What the hell is this?

[scot850]

That is why we have winter tires up here!

Neil.

[EricJohnson]

Clearly this is an electric motor rusted beyond recognition. However, you might be interested in what I had to do in order to get the headlight working properly on my 2005 S60, 2.5T. This car was bought in 2017 with 102,000 miles. I was replacing the right front headlight, low beam, about every 6 months, for several years. It was very hard to get the headlight bulb inserted and seated properly in the mounting bracket, but I did the best I could. Finally, I decided to take drastic measures. I used a wirecutter tool to remove a significant amount of molded plastic from the back side of the headlight assembly. I removed enough material to allow my fingers to twist the headlight bulb about 90 degrees, when inserted into the metal mounting bracket. This does not appear to have weakened the headlight assembly in any significant way, but there is an opening that would allow water to enter if I was to drive through heavy water on the roadway. The new opening can be covered with duct tape. This modification was done two years ago, and the right side lower beam has not failed during that time. Based on this, I think the headlamp will fail prematurely if it is not seated properly, likely due to excess vibration. It could be that excess heat is the main factor. One would think the lamp runs cooler if it is well attached to the metal bracket.