Headlight not levelling?

jeevanjohnmenon

jeevanjohnmenon

Member
United-Kingdom
Hi all, need your help please-

Bought a pair of headlights off a lovely gentleman from the forum, polished them up real good, put in new bulbs, and got them on the car.

BUT! The drivers side beam was too low, and I managed to adjust it higher using the white hex screw ( second, further away one). So that side is fine.

However my passenger side beam was too high, and when trying to adjust it down with the same white hex screw, nothing happened. Tried to adjust with the left/ right hex screw and nothing happened either.

Note: the motors seem to work fine as both headlights shift up and down when I control them from inside the car. It’s just the passenger side white hex screw that won’t shift the beam down. ( I think I’ve placed the bulb in properly? I’ll have to check tomorrow.)

So before I drive 2 hours each way to the gentleman who sold me the headlights to have him take a look, I’d very much rather ask if I might’ve missed anything? Or is there another way to adjust the left beam down?

Thanks in advance!
 
All the adjusters are, are captive threaded bolts which each move their corner of the headlight's reflector relative to the fixed lens and casing when they are turned. (The third reflector mount is static). Have they been adjusted so far that those mounting points on the reflector have reached or even exceeded the tops of the threads? Could they therefore be persuaded to re-engage by careful manipulation, off the car with the back cover of the headlight removed? Be careful, I have previously managed to break an adjuster completely off and thus render the headlight fit for parts only, by keeping on turning it when the reflector wasn't moving any more. You need to be sure which way the adjuster threads run and which way you will need to turn the knobs. I believe they will be opposite-handed to their counterparts on the headlight on the other side where the adjusters work, but you will need to verify that.
 
Proghound said:
All the adjusters are, are captive threaded bolts which each move their corner of the reflector of the headlight relative to the fixed lens and casing when they are turned - the third reflector mount is static. Have they been adjusted so far that those reflector mountings have reached or even exceeded the tops of the threads? Could they therefore be persuaded to re-engage by careful manipulation, off the car with the back cover of the headlight removed? Be careful though, I have previously managed to break an adjuster completely off by keeping on turning it when the reflector wasn't moving it any more. You need to be sure which way the adjuster threads run and which way you will need to turn the knobs - I believe they will be opposite-handed to their counterparts on the headlight on the other side where the adjusters work, but you will need to verify that.
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Wow thank you!

I don’t think I have the mechanical know how to even know where to watch to know if anything is turning 🤣

If you have a picture of where to look, that would be awesome.
 
Sadly, no, I'm just going on logic and vaguely remembered experience, to give you some pointers to aid your research. But I'm quite sure that if you've got the mechanical know-how to get the headlights on and off the car, you'll be able to understand what's going on inside. Like I said the adjuster knobs are the ends of captive threaded bolts, so the reflector mountings will move up and down those bolts as they are turned. So in the areas of the adjuster knobs inside the headlights, is where to look. You have the light on the other side and presumably your own previous units to experiment with to see what changes when you turn the adjusters.
 
Proghound said:
Sadly, no, I'm just going on logic and vaguely remembered experience, to give you some pointers to aid your research. But I'm quite sure that if you've got the mechanical know-how to get the headlights on and off the car, you'll be able to understand what's going on inside. Like I said the adjuster knobs are the ends of captive threaded bolts, so the reflector mountings will move up and down those bolts as they are turned. So in the areas of the adjuster knobs inside the headlights, is where to look. You have the light on the other side and presumably your own previous units to experiment with to see what changes when you turn the adjusters.
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Yes I see what you mean!

When I turn the further white hex screw clockwise ( passenger headlight), I can see while looking inside ( cover removed), that the captive screw is coming further out.

And screwing it anti clockwise sees it going further in. I just can’t tell if the bulb did indeed move.

I guess I’ll have to try on the headlight already in the car, having the headlight on and the beam against the ground is the only way to say for sure if it’s successfully shifted up/down. 🤔
 
jeevanjohnmenon said:
Yes I see what you mean!

When I turn the further white hex screw clockwise ( passenger headlight), I can see while looking inside ( cover removed), that the captive screw is coming further out.

And screwing it anti clockwise sees it going further in. I just can’t tell if the bulb did indeed move.

I guess I’ll have to try on the headlight already in the car, having the headlight on and the beam against the ground is the only way to say for sure if it’s successfully shifted up/down. 🤔
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Oh - yes you have to try and adjust in the dark with the headlamps on and pointing at a wall or something from twenty feet or so away! :)

You won't see the headlamp move really in the day. Try it one full turn of the allen key at a time until you're happy - I normally have the passenger side adjusted just a little higher than the driver's side to have the best balance of dipped beam lighting the road far ahead enough to drive at normal speeds but yet not blinding oncoming traffic.
 
Im in process of adjusting mine and you wont see them move unless your in the full dark. ITs a bit tricky to see which light is giving which beam so im going to plug one in a t a time. IM currently massively high after being massively low! Trial and error but recommend doing just one at a time to get field of light good. IM comparing my pattern against my other newer car for heights against my fence from 4 meters as thats best i can do.
 
I've found that for me it's best to adjust the headlamps to their uppermost setting on the dial in the cabin and then deliberately adjust the headlamps until they are a shade too high, then use the internal dial to lower them so that they are the correct height at around the "2" setting. In this way, I can raise the headlamps on fast unlit multi-lane roads a little without blinding oncoming traffic, then reduce the height again away from these roads - This enables me to get the best possible performance from the Philips Racing Vision +200 bulbs I have fitted.
 
dj_efk said:
I've found that for me it's best to adjust the headlamps to their uppermost setting on the dial in the cabin and then deliberately adjust the headlamps until they are a shade too high, then use the internal dial to lower them so that they are the correct height at around the "2" setting. In this way, I can raise the headlamps on fast unlit multi-lane roads a little without blinding oncoming traffic, then reduce the height again away from these roads - This enables me to get the best possible performance from the Philips Racing Vision +200 bulbs I have fitted.
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Nice tip, good thinking
 
Thanks all for the replies!

So this is how different the beams are ( see photo)

Would it work if I:
1. Disconnected the drivers side, then used the switch above the headlight switch to shift it lower. Shift until it’s at a suitable height.
2. Then, disconnect the passenger side, connect drivers side and adjust in the same manner.
3. Disconnect both headlights, then adjust the switch back to its bottom most setting, then connect both headlights.

I’m ASSUMING they’ll both be at the same level. Would this idea work?
 

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Ami said:
John @jeevanjohnmenon bring to me and I will happily adjust it for you, I am in my workshop on Saturday, I have spare motors, adjusters, 7 spare Headlights.
It would be free of charge, Coffee & tea is provided as well :)
Cheers
Ami
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@Ami could you let me know what @jeevanjohnmenon ’s issue with his headlamp was?

Since replacing my drivers side bulb I hadn’t realised how out of alignment my driver’s side headlamp was following my replacing it with a less hazy one - I have tonight just adjusted it down to stop dazzling oncoming traffic - which necessitated adjusting it all the way done until the adjust disengaged so try it’s thread and it’s still only just about ok!

Now with the headlamps on I can hear the height adjuster motor constantly engaging so something is definitely amiss.
 
It’s definitely located ok - I had the headlamp out and took my time / checked it as I went along.
 
Did you rotate the range motor to give more access and forget to lock it back in position? Or even disconnect it from the ball end fitment on the light unit?
 
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