the bird is having problems

[scoutsniper]

well today i ran into some problems with the formula. its a 1991 with a 305 TPI

first is my passanger headlight goes up sometimes but today it wouldnt at all. i had to help it up.

second. my brights are stuck on. i tried to click them off but they wont. (when i tried to turn them on i had to hold the switch for them to stay on. then i noticed they were stuck on. on the way home)

third. today my car ran fine. i put some gas in it. no problems drove about 15miles and shut it off. about 2 hours later i came out and it was cranking but not firing. i had to pump the gas pedal to get it to run. it wouldnt idle and revved it a couple of times and finally it started to idle.

so thats my problems so far. if i can get any help that would be great

[phoenix_rising]

A short maybe? Bad ground? How hot was your car running?

[MiT/A'96]

Could be a lot of different things.
Better start testing...

[bigjon88]

sounds like a short somewhere or alot of worn out parts i would start with looking for broken, lose wires and grounds and go from there

[1989Formula]

check and see if you need a new battery ....low voltage does shady shit to those cars


for example :

mine would completely die when i would attempt to start it ...no lights no nothing...couldnt even roll start it. if i put the key in start and held it for 30sec (not cranking wtf) my tailgate would release and the power locks would cycle. I would go put the tailgate down and it would fire on the first crank

i got a battery and its never happened again. i swear i thought it was pocessed

[steddy]

well today i ran into some problems with the formula. its a 1991 with a 305 TPI

first is my left headlight goes up sometimes but today it wouldnt at all. i had to help it up.

second. my brights are stuck on. i tried to click them off but they wont. (when i tried to turn them on i had to hold the switch for them to stay on. then i noticed they were stuck on. on the way home)

third. today my car ran fine. i put some gas in it. no problems drove about 15miles and shut it off. about 2 hours later i came out and it was cranking but not firing. i had to pump the gas pedal to get it to run. it wouldnt idle and revved it a couple of times and finally it started to idle.

so thats my problems so far. if i can get any help that would be great

#1. Sounds like you're in need of a new headlight motor.

#2. It could be a bent rod that actuates the brights (assuming it's on the turn signal stalk).

#3. Could be bad gas, I'd go put some different gas in to check it out.

[Phantom409]

The bad gas thing is a possibility
A thing of dry gas might help?

[scoutsniper]

i have great voltage 14, 50 oil at when im running 30 idle when im hot, temp runs 160 moving but it does start to get hot when im idling for a while.

well i was hoping it wasnt a headlight motor. how does one of thoughs cost? it would sometimes go up a little then i would have to turn the headlights off and turn them back on and it would work. now it just goes up about 2-3 inches and i have to lift it the rest off the way.

its on the turn signal ( my dad took my steering wheel apart and couple days ago to fix a little wabble it had. there were 3 screws that were loose so he tighten thoughs but it didnt fix the problem. could that have anything to do with it)

i had never been to that store before for gas. it was kinda in the ghetto. but after i got it started its been running fine ever since. idle at about 700 to 800 rpm.

[Darren]

you call these problems? lol just everyday car stuff, headlight motor sounds like its bad get a new one or leave the head light in the up position sounds like your brights might be stuck on cause you have the switch in the postion or locked that way. As for it not starting that one time it does sound like bad gas or maybe its time for a tune up? But I'd be leading towards bad gas...

Also need to keep in mind that you do own a thirdgen and these things will happen on a daily basis, mine talks back sometimes but just like any good women you just gotta put it in its place

[scoutsniper]

i know my other firebird had problems. really bad electric problem.

well i tested my healights. sometimes it goes up sometimes it only goes up 2-3in. i noticed that when i open it and close it. the motor keeps spinning for another 2-3 seconds. any idea's

how do i fix my brights switch. do i gotta tear my column apart?

thanks everyone.

[bigjon88]

join thirdgen.org they can help ya more but ya you would have to get a new switch and rip it all a part

[98blackbeauty]

headlight up and down could be gear stripping. Yeap I think you have to take the steering column apart to adj lever so bright switch works correctly.

[scoutsniper]

yea i think the gear is stripped on the headlight. it stil goes down just not up all the way.

so i gotta tear the column apart to fix the brights? what would i be looking for to fix?

[steddy]

Most of the experience I have with the hi-beam lever is with the 4th gens. They have a rod that's attached to the stalk itself, then it leads to a switch farther down the column (under the dash). I've fiddled with this because it's problematic on mine, but haven't been able to talk it into working just right. I find that if I tilt the wheel a little less, it'll work just fine.

[scoutsniper]

ill try that. i just want them off i dont need them.