aimming headlights ?
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korbeano89
- Posts: 238
- Joined: Thu May 28, 2009 6:36 pm
- Car: 1997 Infiniti QX4
aimming headlights ?
my cousin said that i should aim my lights down because they were to high i have hids (10000k) so i thought id try it, but know im seeing alot of the grounddoes any one know how high and how far apart the light beams should be, im aiming them on my garage door.
Re: aimming headlights ? (korbeano89)
you could try http://www.danielsternlighting....html
basically, it boils down to this... find something like 25 ft of flat ground from end to end. it doesn't really have to be level, just as long as it's flat.
pull right up to the door/wall whatever as close as you possibly can. mark the spot (what should be the "center" of the headlight). back up STRAIGHT. assuming you have visible cut off lines, they shouldn't go above the marks. and should only go about 2 inches down.
I noticed that after adjusting my headlamps last night, the position of the headlights when I pulled up to the wall was higher (since i raised the aim)... so I figured that i should adjust the headlight to THIS new "center"... and it did make a HUGE difference.
I installed a HID conversion kit, but immediately after installing, it seemed like the headlights were aimed too low. I tried re-aiming by eyeballing it off another car, but I ended up lowering it even more (because I was trying to avoid hitting the mirrors on the other car). So I followed the link, which I got from another thread, so if you want to credit someone, you can credit them (i'm too lazy to remember who, where that was). And THEN, I adjusted it slightly more with the "new" center.
Earlier tonight, I drove behind my friend and he told me how it didn't bother him at all. Just the right height.
basically, it boils down to this... find something like 25 ft of flat ground from end to end. it doesn't really have to be level, just as long as it's flat.
pull right up to the door/wall whatever as close as you possibly can. mark the spot (what should be the "center" of the headlight). back up STRAIGHT. assuming you have visible cut off lines, they shouldn't go above the marks. and should only go about 2 inches down.
I noticed that after adjusting my headlamps last night, the position of the headlights when I pulled up to the wall was higher (since i raised the aim)... so I figured that i should adjust the headlight to THIS new "center"... and it did make a HUGE difference.
I installed a HID conversion kit, but immediately after installing, it seemed like the headlights were aimed too low. I tried re-aiming by eyeballing it off another car, but I ended up lowering it even more (because I was trying to avoid hitting the mirrors on the other car). So I followed the link, which I got from another thread, so if you want to credit someone, you can credit them (i'm too lazy to remember who, where that was). And THEN, I adjusted it slightly more with the "new" center.
Earlier tonight, I drove behind my friend and he told me how it didn't bother him at all. Just the right height.
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korbeano89
- Posts: 238
- Joined: Thu May 28, 2009 6:36 pm
- Car: 1997 Infiniti QX4
Re: aimming headlights ? (UndeGuy)
thanks UndeGuy
Re: aimming headlights ? (fueler)
Um... I'm not sure if there's a difference in the PF housing vs QX4, but I was only able to find ONE adjusting screw for it. In my case, it's on the side close to the fender, there's not "cap" (unless you count the "screw" itself, imagine a bottle cap but with teeth).fueler wrote:undeguy, which of the 2 adjuster things did you twist to adjust the height - the one with the cap on it or the one without the cap?
man i was twisting the gear (without the cap) several turns in either direction and my light was not moving up or down at all.
unfortunately, I didn't take a picture because it was too dark and my phone would never be able to see anything. And I never remember to do so during the day.
It has a pair of plastic guides above it (I'd say about an inch above the screw). then a bit of guide plastic right at the screw, so the screwdriver is pointing straight down.
You'll have to excuse my "artistic" talents... or lack there of.
Where the red oval is...
PS.. yeah, you probably won't notice a thing if you only twist it a few turns... it takes a lot of turns. ONE full screwdriver rotation will move the marker MAYBE quarter of an inch or half a cm on the wall 25 ft away.
forget my pic... zerothread/210717 (scroll down a bit)
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Qxxx4
- Posts: 1804
- Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2008 5:39 pm
- Car: 1999.5 Infiniti QX4
2012 Ford Mustang - Contact:
Re: aimming headlights ? (UndeGuy)
so wait, i can adjust the height with the stock housing?
Re: aimming headlights ? (Qxxx4)
^^of course dude!!
Undeguy, thanks for clarifying. yes i was twisting the correct gear then. Cause on the other side of my headlamp (closest to the grille), theres another gear that is hidden under a cap (which can only be removed with a screwdriver which i *think* adjusts left to right action.
Undeguy, thanks for clarifying. yes i was twisting the correct gear then. Cause on the other side of my headlamp (closest to the grille), theres another gear that is hidden under a cap (which can only be removed with a screwdriver which i *think* adjusts left to right action.
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Qxxx4
- Posts: 1804
- Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2008 5:39 pm
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2012 Ford Mustang - Contact:
Re: aimming headlights ? (fueler)
am i high? WHERE is this adjustment and what does it adjust? where the bulb points?
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Qxxx4
- Posts: 1804
- Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2008 5:39 pm
- Car: 1999.5 Infiniti QX4
2012 Ford Mustang - Contact:
Re: aimming headlights ? (fueler)
oh snap. I will definately see if this helps me later!
Re: aimming headlights ? (Qxxx4)
Quote »I think in your case, your bulbs really are reversed... DESPITE the wiring of HID to low, it might actually be the HIGH beam. And the halogen is "supposed" to be your "Low beam."
I say that because the positioning of the HID is too close to the Halogen bulb next to it... and because of that, you're going to get a similar pattern out of your housing. So then the only difference would be the brightness... and much older used to be aimed the same for both high and low, with only the brightness being the difference.
Well, that's my guess anyway. When I replaced my headlight housing in the Mitsubishi Mirage I had, the new wiring harness came backward. The low beam setting on the switch activated the HIGH beam bulb. That bothered me, so I yanked out the harness, and flipped the wires around (took a while, since I had to make sure I was switching the right wires). If you want to do that, do that on the HID wiring harness connection to the stock wiring. Take one wire out, see which that affects. If one doesn't, come on, remember that wire, put it back, and take out one of the other two. If the other beam doesn't come on, take out the wire from the first test and swap them. If neither come on, it's the ground, so put it back and swap the other two.
As for the aiming screw... when I was replacing the bulbs with other halogen bulbs, I never bothered to look to see if there were any screws. But once I put the HIDs in, I tried to look, but it was really too dark to see anything deep down. I had assumed if there were any, they would be higher up and visible. So, when I couldn't see it, I assumed there weren't any either.
Till I got pissed off (aimed WAY too low) and went online!!!
Modified by UndeGuy at 4:38 PM 6/23/2009 [/quote]I didn't want to "double post" so I just changed my original post into the quote.
As for why I am posting, apparently fueler was right, the one with the cap is an aiming screw, for left-right adjustment. I am assuming the cap is there because either a, it shouldn't need left-right adjustment unless there's been an accident or something major and not just a bulb replacement... or b, it is somehow more vulnerable to the elements (though I doubt that).
Modified by UndeGuy at 7:04 PM 7/10/2009
I say that because the positioning of the HID is too close to the Halogen bulb next to it... and because of that, you're going to get a similar pattern out of your housing. So then the only difference would be the brightness... and much older used to be aimed the same for both high and low, with only the brightness being the difference.
Well, that's my guess anyway. When I replaced my headlight housing in the Mitsubishi Mirage I had, the new wiring harness came backward. The low beam setting on the switch activated the HIGH beam bulb. That bothered me, so I yanked out the harness, and flipped the wires around (took a while, since I had to make sure I was switching the right wires). If you want to do that, do that on the HID wiring harness connection to the stock wiring. Take one wire out, see which that affects. If one doesn't, come on, remember that wire, put it back, and take out one of the other two. If the other beam doesn't come on, take out the wire from the first test and swap them. If neither come on, it's the ground, so put it back and swap the other two.
As for the aiming screw... when I was replacing the bulbs with other halogen bulbs, I never bothered to look to see if there were any screws. But once I put the HIDs in, I tried to look, but it was really too dark to see anything deep down. I had assumed if there were any, they would be higher up and visible. So, when I couldn't see it, I assumed there weren't any either.
Till I got pissed off (aimed WAY too low) and went online!!!
Modified by UndeGuy at 4:38 PM 6/23/2009 [/quote]I didn't want to "double post" so I just changed my original post into the quote.
As for why I am posting, apparently fueler was right, the one with the cap is an aiming screw, for left-right adjustment. I am assuming the cap is there because either a, it shouldn't need left-right adjustment unless there's been an accident or something major and not just a bulb replacement... or b, it is somehow more vulnerable to the elements (though I doubt that).
Modified by UndeGuy at 7:04 PM 7/10/2009