Jace7

should be.
Then tweak in front of garage, lights on.
I actually never looked or counted the grooves.
I just turned till I visually saw the difference on the road....
Then when I thought they were close, I went to the garage, then watched the bubble.....

starstreak

K, damn that was hard. I'm ticked. First I bought a #3 philips but #3 is too large. I found this out at night, so I drove to the only place open. A WalMart. No such thing at a Philips driver with a 6+ in neck. Augh. I found a 6in philips for a power screwdriver that was a #2. I picked it up and went home. I stick it in the hole, and yes you guessed it. It just fit with an inch to spare. Um...It needs a handle on it. So I make shift a handle. It works. yay. Augh. This was getting too hard.
So I angle my drivers side to about 1-1.5 notches twards the front of the car, and the passengers about a 2. It lights up the road nicely while driving flat, but I noticed if I go up a slightest incline I can light up the roof of a car about 3-4 car lenghts ahead. Am I doing something wrong?
Btw, I have to test it out more, but from 3-4 cars infront, my lights used to have the cut beam on the ground. Now its on the bumper. Is that how you have it?

Jace7

make sure to adjust the lights when the car is FULL of gas or with 4 people in it. This way you insure you are aiming to the right angle... and not to high when it's finally full with gas or people.
Just trial and error man. Good luck, you'll get it.

starstreak

doing it now should be easier, just that its a pain (read:lazy) to keep taking off the engine covers adjusting and driving to see the lights. I'm half tank. guess I'll go fill up. since I normally have a front passenger it should be find since the car doesn't sink backwards. At least I dont think it does.

starstreak

hmm where to find a long phillips. Where did you get yours? at 6in, it just makes it into the hole?

Jace7

found mine in my tool box.
this process of you adjusting the lights should only take an evening, 30 minutes or something, but the time you take off covers and drive out, then drive back and put covers back on.
Don't be lazy it will be an adjustment that you will appreciate after it's correct.

starstreak

I know. I know. But it seems like every time I open something up, something goes wrong. Last thing before this is now I have scratches on my front window. You dont see it unless it rains. But when it does, the rain sticks to the scratches like fly to honey.

starstreak

OK going nuts again. I finally find a #2 screwdrive with a 8in neck. I find a LONG wall and level ground (I think) I stop my car to the side of it. The light pattern is pretty flat all the way to about 4-5 cars lengths. About bumper height. I turn the car around so the wall is on the other side. WTF? The light starts off the same level, then by about 4-5 car lengths the light line on the wall is all the way to the ground. AND as far as I know, the front of the car, the lights are level (I think).

What can cause the light to be so far off on the drivers side? Mine you, if I trace the light line to the passenger side, it seems on level with the passengers side line. And now that I think about it, the passenger side must be angled down on the drivers side or I would have the light line from the passenger side higher on the wall... Whats going on?

The vertical adjustment is up/down. The horizontal adjustment is left/right or is it lens rotation? Without opening up my hood again to test, thats the only thing I could think of. Horizontal is rotation and somehow I have both lights rotated the same way. But if that was true, the passenger side light line would move higher and higher the farther away the wall was to my passenger side of the car, which it doesn't look to be moving higher the father it was.

Am I making sense?

BurgBoxstr

You are making sense and I understand what you are saying. However, you should understand how headlights are designed and focused. The reason the driver and passenger side look different is b/c they should - due to the optical cut off points. Each light has a similar pattern with the beam flat on the left side and then angeling upward to the right - more so on the passenger side. So in order to properly aim them, you need the car perpendicular to the wall. Mark the physical headlight height (of the lights) on the wall (if you want, just use a tape measure and measure from the ground to the center of the light lense and then mark this spot on the wall w/ painters tape. Then with the vehicle 25' away from the wall on a level surface you can adjust the beams. Generally at 25' away, the focal point of the beam should be 2-3" below (and to the right slightly) of the mark on the wall

Here's a link w/ instructions:

http://www.midstatedmc.com/tech/aim.htm

if you want something more visual, just google headlight aiming. Hope this helps.

starstreak

So... I should be adjusting the lights with the wall infront of the car, and I shouldn't worry too much about on how the beam looks from the side? I was aware on how the drivers side will tend to be a bit lower than the passenger side when aimed. I jsut found it strange that the cut off light line is angeling from the car to the ground on the driver side, yet pretty nicely flat on the passenger side.

BurgBoxstr

Correct, adjust the lights w/ the wall in front of the car perpendicular and don't worry about how it looks from the side. Reason being, lights have a cut off point which maximizes your visibility while limiting glare to opposing drivers. Here's a quick sketch of what your beams should look like when shining on the wall with you in the drivers seat.



The cut off on the right lamp might be somewhat higher as there's more room to lead on the right w/out producing glare. Adjust at 25' as I mentioned previously and you should be good to go.

Hope this helps.

starstreak

ah ok. I'm pretty close to that picture. Just have to quit looking to the side while driving. hehe