S13 Headlight Adjustment
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Maverick7687
- Posts: 1957
- Joined: Thu Jun 10, 2004 6:43 pm
- Car: Sagemist(FSO) 1998 Maxima SE & Charcoal Metallic(KG2) 1993 240sx & My newly aquired Pearl White 1990
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S13 Headlight Adjustment
I am not sure if this belongs in the General or Technical..anyway.. I just bought this 1993 S13 with the pop-up headlights..and when I am driving at night the lights are aimed in such a way that it really makes no difference whether they are on or off..i still cant see the road. I cannot remember what the correct adjusting precedure is for headlights..something like park 10ft. away from a wall and make both light beams meet in the middle where the gound and wall meet or something like that..if anyone could help me that would be great. And the adjustment screw for up/down on the passenger side is not in anything.. I am not sure if someone just overadjusted or if it is stripped out. Not sure what responce I am trying to get from that statement...just figured I would get it out there..Thanks to anyone who helps...Mav
I think the headlights are supposed to hit the ground 30' in front, so it would be 15' from a wall on a level surface and the lights should hit straight out from the car, and at half the height of the lights.
You have to put the screw back in the little slot that holds it. Mine was out too when I got it.
You have to put the screw back in the little slot that holds it. Mine was out too when I got it.
I had a need for the same information a few weeks ago. Fortunately, the good folks at Maxwell Motor City Nissan in Round Rock, Texas provided me the instructions for headlight adjustment on an S13. My car is a ’92 240SX Coupe, so I am assuming these instructions will work for you too. Here’s a summary of what I did.
- Place the headlights of the car 300 inches (25 feet) from a flat wall. I went behind a strip mall or grocery store.- Make sure the surface is flat and wall is straight up (you may try this in your driveway but since most driveways are inclined and most garage doors are straight up, I didn’t feel it would be the best way to do it. Moreover, most garage doors have some pattern on them that makes it harder to determine the center of the light beams.- The centers of the two high intensity zones should be exactly at the same height as the center of your headlights. The high intensity zone is basically the area of the light beam that has the highest light intensity i.e. concentration of light. Measure the distance from the center of one of your headlights to the ground, then make sure that the center of the high intensity zone on the wall is the same distance from the ground.- The distance between the centers of the two high intensity zones on the wall should be exactly 42 inches.- Make the adjustments by tilting the headlights upward/downward or left/right. The upward/downward adjustment is made by turning the screw below the glass section of the headlight. The left/right adjustment is made by turning the screw on the side of the glass section of the headlight facing the wheel side of the car. Turn the screws a few times to get a feel of which way they make the headlight move.- At first the process may seem difficult or frustrating because you may not be exactly sure where the center of the high intensity zone is. For this reason, it helps to do this with a friend. The center of the high intensity zone is best observed from where the car is, not up close by the wall. Have your friend hold a tape measure against the wall while you make the adjustments next to the headlight.- There is no separate adjustment for low beam and high beam.- There should eb no need to remove any part from the headlight to access the adjustment screws.
I followed these steps and it worked out very well for me. I hope it does for you too.
- Place the headlights of the car 300 inches (25 feet) from a flat wall. I went behind a strip mall or grocery store.- Make sure the surface is flat and wall is straight up (you may try this in your driveway but since most driveways are inclined and most garage doors are straight up, I didn’t feel it would be the best way to do it. Moreover, most garage doors have some pattern on them that makes it harder to determine the center of the light beams.- The centers of the two high intensity zones should be exactly at the same height as the center of your headlights. The high intensity zone is basically the area of the light beam that has the highest light intensity i.e. concentration of light. Measure the distance from the center of one of your headlights to the ground, then make sure that the center of the high intensity zone on the wall is the same distance from the ground.- The distance between the centers of the two high intensity zones on the wall should be exactly 42 inches.- Make the adjustments by tilting the headlights upward/downward or left/right. The upward/downward adjustment is made by turning the screw below the glass section of the headlight. The left/right adjustment is made by turning the screw on the side of the glass section of the headlight facing the wheel side of the car. Turn the screws a few times to get a feel of which way they make the headlight move.- At first the process may seem difficult or frustrating because you may not be exactly sure where the center of the high intensity zone is. For this reason, it helps to do this with a friend. The center of the high intensity zone is best observed from where the car is, not up close by the wall. Have your friend hold a tape measure against the wall while you make the adjustments next to the headlight.- There is no separate adjustment for low beam and high beam.- There should eb no need to remove any part from the headlight to access the adjustment screws.
I followed these steps and it worked out very well for me. I hope it does for you too.
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Maverick7687
- Posts: 1957
- Joined: Thu Jun 10, 2004 6:43 pm
- Car: Sagemist(FSO) 1998 Maxima SE & Charcoal Metallic(KG2) 1993 240sx & My newly aquired Pearl White 1990
- Contact: