

1. The GM Headlight motor's internal 'pucks'.

2. Rose (heim) joints on the end of the actuator rods.

3. The pod housing pivots. (Do you lubricate yours periodically?)

4. Cracked glassfibre where the pods are attached to the arm's mounting plate. (Many owners supplement the original with a larger plate.)

 

+++++++++

 

 

The G car motors were Lucas and had there own issues.  (Same as TR7 except for connections, correct?)

[silverfrost]

It would be nice to have some pivot shafts machined up in brass or ss as i always use WD40 and the buggers still seize/rust up in the sleeves 

[CarBuff]

I use a drop or two of the finest synthetic motor oil on my pod's pivots, yearly.

Wouldn't brass be kind of soft for that application?

 

I vote for Titanium! 😁 💪

[silverfrost]

i  think brass would be ok as the cars do not get used that much anymore as they did back in the day, and off memory i think one of the members had some door bushes machined up in the stuff and it was self lubricating off memory ?

[andydclements]

Having a headlight that doesn't seize but does need a replacement brass pivot every 10-20 years seems a decent compromise.

[drdoom]

WD40 has considerable limitations, it's a marginal lubricant and does not protect against rust over time all that well. An Esprit owning buddy was horrified when removing a WD40 soaked crankshaft from a plastic bag finding it broadly marred by rust. Thankfully his machinist was able to polish it out but the lesson was clear in understanding what can be expected of WD.

[silverfrost]

Always grease for crankshafts, and the plastic bags make them sweat,  wooden or cardboard box better lol,   

[andydclements]

Regards protecting parts in storage (so we've gone off-topic here). I'm sure the propper stuff is readily available but I used to use motorcycle chain lubricant. It goes on almost as an oil, but after a while sets to something nearly as tough as wax, so doesn't drip/ soak away. Then just a little light oil and it's gone whenever you want.

[Chillidoggy]

Yes, off topic,  but I’d recommend Denso Tape for anything steel that needs a long storage period, especially crankshaft journals and shafts. Superb stuff!

[Neil Potter]

I’ve made a bit of a study of this as I’ve recently rebuilt the motors, renewed the rose joints and replaced the headlamps and mounting plates. And I still have a wobble, though much improved.

For me it’s not the pod pivots as i can’t detect any movement at the pod attach points.

it’s not the plate the rod attaches to.

it’s the flex of the fibreglass the pod motor assembly attaches to. It’s not really thick enough, and when i manually wobble the pods the motors move too.  On the X180 there is a weedy metal bracket around the motor on each side which attaches to the bonnet floor, but doesn’t seem to help. I think Lotus changed this on later models.

i think the solution is a beefier bracket or a hefty plate between the motor and the rear of the pod cavity.

[drdoom]

I've applied some dry graphite spray lubricant to the scabrous surfaces of my original bonnet/bucket hinge pins ( GG setup on an S2 ) and found it could be worked to tighten the clearance down to the point where the hinge moves as if held in a high spec roller bearing, free turning but with zero looseness. Might serve to apply this at all pivot points in order to minimise slop.

Cheers

[slewthy]

What are our views on WD40 PTFE spray?

I understand its suspended in WD40 still but the PTFE might be a useful addition?

[drdoom]

I suspect the PTFE would be suspended in particle form in the WD, not necessarily inclined to build up a surface whereas the dry graphite is rather like a low friction paint film which dries leaving a solid surface.

[slewthy]

Can you specify make of graphite spray or a link please?

[drdoom]

In Canada we have the rather comically named aerosol, " Jig-A-Loo ", which is what I've used.