How To Adjust Your Car’s Headlights
Provided By: CarInsurance.com
Last updated 12:27 PM Oct-27-2008 It has become dusk outside and as the sky darkens you realize it is time to turn on your vehicle’s headlights. You turn the knob and the lights come on but instead of pointing straight down the road as they should, one is pointing to the side and the other is pointed upward. With headlights pointed in the wrong directions it can make it difficult to see down the roadway, especially if it is a rural road without street lights. That is why you should learn to adjust your car’s headlights so they will work as they were intended.
It does not always take a mechanic to do repairs to your vehicle. Some fixes are so simple that anyone can do them. One repair you can make to your vehicle yourself is adjusting the headlights. It takes a few tools and a little bit of your time but once you repair the lights, your night driving will be much improved. You will be able see down the road with the headlights safely guiding your way.
You only need a few tools to start working on the headlights. They are a screwdriver that will fit the adjusting screws, probably a Phillips head, and masking tape.Once you have your tools, wait till it is getting dark and then find and park your vehicle on level ground near a garage door or wall.
On the wall or garage door mark the lights’ horizontal centerlines with masking tape. This masking tape thus should make a straight line across the wall. Also mark the vertical centerline for each light. So you should now a basic idea or T area where the headlight should be centered.
Next move your car back 10 to 25 feet from the garage or wall. Before turning on your lights, find the adjusting screws. These screws typically will be inset close to the headlight. You will want to find these screws ahead of time instead of searching for them after the headlights have heated them up and they are too warm to touch.
The adjusting screws should consist of a horizontal screw and a vertical screw, each with a small spring behind them. Some higher end vehicles come equipped with a small level. If your vehicle has this you will see it attached to the top of the headlight under the hood.
Now turn on the headlights on the low beam setting. When you adjust the low beams, your high beams should set to the right level as well. With the lights now on, see how the beam matches up with the horizontal and vertical masking tape lines you have placed on the wall.
Turn the adjusting screws slowly with the screwdriver while watching the light beams on the wall. Turning the top adjusting screws clockwise should raise the beam while turning them counterclockwise should lower the light beam.You adjust the lights to the left or right by turning the side adjuster screw.
You want to adjust the low beam lights so that they hit two to four inches below the horizontal centerline and two to four inches right of the vertical centerline. You do not want the lights to be completely centered either horizontal or vertically. If the lights were totally centered they could blind the oncoming traffic when you drive on the roadways.Being pointed slightly down from center allows the light beam to keep light on the road.
Once you have turned the screws and aimed the light beams accordingly, your headlights should now be properly adjusted. You can rip off the masking tape and throw it away, put away your screwdriver and pull you car back into the garage. The fifteen minutes you used to adjust will now allow you to drive better in the dark.
Remember that cars can differ so check your vehicle’s owners manual if this technique does not work for your car.Also see how often the manual says you should check the headlights and they should be adjusted. Normally it is recommended that headlights be adjusted every 12 months or whenever you notice that the lights are out of alignment.
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