Headlight Adjustment

[dbanker]

I'm considering doing this myself but am wondering if I should just let a shop take care of this. Since installing my Silverstars the beam pattern isn't correct, or it wasn't correct before and I am now just noticing it. I have the Haynes Repair Manual which explains how to do this yourself but emphasizes on having a shop do it. What do you think? How much would it cost to have this done?

[SKYravefever]

Do it yourself, unless you know the shop actually knows what they're doing other than making sure the lights are even/leveled. Most do not, and thus I suggest you do it yourself.

[Peter]

can you scan me that page? i think i might have to adjust them too.

[01RDSLE]

find yourself a quiet emty parking lot, at night, have a phillips and a flash light at the ready and get ready set go . . .

turn on your lights
pop the hood
walk out about 30 feet and crouch down make a mental note
return back to your car and turn the screw clockwise a few turns on the drivers side light. use the flashlight to identify the adjustment screw.
go back out and crouch down again this time, in addition to directly in front of your car, crouch down on the right side as well. Why? You want to simulate a driver in oncoming traffic. So when you crouch, go down only far enough as your sitting in a car.
go back and do the other light
repeat, repeat repeat . . . you goal here is to make sure they're the same intensity.
note that your passenger light shines different then the drivers light, so don't panic and over compenate the drivers light to match this one.
go for a drive, is everything ok?
if not repeat.

bam, jeesh, thats enough of martha stewart

do it yourself. no tech is going to take the time to do it right. I did it. It took a few days of driving around and tweeking to get them where I wanted them. My only goal maximum visibility without blinding everyone. And it didn't cost a dime.

[dbanker]

can you scan me that page? i think i might have to adjust them too.

Peter- I'll try to get the headlight adjustment pages scanned for you in the next few days...I'll e-mail them to you then.

As for 01RDSLE adjustment instructions, you can give that a shot. However, the instructions provided in the Haynes Repair Manual appear to be more thorough and precise. I haven't done this yet but I'm going to try this weekend. Based on the instructions it shouldn't take more than 20-30 minutes.

[Peter]

thanks dbanker, let me know how it goes.

[SKYravefever]

find yourself a quiet emty parking lot, at night, have a phillips and a flash light at the ready and get ready set go . . .

turn on your lights
pop the hood
walk out about 30 feet and crouch down make a mental note
return back to your car and turn the screw clockwise a few turns on the drivers side light. use the flashlight to identify the adjustment screw.
go back out and crouch down again this time, in addition to directly in front of your car, crouch down on the right side as well. Why? You want to simulate a driver in oncoming traffic. So when you crouch, go down only far enough as your sitting in a car.
go back and do the other light
repeat, repeat repeat . . . you goal here is to make sure they're the same intensity.
note that your passenger light shines different then the drivers light, so don't panic and over compenate the drivers light to match this one.
go for a drive, is everything ok?
if not repeat.

bam, jeesh, thats enough of martha stewart

do it yourself. no tech is going to take the time to do it right. I did it. It took a few days of driving around and tweeking to get them where I wanted them. My only goal maximum visibility without blinding everyone. And it didn't cost a dime.

That technique's good to see if your lights are leveled. However, crouching down does not remotely come close to being able to simulate glare for oncoming traffic. Obviously, the best way to do that is to have a friend drive as oncoming traffic. However, that does not exactly provide the best measurement.

Here's a brief description of the process. What you ultimately want is a 2.1" drop for every 25ft. What I mean is: 1) turn on your lights when parked against the wall, 2) mark on the wall where the beam cuts off or ends at the top, 3) pull your car back 25 ft., 4) see if the cut off has dropped/fallen 2 inches (obviously you won't be able to get 2.1 inches) from the original position.

The Haynes manual will describe this in further detail.

[dbanker]

Just finished adjusting my headlights this evening (while it was snowing nonetheless) and it worked out great. BTW, I used the Haynes Repair Manual method of adjustment. The whole process took maybe 15-20 minutes and was very easy. I'll post the instructions on how to do this sometime this weekend for those who want to give it a shot.

[AzN_DrAgoN48]

i installed silverstars a while ago... do i need to readjust them? and how do i know if i do need to adjust them?

[Peter]

i installed silverstars a while ago... do i need to readjust them? and how do i know if i do need to adjust them?

if they were fine before, and you just replaced them, then u dont need to. you can check if you need to though by doing what 01RDSLE said to do.

[NASTY]

anyone know a good place to buy silverstars online?

[Yanks0114]

http://www.sylvania.com/auto/drtv.htm if you want silverstars for headlights and fogs. Plus there is a $10 rebate.

From just one set
http://www.sylvania.com/auto/silverstar.htm
All the way at the bottom is online retailers

[TadS]

I got mine on ebay. Only paid $35 America after shipping and rebate. I thought that was pretty good . The seller I got them from was "suvconcepts".

[dbanker]

Here's the instructions from the Haynes manual on headlight adjustment:

1. Halogen bulb type headlights have two adjustment screws located on the top of each headlight housing. Adjustments are made by turning two screws on the headlight housings.

2. There are several methods of adjusting the headlights. The simplest method requires masking take, a blank wall and a level floor.

3. Position masking tape vertically on the wall in reference to the vehicle centerline and the centerlines of both headlights.

4. Position a horizontal tape line in reference ot the centerline of all the headlights. *Note: It may (IS) easier to position the tape on the wall with the vehicle parked only a few inches away.

5. Adjustment should be made with the vechicle parked 25 feet from the wall, sitting level, the gas tank half-full and no unusually heavy load in the vehicle.

6. Starting with the low beam adjustment, position the high intensity zone so it is two inches below the horizontal line and two inches to the side of the headlight vertical line, away from oncoming traffic.

7. With the high beams on, the high intensity zone should be vertically centered with the exact center just below the horizontal line.


Pretty simple stuff...I didn't bother adjusting the highbeams since lowbeams are most used. Like Peter said, adjustment is not necessary if you get the bulbs replaced. I noticed my pattern was off just be shinning the lights against a garage door. The beam pattern has improved greatly...I'm surprised how much the aim was off on my headlights. The only hard part in this is finding a completely flat surface. To get an accurate adjustment you must have this.

[01RDSLE]

dbanker . . . 1. Halogen bulb type headlights have two adjustment screws located on the top of each headlight housing. Adjustments are made by turning two screws on the headlight housings


two screws? my car is an 01model. I know of the vertical screw, but where is the other one?

thanks