2012 Rogue xenon headlight vertical aiming

[minerat]

I've searched a ton - on this forum and elsewhere, and can't find good info on significantly adjusting the vertical alignment of the stock xenons in my 2012 Rogue. I know about the aiming control wheel by the driver, and I've seemingly maxed out the adjustment screw on the aiming motors (pictured). At 25' on a level surface, the top of the both L+R low beams hits at about 9" from the ground vs. the ~34" height for center of the lights on the vehicle.

I've seen pictures and descriptions everywhere for adjusting the alignment for the halogen headlights, but very little on the xenons. What I've been able to do so far has been pretty ineffective. Does anyone have any advice?

[Rogue One]

Did you see these posts?

-Can you get the switch that adjusts the level to still work with a retrofit?

Not likely as the as non-Xenon version will lack the adjustment motors and mechanism inside the headlamp housing. There is no way to retrofit it either as the Xenon headlamp housing contains part of the aiming system.

The headlamp aiming system uses a servo motor located in the headlamp assembly and a switch inside the vehicle. The servo motor has all the 'brains'. The switch just sends a preset DC voltage signal which varies according position. The motor then moves to the headlamp bulb to the desired position.

Is the switch compatible with other headlamp aiming systems? There is no standard and the systems may vary from one model to another... even between similar Nissan vehicles. There is no way to guarantee that if you install say... a projector headlamp from a G35 (including the aiming motors) that the stock aiming switch will even work.

-How did it void your warranty?

Same as always. Nissan does not 'void' your entire vehicle warranty... they can however deny you warranty coverage as per the terms and conditions of your warranty:

Read pg 6 of your warranty booklet:

WHAT IS NOT COVERED - DAMAGE, FAILURES OR CORROSION DUE TO ACCIDENTS, MISUSE OR ALTERATIONS

This warranty does not cover damage, failures or corrosion resulting from:...
■ Alteration, tampering or improper repair.
■ Installation of non-Nissan approved accessories orcomponents.
■ Improper installation of any Nissan approved or aftermarketaccessory or component.

I don't think this is for the Xenon headlamp housing, but it's worth looking into, just in case.

I had a bit of a breakthrough tonight. After spending about 30 minutes driving at night this evening, blinding oncoming drivers and illuminating treetops, I decided once and for all to get to the bottom of this. I poked around under the hood and found what I believed to be an adjustment screw, but I didn't have enough space to actually adjust it. Then, a few futile web searches for a '14 Rogue service manual led me down a different path...

A friend of ours recently purchased a new Honda Pilot, and she too said that her headlights were aimed at an upward angle and that she was frequently being flashed by oncoming cars' brights. I began to search Pilot forums and lo and behold, found that there were several threads on the same topic. What I found was a screenshot of the Pilot service manual, indicating the leveling procedure using a phillips screwdriver (see Figure 1).

Figure 1 - Honda Pilot service manual headlight adjustment instructions:


Looking at our Rogue's headlight assembly, I recognized the vertical adjustment screw that I had already tried (unsuccessfully) to adjust (circled below in Figure 2). If I recall correctly, the screw needs to be turned counterclockwise to adjust the vertical aim downward. It would seem that our Rogue's headlights came adjusted near the top of the vertical travel - a safety issue for the driver as well as oncoming motorists.

In Figure 2, I'm at a bit of an angle, so I drew in some lines to indicate direction. If you insert a phillips screwdriver into the hole with what appear to be gear cogs, the notches on the screwdriver catch the cogs and turn the screw. Note that there is also a horizontal adjustment screw on the headlight housing, and it is found on the outermost portion of the rear of the headlight and has a plastic cap over it.

Figure 2 - 2014 Rogue headlight housing, pictured from above


Lastly, I pulled our Rogue out onto the driveway, approximately 20' from the garage door. I placed some tape at an acceptable level and proceeded to turn the adjustment screws until each headlight was properly aimed. You can see how high the unadjusted driver's side was aimed in this picture.

Figure 3 - 2014 Rogue headlight pattern during aim adjustment


It's a bit puzzling that a vehicle can be sold to the public with the headlights so improperly aimed. Either the adjustment isn't being done properly during assembly, or it's the result of a (failed) pre-sale checklist at the dealership. Browsing the 'net, it would appear that our Rogue is not alone in this regard.

I wouldn't blame anyone for wanting their dealership to make this adjustment, but thought I'd share for those of you who are eager to properly aim their headlights.

[minerat]

Hey thanks for pointing those out. I think you're right - that post about the 2014 doesn't apply to the xenon lamps. The first post does, but it's just explaining what I already know - the aiming is controlled by that servo motor, and that's the part with an adjustment screw. That screw works - I can see the aiming change when I use a philips head on it, but it stops having an effect after a pretty narrow adjustment range. That range is till nowhere near wide enough to get my beams level.

[VStar650CL]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1E-dtzs ... sp=sharing

The link is the aiming spec from the Xenon section of the ESM. Drop should only be 4~30mm at L = 10m (about 33 feet), and the headlight centers on the Gen1 Rogue should be in 701~800mm range (27.6~31.5"). So if you can't elevate them above 9" off the ground, there has to be something wrong with the lamps, something wrong with the level-ness of your aiming area, or something wrong with the rest of the vehicle (suspension, tires, etc).