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headlight and fog light adjustments

18798 Views 5 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  rentalcarsuae2
Anyone know how to adjust the level of the headlights and fog lights? I installed HID's but they need to be adjusted.

Thanks
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Without looking it up I would guess.

On each headlight there is a white plastic piece near the back of housing. It looks like an Allen wrench will turn the gear. Near the front of housing is a thing that says clockwise for down, counter clockwise for up?
Yes, there should be an M6 Allen head adjustment screw on the back of the headlamp. The foglamps should have a similar adjustment screw.

I presume you are aiming to FMVSS (SAE) North American requirements. To do so, park the car on a level surface 25 feet from a vertical wall. Most driveways have a slight pitch to them, hence the garage door is not perpendicular to the ground plane. You're welcome to trig the values below if you have no other options.

Measure the distance from the ground to the fiduciary mark at the center of the headlamp lens. This is a little circle on the outer lens about 3mm in diameter directly forward of the projector center.

Place a piece of masking tape on the vertical surface (wall / door) with an edge of the tape at the same height as the fiduciary mark in front of the headlamp. Place a second piece of tape at the same height in front of the other lamp.

Now place a trash can or other opaque item in front of the lamp you are not aiming. Do NOT place anything directly over the lamp (towel, blanket, etc) as the heat generated by the lamps is sufficient to damage the lens in a very short time (same goes for tinted headlamp covers; they are a sure way to ruin your headlamps). The low beam should be aimed so the top of the beam pattern falls right on this line on the RH side of the beam pattern (there will be a small dip in the pattern to the left of center. Aim the higher portion of the beam to the tape line).

Switch the opaque blocking device to the other side and repeat this procedure for the other headlamp.

Using the same method, place a piece of tape 4 inches lower than the low beam height line on each side. This serves as the aiming height for the fog lamps.

To recap, headlamps are aimed to be parallel to ground. Fog lamps should be aimed 4 inches down at 20 feet.

Feel free to ask for clarification if any part of this is not clear. :)
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I am also trying to adjust my drivers side headlight (problem with headlight socket melting). The adjustment screw does not lower or raise the beam of light. Is there something I need to fix before I can aim the headlight beams?
I am having the same problem. I can turn the adjuster but nothing is happening. Is there a way to repair that adjuster screw or am I faced with replacing the whole headlamp assembly?
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