VW Electrics Headlight Adjustment - Revision history

CovKid: /* Square headlight adjustment */

2015-11-22T09:59:21Z

Square headlight adjustment

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:59, 22 November 2015
Line 38:		Line 38:

	Each headlight has two adjustment screws - one for height, the other for lateral side-to-side adjustment.		Each headlight has two adjustment screws - one for height, the other for lateral side-to-side adjustment.

	~~== Square headlight adjustment ==~~

CovKid: /* Round headlight adjustment */

2015-11-22T09:59:01Z

Round headlight adjustment

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:59, 22 November 2015
Line 9:		Line 9:
	[[File:headlightscrews.jpg]]		[[File:headlightscrews.jpg]]

	If the ~~headlight aim~~ is ~~way off, refer to~~ http://www.~~wikihow~~.~~com~~/~~Adjust-Car-Headlights~~ to get a ~~starting point~~. ~~However,~~ to get the ~~optimum position on~~ an ~~average single carriageway~~, ~~the~~ below photo is where ~~the~~ 'kicks' should be and the cutoff points on an average flat road~~. The~~ blue line ~~denotes the cutoff point of the headlights~~ to ensure you can see but not blind other drivers. The 'kick' on the left is there to help pick out signs etc, and should start at the kerb edge. The right kick should start at centre line of road. The right headlight beam needs to be below eye level of oncoming traffic. This 'on the road' refinement of adjustment may help anyone trying to set them up from scratch and get them right prior to an MOT test. Once the lateral position is correct, you only have to adjust the height of the beams then. Professional headlight aligners simply get you to that point and quite a few set them too high I've found. You should NOT be lighting up the backs of drivers heads. Set them like this and they will pass alignment check.		Accurately adjusted headlights are not only a legal requirement, it ensures you can see where you're going with maximum light on the road and importantly - without dazzling others. The settings are made on dipped beam only. Full takes care of itself. You could have them professionally aligned but I've come across just too many instances where the lights on dipped are too high and now ALWAYS set my lights as here.

			If you want the maths, there is a prescribed setting for adjustment: http://www.motuk.co.uk/images/lights_diagram1.gif

			But theres a much easier way to carry out headlight adjustment and still get them right...

			These are my headlamps (round ones) on dipped on a dark country road. There is a good spread of light but they still conform. There are basically two things you need to get right, the placement of the kicks (where the light goes off at an angle) and where the cutoff point (light at bottom, dark at top) sits in each lane. Confused? You won't be. Its actually very simple.

			[[File:Dip7drl.jpg]]

			For reference below photo is where those 'kicks' should be and the cutoff points on an average flat road (along the blue line) to ensure you can see but not blind other drivers.

	[[File:Dip7drlmark.jpg]]		[[File:Dip7drlmark.jpg]]

	If you're not sure what I mean by 'headlight kicks' take a look at this next pic as I go round a bend. At that distance you can see both 'kicks' clearly. On a straight road, the very start of the left kick should be at the kerb edge. I worked on bugs for many years and had no problem setting up headlights accurately by hand like this and they always passed. You can set them on a garage door to some extent but you'll only get a 'near enough' adjustment and other than putting them in front of headlight aligners, the above is perfectly true and sets them so you get a good spread of light where you need it, without inconveniencing anyone else and within the rules.		If you're not sure what I mean by 'headlight kicks' take a look at this next pic as I go round a bend.

	[[File:Dip7drlkicks.jpg]]		[[File:Dip7drlkicks.jpg]]

	~~California Dreamin: The lower picture shows the required~~ '~~LEFT KICK~~' ~~from~~ '~~BOTH~~' ~~nearside~~ and ~~offside dip beam headlamps~~ (Note* only left ~~hand drive vehicles produce~~ a '~~RIGHT KICK~~'~~) apologies~~ for the ~~obvious Ralph~~.		At that distance you can see both 'kicks' clearly. You can set them on a garage door to some extent but you'll only get a 'near enough' adjustment and other than putting them in front of headlight aligners (which are not always as accurate as they should be), setting them up on the road is not only perfectly possible, you should be able to get them spot on.

			[[File:Dip7drlmark.jpg]]

			Going back to a straight road once more, you'll see that the kick on the left is designed to help pick out road signs etc, and should start at the kerb edge. If you look at the right kick and its angle to the white dotted line on the road, it effectively directs light away from oncoming traffic and for that reason should start at centre line of road. What little light is left on the opposing lane (horizontal line) needs to be below eye level of oncoming traffic.

			You only have to look at height of the beams then. Make minor adjustments to height to allow for suspension bounce so that your lights aren't continually straying into the eyes of others on rough roads but cover the dipped area well. Headlight aligners simply get you to that point but even when set by the book, they often need tweaking. Quite a few places actually set them too high in my experience. You should NOT be lighting up the backs of drivers heads. Set them like this and they will be right.

			'''Remember''', dipped beam should give you enough light to see a good proportion of the tarmac in front of you but in no way in the eyeline of others or lighting up trees. On full it doesn't matter. MOT testers are only concerned with dipped beam and how that might affect you and others.

			Each headlight has two adjustment screws - one for height, the other for lateral side-to-side adjustment.

	== Square headlight adjustment ==		== Square headlight adjustment ==

CovKid: /* Round headlight adjustment */

2015-07-08T07:55:03Z

Round headlight adjustment

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:55, 8 July 2015
Line 16:		Line 16:

	[[File:Dip7drlkicks.jpg]]		[[File:Dip7drlkicks.jpg]]

			California Dreamin: The lower picture shows the required 'LEFT KICK' from 'BOTH' nearside and offside dip beam headlamps (Note* only left hand drive vehicles produce a 'RIGHT KICK') apologies for the obvious Ralph.

	== Square headlight adjustment ==		== Square headlight adjustment ==

CovKid: /* Round headlight adjustment */

2015-03-28T22:07:51Z

Round headlight adjustment

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:07, 28 March 2015
Line 9:		Line 9:
	[[File:headlightscrews.jpg]]		[[File:headlightscrews.jpg]]

	~~For reference (and by all means set them up on~~ a ~~wall using~~ the ~~25 feet model or even let your local garage check them)~~, below photo is where the 'kicks' should be and the cutoff points on an average flat road ~~(along the~~ blue line) to ensure you can see but not blind other drivers~~. It is the optimum setting~~. The kick on the left is there to help pick out signs etc, and should start at the kerb edge. The right kick should start at centre line of road. The right headlight beam needs to be below eye level of oncoming traffic. This 'on the road' refinement of adjustment may help anyone trying to set them up from scratch and get them right prior to an MOT test. Once the lateral position is correct, you only have to adjust the height of the beams then. Professional headlight aligners simply get you to that point and quite a few set them too high I've found. You should NOT be lighting up the backs of drivers heads. Set them like this and they will pass alignment check.		If the headlight aim is way off, refer to http://www.wikihow.com/Adjust-Car-Headlights to get a starting point. However, to get the optimum position on an average single carriageway, the below photo is where the 'kicks' should be and the cutoff points on an average flat road. The blue line denotes the cutoff point of the headlights to ensure you can see but not blind other drivers. The 'kick' on the left is there to help pick out signs etc, and should start at the kerb edge. The right kick should start at centre line of road. The right headlight beam needs to be below eye level of oncoming traffic. This 'on the road' refinement of adjustment may help anyone trying to set them up from scratch and get them right prior to an MOT test. Once the lateral position is correct, you only have to adjust the height of the beams then. Professional headlight aligners simply get you to that point and quite a few set them too high I've found. You should NOT be lighting up the backs of drivers heads. Set them like this and they will pass alignment check.

	[[File:Dip7drlmark.jpg]]		[[File:Dip7drlmark.jpg]]

CovKid: /* Round headlight adjustment */

2015-03-28T22:00:03Z

Round headlight adjustment

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:00, 28 March 2015
Line 9:		Line 9:
	[[File:headlightscrews.jpg]]		[[File:headlightscrews.jpg]]

	For reference (and by all means set them up on a wall using the 25 feet model or even let your local garage check them), below photo is where the 'kicks' should be and the cutoff points on an average flat road (along the blue line) to ensure you can see but not blind other drivers. The kick on the left is to help pick out signs etc, and should start at the kerb edge. The right kick should start at centre line of road~~, on the~~ right ~~the~~ beam needs to be below eye level of oncoming traffic. ~~May~~ help anyone trying to set them up from scratch and get them right. ~~You~~ only have to ~~look at~~ height of the beams then. ~~Headlight~~ aligners simply get you to that point and quite a few set them too high I've found. You should NOT be lighting up the backs of drivers heads. Set them like this and they will pass alignment check.		For reference (and by all means set them up on a wall using the 25 feet model or even let your local garage check them), below photo is where the 'kicks' should be and the cutoff points on an average flat road (along the blue line) to ensure you can see but not blind other drivers. It is the optimum setting. The kick on the left is there to help pick out signs etc, and should start at the kerb edge. The right kick should start at centre line of road. The right headlight beam needs to be below eye level of oncoming traffic. This 'on the road' refinement of adjustment may help anyone trying to set them up from scratch and get them right prior to an MOT test. Once the lateral position is correct, you only have to adjust the height of the beams then. Professional headlight aligners simply get you to that point and quite a few set them too high I've found. You should NOT be lighting up the backs of drivers heads. Set them like this and they will pass alignment check.

	[[File:Dip7drlmark.jpg]]		[[File:Dip7drlmark.jpg]]

CovKid: /* Round headlight adjustment */

2015-03-28T21:56:25Z

Round headlight adjustment

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:56, 28 March 2015
Line 5:		Line 5:
	This article is for round headlight adjustment only although the principles should apply for square headlights too.		This article is for round headlight adjustment only although the principles should apply for square headlights too.

	If you remove front grill you will see two adjustment screws at the positions shown by the coloured dots in photo below. Red denotes vertical (up & down) adjustment and blue denotes lateral (side to side) adjustment. These units are actually combined DRL units.		If you remove front grill you will see two adjustment screws at the positions shown by the coloured dots in photo below. Red denotes vertical (up & down) adjustment and blue denotes lateral (side to side) adjustment. These units are actually combined DRL units but this has no bearing on how they are adjusted.

	[[File:headlightscrews.jpg]]		[[File:headlightscrews.jpg]]

CovKid: /* Round headlight adjustment */

2015-03-28T18:21:20Z

Round headlight adjustment

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:21, 28 March 2015
Line 5:		Line 5:
	This article is for round headlight adjustment only although the principles should apply for square headlights too.		This article is for round headlight adjustment only although the principles should apply for square headlights too.

	If you remove front grill you will see two adjustment screws at the positions shown by the coloured dots in photo below. Red denotes vertical (up & down) adjustment and blue denotes lateral (side to side) adjustment.		If you remove front grill you will see two adjustment screws at the positions shown by the coloured dots in photo below. Red denotes vertical (up & down) adjustment and blue denotes lateral (side to side) adjustment. These units are actually combined DRL units.

	[[File:headlightscrews.jpg]]		[[File:headlightscrews.jpg]]

CovKid at 18:20, 28 March 2015

2015-03-28T18:20:20Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:20, 28 March 2015
Line 16:		Line 16:

	[[File:Dip7drlkicks.jpg]]		[[File:Dip7drlkicks.jpg]]

			== Square headlight adjustment ==

CovKid: /* Round headlight adjustment */

2015-03-28T18:19:37Z

Round headlight adjustment

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:19, 28 March 2015
Line 12:		Line 12:

	[[File:Dip7drlmark.jpg]]		[[File:Dip7drlmark.jpg]]

			If you're not sure what I mean by 'headlight kicks' take a look at this next pic as I go round a bend. At that distance you can see both 'kicks' clearly. On a straight road, the very start of the left kick should be at the kerb edge. I worked on bugs for many years and had no problem setting up headlights accurately by hand like this and they always passed. You can set them on a garage door to some extent but you'll only get a 'near enough' adjustment and other than putting them in front of headlight aligners, the above is perfectly true and sets them so you get a good spread of light where you need it, without inconveniencing anyone else and within the rules.

			[[File:Dip7drlkicks.jpg]]

CovKid: /* Round headlight adjustment */

2015-03-28T18:18:43Z

Round headlight adjustment

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:18, 28 March 2015
Line 8:		Line 8:

	[[File:headlightscrews.jpg]]		[[File:headlightscrews.jpg]]

			For reference (and by all means set them up on a wall using the 25 feet model or even let your local garage check them), below photo is where the 'kicks' should be and the cutoff points on an average flat road (along the blue line) to ensure you can see but not blind other drivers. The kick on the left is to help pick out signs etc, and should start at the kerb edge. The right kick should start at centre line of road, on the right the beam needs to be below eye level of oncoming traffic. May help anyone trying to set them up from scratch and get them right. You only have to look at height of the beams then. Headlight aligners simply get you to that point and quite a few set them too high I've found. You should NOT be lighting up the backs of drivers heads. Set them like this and they will pass alignment check.

			[[File:Dip7drlmark.jpg]]