well today was nice out so I was messing around with my lights it seems that the headlight motor only comes on when it feels like it usually when I am about to give up I hit the switch and it works
for about 2 times then it dose not work no matter what I do . I noticed that if I turn just the parking lights on the other motor spins but dose not raise or lower is this something related maybe a wiring problem and not a motor problem.

as for the fan it dose not come on unless I hit the ac button but if I unplug the ecm it is on all the time. is it better to drive with the ac button on or the ecm ground wire disconnected
I use this for pizza delivery so lots of idling


thanks
Graham

Your headlights need to be taken apart to see exactley whats wrong.I would search the mall section and upgrade to 87-88 Fiero headlights,you will need the wireing harness (detaches at the firewall),the motors,brackets and modual (everything).If you upgrade,you may have to rebuild those too,but it's a more dependabe system.As for your fan,I would say it's your fan switch on the engine.
http://cgi.ebay.com/PARTING...QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[This message has been edited by James Bond 007 (edited 04-05-2008).]

the car is a 87 but it looks like one of the motors is the 1st gen the one that works is second gen


the ecm/fan switch is new but the car did over heat once when it snapped a belt would that damage the switch?

no,a snaped belt wouldn't damage the switch.But if you used teflon tape or liquid thread seal the switch may not be grounding it's self through the threads (normalley you can use teflon tape,and the threads would break through while installing the switch)Try makeing a ground wire and attach it to the base of the fan switch,that will tell you if it's a ground problem with the threads (be aware that the fan doesn't turn on till about 220 degrees)As to your first question would this be a wiring problem (head light motors)?no,one of your motors needs to be rebuilt or replaced.
Try here (under Electrical).
http://www.rodneydickman.com/
Quote from Rodney Dickmans web sight:
The 1987-1988 Fieros, 1987-1992 Firebirds, 88-96 Corvette, and 88-02 Lotus Esprit and Elan, have the GM second generation redesigned headlight motors. They are very durable and very long lasting. They are also easy to rebuild when they fail! If your headlights fail to rise and the motors keep spinning this rebuild kit will solve your problem. If the motor(s) don't run you may have a wiring or controller problem. If one actuator fails and the other probably isn't far behind.

if you smack the switch and the system then works, I'd start by replacing the switch.

if you have a gen 1 headlight motor on an 87, I'd replace the gen 1 motor with the correct one AND verify that the wiring by the headlight has not been changed. You can contact member buddycraigg and get a "known good" motor or get one from a scrap yard. You can rebuild the motors if you want but I'll mention 2 things: (1) the motors were not designed to be rebuilt and (2) it's not as easy as it seems (at least for me). Things fall out of place when you open the case - like the motor windings - and it's easy to get them back in wrong. If you assume that your time is worth something, and figure the cost of the re-build kit, you are probably MUCh farther ahead to simply get another motor and swap it in.

As far as the fan is concerned, your problem is probably THE most common one on the forum. A lot of people just turn on the A/C to turn on the fan. Some diagnose the problem and replace bad sensors when they find them. me ? - the ONLY thing I will EVER do is this - it's the cheapest and easiest fix (except turning on the A/C) AND gives you a manual adjustment for the fan and seperate on/off switch.

//www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/084323.html

[This message has been edited by PaulJK (edited 04-05-2008).]

Didn't the 87/88 delete the fan switch and use the input from the temp sensor that the ecm reads?
Maybe it was the relay that was deleted--can't remember now, but there is a note about it in TheOgre's Cave.

the 87/88 with AC used the ecm for the fan if no AC then same sensor as other models

what makes you think you have a gen1 motor?
they will work, but most people don't understand how to wire them correctly

i'm trying to find some pics to show the difference between the motors, the biggest difference is the knob on top.

yes one has a larger top then the other it also has 3 wires coming off but I guess it was wired correctly it seems to work sometimes but I had to cut the wire when I got it to rewire it because when you turned on the lights it would go down and off would make it go up

find a gen2 motor to save yourself some headaches.