Aiming of ellip headlights?

[JasonC]

I googled it and found nothing. But I'm on my phone so that may not help. Anyways does anyone have the specs to where the lights are to be aimed?


Edit: Nevermind, found a diagram showing that the car should be 25' from a wall and measure to the center of the headlights on the car. The cutoff should be the same height on the wall.

[AndrewBird]

That is correct. More here:

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/aim/aim.html

I've always wondered though, wouldn't different height cars change the distance you are supposed to be away from the wall? I mean, if a slammed e30 sets it's lights level, but then a lifted truck does the same, they are hardly lighting up the same area of road. The truck would be lighting the road much further ahead. You would think there would be an angle the beam should be set to and a ratio of height to length from wall.

[Fourbanger]

The diagram I have says 12cm down from 10m out.

[JasonC]

That thought came to mind about trucks after I posted the edit. Cause by that way of doing it they will be blinding everyone.

Thanks for the links and picture. I'm going to do the 32' out and 4 3/4" drop.

[ELVA164]

The diagram I have says 12cm down from 10m out.

Those look like Euro cutoffs in that diagram. I would assume they require a slightly different aiming procedure than US-spec lights.


...Unless Jason meant Euro ellipsoids, then disregard this post.

[drinaldis]

I know it has something to do with the height of the lights on the car or truck, i.e. tall trucks get set different than lower cars.

[JasonC]

Yeah, I got the E codes.

[Mo Brighta]

Headlight aiming here and over there

I know it has something to do with the height of the lights on the car or truck, i.e. tall trucks get set different than lower cars.

If I recall, height makes a difference in Europe, but not in the US.

The US light aiming procedure does not consider the height of the headlights above ground, anything between 22 and 56 inches is legal if I recall. US specs aim them based only on a certain drop below light height at a certain distance. I get blinded by most taller vehicles when they are close, and do not like it one bit.

In Europe, the higher the headlight above the ground, the steeper the down angle from horizontal. This is I presume to avoid lights in taller vehicles blinding drivers in lower cars. In most newer large truck-like vehicles in the US, the driver does not seem to know or care that they are blinding the poor folks who drive passenger cars. Or in our case, the lucky folks.

Anyway, that's the way I understand it... I'm about to go and adjust my low beams up a little, to light a bit more distance down the road. I have them really low out of kindness; I must be getting old and crotchety!

[diamonddonbmw]

So, I was trying to aim my headlights last night, using the info from danielsternlighting.com (thank you very much; terrific site for lighting info and differences!!).
My problem was in physically adjusting the headlights. The adjusting screws are positioned diagonally rather than directly on top and on the side of the lights. I'm needing to raise the low beams, so they're shining farther down the road (using the aiming procedures they're 1-2 inches too low at 25' from the wall). When I was turning the "horizontal adj screws" the light was moving in and down more. I couldn't get them to aim higher.

[Mo Brighta]

Aiming axis is diagonal?

So, I was trying to aim my headlights last night, using the info from danielsternlighting.com (thank you very much; terrific site for lighting info and differences!!).
My problem was in physically adjusting the headlights. The adjusting screws are positioned diagonally rather than directly on top and on the side of the lights. I'm needing to raise the low beams, so they're shining farther down the road (using the aiming procedures they're 1-2 inches too low at 25' from the wall). When I was turning the "horizontal adj screws" the light was moving in and down more. I couldn't get them to aim higher.

Hmmm, that is weird, but I have seen cars where the lights were put in the buckets rotated at some strange angle to one side or the other -- even upside down. Doesn't sound like you have this issue, though.
My sealed beam buckets have a pivot point at one of the 45 degree points, with up/down and left/right adjustments on the top and side. Other buckets likely use a similar setup, but I don't have any of them in front of me at the moment.

What happens when you turn both the adjusting screws -- maybe one points it 'up and in', the other 'up and out', with the result being 'up'?

Can you post pics of the adjusters ?

Have you tried pulling out the lights, then oiling / greasing the buckets at their pivots and adjusting them to their extremes? Maybe this will break loose any sticking parts of the mechanism...

Anybody know what the correct lube is for the adjusting screws?

[Brian7]

I just adjusted mine tonight and had to spray some liquid penetrant spray on the threaded studs so I could turn the adjusters at the plastic piece with a flathead screwdriver. Without spraying that penetrant, I'm sure I would have broken the end pieces and been pissed off. To adjust the headlights down, its the furthest adjusters out (closest to the fenders).

[Mo Brighta]

Up/Down Dilemma

... To adjust the headlights down, its the furthest adjusters out (closest to the fenders).

Post # 3 by Fourbanger says vertical adjustment is made with the adjusters at the top, between the headlights (#2 in the diagram) ... unless your setup is not as shown, which is quite possible.

How did the penetrant spray affect the plastic adjusters? Which brand did you use?

May be too soon to tell if there's any negative impact, I suppose. I may be nervous, but want to avoid damaging the plastic.

[diamonddonbmw]

Finished my adjustment process a couple of nights ago. I'd removed the housings and lubed the screws. (Used wd40) After I let that sit for awhile I was able to gently get the adjusters loosened enough so I could use a screw driver for adjusting. That was a couple of weeks ago. I wasn't able to adjust them on the car 'til now. They're much better now.

[Fourbanger]

You have much more patience than I. I ended up spending $100 on new adjusters for my smilies. They're great now, though :p

[Brian7]

Post # 3 by Fourbanger says vertical adjustment is made with the adjusters at the top, between the headlights (#2 in the diagram) ... unless your setup is not as shown, which is quite possible.

How did the penetrant spray affect the plastic adjusters? Which brand did you use?

May be too soon to tell if there's any negative impact, I suppose. I may be nervous, but want to avoid damaging the plastic.

Shit, it's been a while since I was in there adjusting them. Now I can't remember LOL I used Liquid Wrench to free the stuck threads. WD40 would work too. Pretty necessary to free them first before attempting to turn them.