Wouldn’t u want the headlights at the exact same spot rather than passenger being higher and driver lower to not blind people. I just don’t want my projector headlights even so that at different angles it looks the same and not brighter than the other one. From factory, are the headlights even or one higher than the other like u guys said to do?
I have a 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe any idea where the headlight adjustment screw is at. It’s been at dealer twice for minor work but they keep forgetting @@1AAuto
Every states motor vehicle departments should have a wall that drivers can pull up to with markings so that ANYONE can adjust their own headlights properly. In the past few years there are so many cars out there blinding oncoming drivers........
The blinding that everyone has experienced the last few years is caused by the Type of lights the automakers have been allowed to use, NOT the adjustment of the lights.
@@FrankDracula_ lol it took me awhile to realize my lights weren't too bright, they're in people's faces and that's why they're flashing their brights at me
I just installed new headlights in a 2003 Subaru Forester and aligned them using this procedure. Used a 55” TV box for creating the light beam map. Was easy, fast and accurate. Thank you for creating this superb video. I’m in your debt. “ATTABOY!!!”
Thank you so much. I just bought a set LED bulbs to replace a dead pair of halogens and I noticed that the cutoff was a lot higher than before. I did as you advised and I am very happy with the results. My lights are now well bellow the rear window of the cars ahead, nobody has flashed me when coming the other way, and the illumination I get is way better than before. You got a new fan here.
Based on IIHS data and some trigonometry, the following chart should serve well. Back the car 25' away from the wall. First number of each line is headlight height in inches, second number is drop in inches. If you have projectors, measure at the HIGH side of the cutoff. If you have reflectors, measure at the top edge of the "hotspot", and drop the driver's side 2" more than the chart says. 22 1.5 24 1.75 26 2 28 2.125 30 2.25 32 2-7/16 34 2-9/16 36 2.75 38 2-7/8 40 3 44 3.25 48 3-5/8 54 4-1/16 IIHS describes 330" as the optimal distance of illumination for low-beams, and the majority of autos sold in the USA do not shine that far. The chart above should allow your low beam to illuminate the road 330' ahead (assuming your lights aren't embarrassed by a birthday candle). Using the high side of the cutoff as your drop guide will allow you to see the 330' distance in low beam while allowing the low side of the cutoff to do its job protecting oncomers from glare. If you're aimed according to the chart and shining into the passenger cabin in front of you, you're either a tall truck tailgating a pregnant rollerskate, or you forgot to turn off your highs. If you have reflectors, dropping the driver's side a little more than the chart says will accomplish the same goal SORTA. I say sorta because reflectors are scatterbeams and will cause SOME glare no matter what you do. I recommend a retrokit to a GOOD QUALITY projector setup. If that retrokit uses HID bulbs, make sure they have a solenoid cutoff to allow you to switch between high and low beam. In any case, try to get 5500K bulbs, or if you run HIDs with 55W ballasts, the next color temp higher.
Excellent video, detailed, clear, and concise. Very professional and to the point...not full of 'camera-time' trivia about personal life, or what gramma, grandpa, or his buddies do. Thank You.
Also, without a camera being held in one hand-wrench in the other and a lot of ummms and uhhhhhs and repeatedly admiring how nice the lights look, miscellaneous stories about their brother-in-laws truck. Etc
I wish I could airdrop this video link to every car passing that has one headlight aimed too high 😂 Thank you for the super clear instructions!! Not it makes sense why the left headlight seems lower after service. But after measuring according to your guide, they were still both too low. I also upgraded to brighter bulbs as I was just using OEM bulbs, so hopefully with new bulbs and better alignment, I'll be able to see better at night!
Never knew the driver side headlight needed to be lower than the passenger. Have not seen any other video that mentions this. This is good to know, thank you.
I was doing this all wrong. I was making the two beams meet in the middle crossing over one another (supposedly to make it easier to see down the road farther) which wasnt working. As soon as its dark outside today you can bet im doing this technique you showed. Thank you for showing this video!!
I haven't hit 60 yrs old yet and when I entered the auto repair world we had equipment to aim lights as part of our annual vehicle state inspection. I aimed my share. I can't count how many times I wish I had one available
Thank you! Just got new projector headlights on my Trailblazer and driver side is pointed at the ground about 5 ft in front of the truck lol. I'm not mechanically inclined but feel more comfortable doing this myself after watching your video.
When you were bringing your left headlight down, I would have lowered it to where it was too low, then bring it back up for a better visual. I know that's a little overkill but that;s just my OCD kicking in... Thank you for this, it was very detailed and easy to understand.
This was worth watching. Other videos on headlight adjustment miss key parts like the passenger light will be higher than the left to elliminate blinding other drivers, and that you need to do this on a level surface. This got my lights finally correct. Thanks!
Thank you for the great reply. We love to empower our customers by showing you how-to perform your own auto repairs while installing our high quality auto parts. Have a great day! 1aauto.com +Chris Benefiel
What a most excellent video. I was just getting ready to take it to our trusty dusty repair shop and came across this video and I'm sure you just saved me a lot of Moola!! Thanks Bro!! 1A Auto will now be my first Stop to Shop!!
Lived most of my life in Texas, where car inspections are mandatory and lights get yearly adjustments. Now I live in Oklahoma, where cars never get inspections. When a drivers lights are misaligned, they never gets adjusted unless the driver feels up to it.
Althought this an awesome video I cannot see how most people will be able to find a floor that is perpendicular to the wall that lights are shinning on. IF you are inside a garage AND you have 25 feet plus the car lenght inside then sure, inside walls are perpendicular to the floor BUT if your are in any driveway, a parking lot, and facing any exterior wall then you are screwed because any ground surface around a building has to have a slope, even if minimal so rain moves away from the building. Been searching for a good location for a while and never found one. Still an excellent video and gives me all I need to know.
Good job explaining the system set up an showing how to basically adjust. I never heard about adjustment on passenger side higher then driver side but it does make sense. Thankyou sir.
I read somewhere the ideal distance ANY headlight should reach out is 200 feet in front of your vehicle, for your DRIVER SIDE headlight. Using 200 feet is not practical so they settled on 25' as a good practical distance for measuring the drop. The ideal distance for the passenger side, I believe, is 400', but I won't do the numbers on that one since it generally doesn't blind oncoming drivers. If you have an average headlight height of say 32" and you want your beam to reach 200', or 2400", then you have to calculate the proportional drop between 25' or 300", and 200' or 2400". The formula would be as shown below, where you're solving for X, the drop at a distance of 25', or 300" 32"/2400" = X/300", 2400X=9600, X=9600/2400, X=4" drop at 25' distance. An even simpler way to calculate the drop is to take the height of your headlight and multiply by 1/8, or .125. This simplified method is for when the distance is 25 feet to the wall. You can substitute your own headlight height, but the rough numbers are going to be around 4" for an average car.
Thanks. As simple as this sounds your method actually works pretty easy. I remember my 1971 Yamaha Enduro motorcycle had this same method diagramed with instructions in the owner's manual. I must say owner's manuals are not what they used to be.
Thanks for a great video. You guys are really good at getting to the point while providing both what to do and some background as to why. I've been turning wrenches for quite a long time yet still jump on RUclips for pointers. Glad I came across your channel. Subscribed. I just replaced the headlamps in both a Buick and a Toyota. I'm going to use my garage door as the aiming board. The precision with which to assess and make adjustments is going to pretty much lost on the Buick, meaning I can pretty much do that one with a little bit of winging because it really doesn't project a horizontal transition line. The Toyota on the other hand is a very distinct horizontal line and I'll stick closer to the book, er uh the video.
finally, a proper explanation. I'd still like to know the reference height that HIGH BEAMS should be at.. mine look to be right on top of my low beams' focal point..
+Arthur Gillian Thank you for the great reply. We love to empower our customers by showing you how-to perform your own auto repairs while installing our high quality auto parts. Have a great day! 1aauto.com
Thanks so much your video was very helpful in adjusting the headlines on my 2008 Infiniti qx56 ...I was blinding other drivers and I know its dangerous both for them as well as myself...😢..thanks a million.😊😊
What’s interesting is I’ve noticed when replacing a headlight bulb, if it’s not seated perfectly, the beam will be off. Just replacing a bulb should not change the position of the beam. This was something I noticed and wonder how many people have poor beam position simply because the lamp isn’t installed right.
Excellent demo. Thanks for the video. I feel good about leveling my own headlights after this. Since this video addresses vertical adjustments to low beams are there any specifics to the horizontal adjustments? Specifics regarding high beams? Thank you again & merry Christmas!
Jamie St Amand Yea me too back my car in the garage so the front was facing the door closed the door cause I did it during the day but with garage door closed it made it dark adjusted my lights now looks good
Great learning video!! Now only if other drivers would stop high beaming For my LED low beams mine are level and are not aimed high and my light housing is projector type so there's a straight line cut off they learn the hard way when i High Beam them back got the upgraded Halogens in the high beams
Don't you also want the right headlight shining somewhat to the right so it's easier to see the righthand lines on the road? My dad is a master mechanic and that is what he always told me to do.
@@ryans413this was true a year or two ago, but you can use LED as long as they have the correct beam pattern, most modern LED bulbs have an adjustable base so it's not really an issue any more. Its HID that shouldn't go into regular reflectors. You'll see better with HID bulbs, but you'll be emitting tons of glare and blind oncoming traffic. HID bulbs should be in projectors, LED bulbs perform poorly behind a projector, so for the most part, a standard reflector is the only sensible option for an LED bulb. I recently heard these 4 sided LED bulbs do well in projectors but have not tried them because the 55w HID bulbs I'm running are amazing.
Guess you didn't notice the left and right cross hair dials on both sides of the center line that he uses to adjust the height with... same concept to adjust left and right....
Good explaining and showing can u say y its set at that height and is there any info on high beam headlamps also horizontal? Thx appreciate ur vid and info.
If your driveway slopes away from the garage door (and if it doesn't, you've probably got water issues in your garage), just use a water level to mark a line on the garage door at the exact height of the dot in your headlight. Mine drops several inches over the 25 foot distance. Doesn't make a lot of sense to worry about tire pressure and what you've got in your trunk if you don't level your reference line to your headlight.
@@nbdysfool3 If your car has a front window, you should be able to see the adjustment board while sitting in the driver's seat. Check every day before and after eating.
I have been a (UK mot test assistant) exactly the same thing as your (american) health test. when er do our headlight checks we have to use a beam setter and we do not have to set the o/s down 2". In our beam setter box we have a red line and provided the center of the beam "just where it kicks up" is below the red line the light is set okay, but we are allowed to pass the car provided it does not go more than 1" (2.5cm) below the red line. there is more adjustments that we can also preform with the beam setter
I like how all Toyota tundras trucks come standard with electric up and down aiming lights for carrying loads so you can push a switch on the dashboard to aim the lights down if you have a heavy load. I wish other trucks had this standard option 😕.
And in states where this is part of the check for Vehicle Safety Inspection for license plate renewal this is very important. The phrase "Watch where you are driving. Keep your eyes on the road" come to mind. You have to see the roadway and conditions in advance to be safe. It's also true, you can 'overdrive' your headlights if the vehicle speed is greater than what you can see in advance to take evasive/precautionary action. All impacted by headlight aim. Thanks for the excellent presentation of this facet of motor vehicle safe operation!
Thank you for this, I knew I was right that my passenger side needed to be higher, I had someone telling me that they needed to be the same height, but that did not make sense to me, I would have blinded oncoming traffic!
Nice video, thanks for educating myself and the masses! I recently gave up on my yellowed lenses and continuous polishing, so my aim could well be off. I wanted to learn, not so much "how" to adjust but rather the specifications to at least "aim" for. I wish police would have a way to enforce and judges heavily fine those who have no concern for others. As one ages, the visual purple in their eyes is not as responsive to changes in intensity of light and the irises to not close to compensate quickly enough. They get the spots before their eyes that everyone is familiar with and recover to see in darker situations much more slowly. Throw in a road hazard like a car without tail lights, a black cow or feral hog and you have a great potential for somebody getting badly hurt and property damage while the fellow with misaligned lights goes on, never seeing the results of his misdeed to humanity. It happens. Realize also that some medications tend to dilate the eyes (marijuana for example), some health issues affect the iris, and I used to get migraines of varying degrees, like many others, and the light can actually be painful. Often these would occur on my way home from work at night. Anyone who believes I am being "holier than thou" or a "stick in the mud", arrogant or whatever please understand this how most thinking and decent people feel. If you are not among the "decent" people you may be offended by this writing. It is OK to be offended we all are at one time or another and there is no civil nor God given "right" to not be offended. I am offended by some people's bright and misaligned lights so this is all I can do and I choose not to be angry, rather hopefully enlightening.
Excellent video. I've book marked your site. If your part sales are handled as complete and professionally as this video I'm sure I'll find satisfied when I come back to purchase parts.
+John Galt Thank you for the great reply. We love to empower our customers by showing you how-to perform your own auto repairs while installing our high quality auto parts. Have a great day! 1aauto.com
All states should have aiming walls setup at the inspection station, forget the emissions testing that is just a money grab. Every night when you drive the new HD LED lights are a blinder. Oh yeah and the guys who run the LED light bars all the time, they are the worst. Those aux lights are supposed to be used like high beams and shut off when within 500' of other vehicles......
So, for clarification, should the same procedure be used for fog lights or can I get by with eyeballing it at the distance and having the fogs fill in everything below the headlights?
Decent information, but what if you don't have 25 feet to work with? There should be some chart that breaks this up into equivalent distances so this can be done from say 5 feet withing a garage or just outside the garage on a driveway.
@@ArbitraryLifestyle Use math. A 4 inch drop at 25 ft translates to 3.2 inches at 20 ft, 2.4 inches a 15 ft, 1.6 inches at 10 ft, and 0.8 inches at 5 ft. To find the 2 inch drop just cut the inches in half (1.6, 1.2, 0.8, 0.4) Keep in mind the decimal is in 10ths but inches are divided into 16ths so you will have to multiply the decimal by 1.6 to find how many 16ths of an inch it is, but you are going to lose accuracy the closer you get so disregard all of this and do it at 25 ft.
Should the main driver of the vehicle be in the driver's seat since their weight will affect the height of the headlights? What about horizontal adjustments? How far apart or close to center do you want the lights to shine?
I’ve always changed my brakes but I never bled the brake fluid. After tightening down on passenger wheel lugs, I noticed that my car does not shake as much when I brake but it still shakes uncomfortably.
What about horizontal alignment? Didn't cover that. My car is cross-eyed and uneven on the horizontal plane, need to know how much to adjust on each side. Thanks to anyone knowledgeable who chimes in 😊
In the beginning of the video he took a tape measure and measured from the ground up to the center of the headlight. Also the driver side is 4 inches down and the passenger side is 2 inches down. Neither one of them are up from the headlight centerline.
Now you got me confused. As per Haynes; Chilton's and even my Chrysler Pt cruiser service manual, the center of the lights goes exactly at the center height. In other words 32 inches exactly and not 4 inches below.
I drive 90% in Oklahoma and 10% in Arkansas... What I'm seeing is that the new Ford trucks are running Quad Low Beams, along with under bumper running lights. Our ambulances on Ford Chassis are doing it as well. Seriously blinding!
As the request below, if you have 2 lights on each side.. a high beam and a low beam light, how do you set each one...the same way you have it here? Thank you!
A lot of people need to rewatch the video specifically from 2:45 to 7:20... pay special attention to 3:15 to 3:45 and around 5:15. YOUR Questions will be answered. Also you use your low beams since the entire point is to adjust them to not blind people cause you turn your high beams off.... derrr.... You should have your license revoked for asking such a dumb question...
So 4"on drive side and 2" on passenger side below is correct 🤔 everything works out with the dimensions from the floor to the center of the light correct
Parking garages should have a someway standard measuringline painted at their walls. When parked, you get attended your lights are not right aimed and you should visit your local garage (or do a quick fix at the spot yourself).
I loved the line, "If you are doing this outside you'll be wanting to do this at Night!" I know that's obvious, but I guess being in the US of A they have to give those sort of instructions because there are so many Fumb Ducks around. But a good clear educational video, well done.
What do you do when you run out of adjustment and suddenly the adjuster won’t even adjust? It’s almost as if the adjustment screw completely and effortlessly disconnected from whatever it was moving before I ran out of the adjustment range. These are brand new headlight housings!
Turns out I wasn’t anywhere near out of adjustment. The adjuster just failed. It stopped moving along the threaded post and started slipping. Taking it off I could tell that the housing for the adjuster flexed allowing it to expand a bit so the parts inside couldn’t properly engage. I fiddled until it was back to the right shape and working again but it happens again immediately once reattached. These things are garbage. I ended up transferring the adjuster and frame from my old headlight, which works but I kinda needed the new frame due to a chunk missing from mine where the side marker light attaches. I can’t move the adjuster alone since the threading is different. All they had to do was use plastic housing that doesn’t flex/expand when the parts inside turn! If I had a way to hold the two halves together while turning it would work perfectly.
These were TYC brand Taiwanese replacements for 2nd gen Venture, Trans Sport, Silhouette, plus 1st gen Montana, Uplander, etc. Unlike others, they fit great and it really is just these adjusters that are the Achilles Heel.
√ *Watch the Video*
√ *Buy The Part at 1A Auto* 1aau.to/m/Visit-1AAuto
√ *Do it Yourself*
√ *Save Money*
Wouldn’t u want the headlights at the exact same spot rather than passenger being higher and driver lower to not blind people. I just don’t want my projector headlights even so that at different angles it looks the same and not brighter than the other one. From factory, are the headlights even or one higher than the other like u guys said to do?
+Gerald Martin Thank you for your question. We use UPS for shipping our parts.
@@1AAuto where are your shops located
I have a 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe any idea where the headlight adjustment screw is at. It’s been at dealer twice for minor work but they keep forgetting @@1AAuto
Every states motor vehicle departments should have a wall that drivers can pull up to with markings so that ANYONE can adjust their own headlights properly. In the past few years there are so many cars out there blinding oncoming drivers........
I'm here specifically because I know im blinding everyone else when I drive lol
@1pcmedic Now that’s a genius idea!! 👍🏼
The blinding that everyone has experienced the last few years is caused by the Type of lights the automakers have been allowed to use, NOT the adjustment of the lights.
@@dancahill9122 I think it may be both lmao
@@FrankDracula_ lol it took me awhile to realize my lights weren't too bright, they're in people's faces and that's why they're flashing their brights at me
I just installed new headlights in a 2003 Subaru Forester and aligned them using this procedure. Used a 55” TV box for creating the light beam map. Was easy, fast and accurate. Thank you for creating this superb video. I’m in your debt. “ATTABOY!!!”
+jeff199999 Thanks for watching, we're glad this video helped!
Thank you so much. I just bought a set LED bulbs to replace a dead pair of halogens and I noticed that the cutoff was a lot higher than before. I did as you advised and I am very happy with the results. My lights are now well bellow the rear window of the cars ahead, nobody has flashed me when coming the other way, and the illumination I get is way better than before.
You got a new fan here.
This is the first video of correct aligment for headlight. This is more professional than most videos I have seen!
Based on IIHS data and some trigonometry, the following chart should serve well.
Back the car 25' away from the wall. First number of each line is headlight height in inches, second number is drop in inches. If you have projectors, measure at the HIGH side of the cutoff. If you have reflectors, measure at the top edge of the "hotspot", and drop the driver's side 2" more than the chart says.
22 1.5
24 1.75
26 2
28 2.125
30 2.25
32 2-7/16
34 2-9/16
36 2.75
38 2-7/8
40 3
44 3.25
48 3-5/8
54 4-1/16
IIHS describes 330" as the optimal distance of illumination for low-beams, and the majority of autos sold in the USA do not shine that far. The chart above should allow your low beam to illuminate the road 330' ahead (assuming your lights aren't embarrassed by a birthday candle).
Using the high side of the cutoff as your drop guide will allow you to see the 330' distance in low beam while allowing the low side of the cutoff to do its job protecting oncomers from glare.
If you're aimed according to the chart and shining into the passenger cabin in front of you, you're either a tall truck tailgating a pregnant rollerskate, or you forgot to turn off your highs.
If you have reflectors, dropping the driver's side a little more than the chart says will accomplish the same goal SORTA. I say sorta because reflectors are scatterbeams and will cause SOME glare no matter what you do. I recommend a retrokit to a GOOD QUALITY projector setup. If that retrokit uses HID bulbs, make sure they have a solenoid cutoff to allow you to switch between high and low beam.
In any case, try to get 5500K bulbs, or if you run HIDs with 55W ballasts, the next color temp higher.
Excellent video, detailed, clear, and concise. Very professional and to the point...not full of 'camera-time' trivia about personal life, or what gramma, grandpa, or his buddies do. Thank You.
Shit video
I've watched several on RUclips all day, this is the ONLY one that actually shows it step by step CLEARLY !!!! Thank you so much!!!!!
Also, without a camera being held in one hand-wrench in the other and a lot of ummms and uhhhhhs and repeatedly admiring how nice the lights look, miscellaneous stories about their brother-in-laws truck. Etc
A1 is the number one source for the best vehicle info and tutorials.
I wish I could airdrop this video link to every car passing that has one headlight aimed too high 😂 Thank you for the super clear instructions!! Not it makes sense why the left headlight seems lower after service. But after measuring according to your guide, they were still both too low. I also upgraded to brighter bulbs as I was just using OEM bulbs, so hopefully with new bulbs and better alignment, I'll be able to see better at night!
Never knew the driver side headlight needed to be lower than the passenger. Have not seen any other video that mentions this. This is good to know, thank you.
This is absolutely a precise and professional way of aligning headlamps and is not inferior to a headlamp aiming tool.
+T410ce Thanks for checking us out! 1aau.to/m/Shop-1AAuto-c
I was doing this all wrong. I was making the two beams meet in the middle crossing over one another (supposedly to make it easier to see down the road farther) which wasnt working. As soon as its dark outside today you can bet im doing this technique you showed. Thank you for showing this video!!
I haven't hit 60 yrs old yet and when I entered the auto repair world we had equipment to aim lights as part of our annual vehicle state inspection. I aimed my share. I can't count how many times I wish I had one available
Thank you! Just got new projector headlights on my Trailblazer and driver side is pointed at the ground about 5 ft in front of the truck lol. I'm not mechanically inclined but feel more comfortable doing this myself after watching your video.
+Slow Down Move Over Thanks for checking us out! 1AAuto.com
When you were bringing your left headlight down, I would have lowered it to where it was too low, then bring it back up for a better visual. I know that's a little overkill but that;s just my OCD kicking in... Thank you for this, it was very detailed and easy to understand.
An excellent video that covers it all in a simple straightforward way and leaves nothing out!
I wish I had a garage that was 25 feet long, lol
Wish I had a garage.
Mark Stewart I feel you bro 😔😥
I wish i had a car
You gave me a good laugh! We were all thinking it, but you said it! Lol
I wish my driveway was 25 ft longe !
This was worth watching. Other videos on headlight adjustment miss key parts like the passenger light will be higher than the left to elliminate blinding other drivers, and that you need to do this on a level surface. This got my lights finally correct. Thanks!
Perfect, thank you for the clear and concise information. I will share with all my friends and family.
Thank you for the great reply. We love to empower our customers by showing you how-to perform your own auto repairs while installing our high quality auto parts. Have a great day! 1aauto.com +Chris Benefiel
He never states use hi or low beams
What a most excellent video. I was just getting ready to take it to our trusty dusty repair shop and came across this video and I'm sure you just saved me a lot of Moola!! Thanks Bro!! 1A Auto will now be my first Stop to Shop!!
Lived most of my life in Texas, where car inspections are mandatory and lights get yearly adjustments. Now I live in Oklahoma, where cars never get inspections. When a drivers lights are misaligned, they never gets adjusted unless the driver feels up to it.
Althought this an awesome video I cannot see how most people will be able to find a floor that is perpendicular to the wall that lights are shinning on. IF you are inside a garage AND you have 25 feet plus the car lenght inside then sure, inside walls are perpendicular to the floor BUT if your are in any driveway, a parking lot, and facing any exterior wall then you are screwed because any ground surface around a building has to have a slope, even if minimal so rain moves away from the building. Been searching for a good location for a while and never found one. Still an excellent video and gives me all I need to know.
Good job explaining the system set up an showing how to basically adjust. I never heard about adjustment on passenger side higher then driver side but it does make sense. Thankyou sir.
Your video is the most informative compared to others on same topic on RUclips.
Thanks for checking us out! 1aauto.com
I read somewhere the ideal distance ANY headlight should reach out is 200 feet in front of your vehicle, for your DRIVER SIDE headlight. Using 200 feet is not practical so they settled on 25' as a good practical distance for measuring the drop. The ideal distance for the passenger side, I believe, is 400', but I won't do the numbers on that one since it generally doesn't blind oncoming drivers.
If you have an average headlight height of say 32" and you want your beam to reach 200', or 2400", then you have to calculate the proportional drop between 25' or 300", and 200' or 2400". The formula would be as shown below, where you're solving for X, the drop at a distance of 25', or 300"
32"/2400" = X/300", 2400X=9600, X=9600/2400, X=4" drop at 25' distance. An even simpler way to calculate the drop is to take the height of your headlight and multiply by 1/8, or .125. This simplified method is for when the distance is 25 feet to the wall.
You can substitute your own headlight height, but the rough numbers are going to be around 4" for an average car.
Thanks. As simple as this sounds your method actually works pretty easy. I remember my 1971 Yamaha Enduro motorcycle had this same method diagramed with instructions in the owner's manual. I must say owner's manuals are not what they used to be.
Watching these videos help me be prepared to do any repair on my van. Very helpful
Nice vid. All I did was park behind one of my cars and adjusted the cut off line just below the door mirrors. No more blinding car in front
My only other car is a truck 😞
Thanks for a great video. You guys are really good at getting to the point while providing both what to do and some background as to why. I've been turning wrenches for quite a long time yet still jump on RUclips for pointers. Glad I came across your channel. Subscribed.
I just replaced the headlamps in both a Buick and a Toyota. I'm going to use my garage door as the aiming board. The precision with which to assess and make adjustments is going to pretty much lost on the Buick, meaning I can pretty much do that one with a little bit of winging because it really doesn't project a horizontal transition line. The Toyota on the other hand is a very distinct horizontal line and I'll stick closer to the book, er uh the video.
finally, a proper explanation. I'd still like to know the reference height that HIGH BEAMS should be at.. mine look to be right on top of my low beams' focal point..
Great video and I used my garage door and works great, best instructional video I have ever seen. Thanks.
+Arthur Gillian Thank you for the great reply. We love to empower our customers by showing you how-to perform your own auto repairs while installing our high quality auto parts. Have a great day! 1aauto.com
Best guide for this on RUclips. Thanks a ton.
+Chris Brillhart Thanks for checking us out. Shop here for high quality auto parts: 1aau.to/m/Shop-1AAuto-c
What about horizontal adjust ment
Thanks so much your video was very helpful in adjusting the headlines on my 2008 Infiniti qx56 ...I was blinding other drivers and I know its dangerous both for them as well as myself...😢..thanks a million.😊😊
What’s interesting is I’ve noticed when replacing a headlight bulb, if it’s not seated perfectly, the beam will be off. Just replacing a bulb should not change the position of the beam. This was something I noticed and wonder how many people have poor beam position simply because the lamp isn’t installed right.
Excellent demo. Thanks for the video. I feel good about leveling my own headlights after this. Since this video addresses vertical adjustments to low beams are there any specifics to the horizontal adjustments? Specifics regarding high beams? Thank you again & merry Christmas!
Same question I had.
Followed your video to aim a new set of Auxbeam GX's in my '01 Sebring convertible. Test drove and everything is right on the money. Thanks!
Thank you, that just saved my butt big time. I used my garage door as a reference now I can do this for my friends if need be.
Jamie St Amand Yea me too back my car in the garage so the front was facing the door closed the door cause I did it during the day but with garage door closed it made it dark adjusted my lights now looks good
@@ryans413 Yeah, but doesn't your car have to be 25 feet from the garage door?
what about side to side do you want to keep the beam width as wide as the gap between headlights?
Great learning video!! Now only if other drivers would stop high beaming For my LED low beams mine are level and are not aimed high and my light housing is projector type so there's a straight line cut off they learn the hard way when i High Beam them back got the upgraded Halogens in the high beams
Newer lights have more output and as a result the spill is greater than standard halogens. I blame DOT regulations because ecode > dot
Best headlight adjustment video I've seen!
Don't you also want the right headlight shining somewhat to the right so it's easier to see the righthand lines on the road? My dad is a master mechanic and that is what he always told me to do.
Excellent video guys. Just upgraded my bulbs to the new Philips x-treme Vision Gen 2 and was unimpressed...until i adjusted them. Thank again
+Steve Mackenzie Thanks for watching. Keep us in mind in the future if you need parts for your vehicle. 1aauto.com
With reflector housing people say you can’t use LEDs and you can you just have to re adjust the headlights to the new bulbs
@@ryans413this was true a year or two ago, but you can use LED as long as they have the correct beam pattern, most modern LED bulbs have an adjustable base so it's not really an issue any more. Its HID that shouldn't go into regular reflectors. You'll see better with HID bulbs, but you'll be emitting tons of glare and blind oncoming traffic. HID bulbs should be in projectors, LED bulbs perform poorly behind a projector, so for the most part, a standard reflector is the only sensible option for an LED bulb. I recently heard these 4 sided LED bulbs do well in projectors but have not tried them because the 55w HID bulbs I'm running are amazing.
THANK YOU, FOR DEMONSTRATING THIS VERY HELPFUL TUTORIAL!!! AWESOME!!
This covered the up & down adjustment but how about the left and right adjustment?
Guess you didn't notice the left and right cross hair dials on both sides of the center line that he uses to adjust the height with... same concept to adjust left and right....
Good explaining and showing can u say y its set at that height and is there any info on high beam headlamps also horizontal? Thx appreciate ur vid and info.
If your driveway slopes away from the garage door (and if it doesn't, you've probably got water issues in your garage), just use a water level to mark a line on the garage door at the exact height of the dot in your headlight. Mine drops several inches over the 25 foot distance. Doesn't make a lot of sense to worry about tire pressure and what you've got in your trunk if you don't level your reference line to your headlight.
Thanks! This is one of the best instructional videos I have seen on the subject matter. Well done.
+Rafael Diaz Thanks for watching. Please keep us in mind in the future if you need parts for your vehicle. 1aauto.com
Thanks, very interesting and informative.
Just curious, I weigh 220 how do I factor me being in the car? Won’t that change the driver side?
@@nbdysfool3 If your car has a front window, you should be able to see the adjustment board while sitting in the driver's seat. Check every day before and after eating.
I have been a (UK mot test assistant) exactly the same thing as your (american) health test. when er do our headlight checks we have to use a beam setter and we do not have to set the o/s down 2". In our beam setter box we have a red line and provided the center of the beam "just where it kicks up" is below the red line the light is set okay, but we are allowed to pass the car provided it does not go more than 1" (2.5cm) below the red line. there is more adjustments that we can also preform with the beam setter
Really clear and instructive video, thanks!
I usually adjust both my headlights high left, Youre welcome people. ha Very informative video
+TPfisher92 P Thank you!
Perfect and precise instructions 👍. I will share with my f&f about aiming headlights.
I like how all Toyota tundras trucks come standard with electric up and down aiming lights for carrying loads so you can push a switch on the dashboard to aim the lights down if you have a heavy load. I wish other trucks had this standard option 😕.
Thanks for the headlight bulb replacement video for my 2003 Alero,did it in under five minutes!
And in states where this is part of the check for Vehicle Safety Inspection for license plate renewal this is very important. The phrase "Watch where you are driving. Keep your eyes on the road" come to mind. You have to see the roadway and conditions in advance to be safe. It's also true, you can 'overdrive' your headlights if the vehicle speed is greater than what you can see in advance to take evasive/precautionary action. All impacted by headlight aim. Thanks for the excellent presentation of this facet of motor vehicle safe operation!
Amazing tutorial. I'm going to take these tips and apply then to my arsenal. Thanks always
Thank you for this, I knew I was right that my passenger side needed to be higher, I had someone telling me that they needed to be the same height, but that did not make sense to me, I would have blinded oncoming traffic!
This is some great info. Do you have one that shows adjusting headlights and fog lights on a 2009-2018 Dodge Ram 1500?
Excellent presentation. Good job. Easy to follow instructions. Thanks. G.Parham
Nice video, thanks for educating myself and the masses!
I recently gave up on my yellowed lenses and continuous polishing, so my aim could well be off. I wanted to learn, not so much "how" to adjust but rather the specifications to at least "aim" for.
I wish police would have a way to enforce and judges heavily fine those who have no concern for others.
As one ages, the visual purple in their eyes is not as responsive to changes in intensity of light and the irises to not close to compensate quickly enough. They get the spots before their eyes that everyone is familiar with and recover to see in darker situations much more slowly.
Throw in a road hazard like a car without tail lights, a black cow or feral hog and you have a great potential for somebody getting badly hurt and property damage while the fellow with misaligned lights goes on, never seeing the results of his misdeed to humanity. It happens.
Realize also that some medications tend to dilate the eyes (marijuana for example), some health issues affect the iris, and I used to get migraines of varying degrees, like many others, and the light can actually be painful. Often these would occur on my way home from work at night.
Anyone who believes I am being "holier than thou" or a "stick in the mud", arrogant or whatever please understand this how most thinking and decent people feel. If you are not among the "decent" people you may be offended by this writing.
It is OK to be offended we all are at one time or another and there is no civil nor God given "right" to not be offended. I am offended by some people's bright and misaligned lights so this is all I can do and I choose not to be angry, rather hopefully enlightening.
Excellent video. I've book marked your site. If your part sales are handled as complete and professionally as this video I'm sure I'll find satisfied when I come back to purchase parts.
+John Galt Thank you for the great reply. We love to empower our customers by showing you how-to perform your own auto repairs while installing our high quality auto parts. Have a great day! 1aauto.com
I'm happy to have this knowledge so that I can level my own headlights. But, I still haven't figured out who John Galt is. Who is John Galt?
All states should have aiming walls setup at the inspection station, forget the emissions testing that is just a money grab. Every night when you drive the new HD LED lights are a blinder. Oh yeah and the guys who run the LED light bars all the time, they are the worst. Those aux lights are supposed to be used like high beams and shut off when within 500' of other vehicles......
I drive around with my light bar on but it’s aimed down at the ground..
my light bar is always aimed down in a way that gives good light throw but does not blind on comers but I had a local officer help me aim that
Light bars are actually illegal to use on the road in most areas. Off road use only
You guys are great for helping people ☺️
So, for clarification, should the same procedure be used for fog lights or can I get by with eyeballing it at the distance and having the fogs fill in everything below the headlights?
Fog lights are fill-in lights for low beams.
This was an awesomely educational video, thank you for your time and knowledge !!!
Decent information, but what if you don't have 25 feet to work with? There should be some chart that breaks this up into equivalent distances so this can be done from say 5 feet withing a garage or just outside the garage on a driveway.
A parking deck, the side of a business after hours will work as well.
Agreed, but I went to the backside of Lowes to do this. A chart for 5' or 10' would be super helpful, too though.
i go to my local grocery store down the road and do it. They have a nice white wall and plenty of room
You don’t get it the distance is for proper adjustment. What you want is like leveling a 16’ board with a 6” torpedo level
@@ArbitraryLifestyle Use math. A 4 inch drop at 25 ft translates to 3.2 inches at 20 ft, 2.4 inches a 15 ft, 1.6 inches at 10 ft, and 0.8 inches at 5 ft. To find the 2 inch drop just cut the inches in half (1.6, 1.2, 0.8, 0.4) Keep in mind the decimal is in 10ths but inches are divided into 16ths so you will have to multiply the decimal by 1.6 to find how many 16ths of an inch it is, but you are going to lose accuracy the closer you get so disregard all of this and do it at 25 ft.
Should the main driver of the vehicle be in the driver's seat since their weight will affect the height of the headlights? What about horizontal adjustments? How far apart or close to center do you want the lights to shine?
Wow best video I've seen on adjusting head lights :-)
+HeliMicky Thanks for watching. Hope this helped you out. Have a great day! 1aauto.com
Many thanks from the UK 😊
Awesome instructions! Also ideally, if possible to adjust the low beam when gas tank is half full. (Full tank = Back lowers and headlight tilt up)
I’ve always changed my brakes but I never bled the brake fluid. After tightening down on passenger wheel lugs, I noticed that my car does not shake as much when I brake but it still shakes uncomfortably.
What about horizontal alignment? Didn't cover that. My car is cross-eyed and uneven on the horizontal plane, need to know how much to adjust on each side. Thanks to anyone knowledgeable who chimes in 😊
Just curious as to adjusting the left/right part of headlight aiming. Where should they point left to right?
Can you do a video for adjusting left and right too please?
frozen
What about horizontal adjustment for a sealed beam light that has adjustment both ways? Did you forget about those?
Very helpful! Thanks for sharing and taking the time to make this video.
How did you determine the height to set the headlights to? As in, 4” down on drivers side and 2” up on passenger side.
In the beginning of the video he took a tape measure and measured from the ground up to the center of the headlight. Also the driver side is 4 inches down and the passenger side is 2 inches down. Neither one of them are up from the headlight centerline.
What about % of beam fall, every headlight has is marked down. Shouldn't that be taken in to account?
How to adjust both sides headlight beam in centre on road, sir please help me thanks.
Now you got me confused. As per Haynes; Chilton's and even my Chrysler Pt cruiser service manual, the center of the lights goes exactly at the center height. In other words 32 inches exactly and not 4 inches below.
I drive 90% in Oklahoma and 10% in Arkansas...
What I'm seeing is that the new Ford trucks are running Quad Low Beams, along with under bumper running lights. Our ambulances on Ford Chassis are doing it as well.
Seriously blinding!
As the request below, if you have 2 lights on each side.. a high beam and a low beam light, how do you set each one...the same way you have it here? Thank you!
A lot of people need to rewatch the video specifically from 2:45 to 7:20... pay special attention to 3:15 to 3:45 and around 5:15. YOUR Questions will be answered. Also you use your low beams since the entire point is to adjust them to not blind people cause you turn your high beams off.... derrr.... You should have your license revoked for asking such a dumb question...
Nice and detailed! Now to calculate these in metric... 😅
Keep watching, they go through the process with a blank board and painters tape too!
Thanks for checking us out. 1aauto.com +damok9999
This video very helpful to me thanks sir, you doing great work thanks once again.
While adjusting headlights which beam to use?
High beam or low beam?
since normal weight is supposed to be in vehicle when adjusting, should a driver and or passenger be in the car during adjustment?
yes to be as accurate as possible, but you could just adjust about a 1/2 inch lower
So 4"on drive side and 2" on passenger side below is correct 🤔 everything works out with the dimensions from the floor to the center of the light correct
Parking garages should have a someway standard measuringline painted at their walls. When parked, you get attended your lights are not right aimed and you should visit your local garage (or do a quick fix at the spot yourself).
Mines a 2015; pretty much the same. Thank you. Nice voice
I loved the line, "If you are doing this outside you'll be wanting to do this at Night!" I know that's obvious, but I guess being in the US of A they have to give those sort of instructions because there are so many Fumb Ducks around. But a good clear educational video, well done.
ADRIAN man, you aint fake news! I bet 5 dollars there have been tons of people outside during the day trying to aim headlights
12:25 sometimes animals are on the sidewalk and pedestrians come out of the woods!
Thanks a lot for the vid. And also for A1 parts , I'm a customer, a happy one thanks a lot .✌
+Oscarcuevassn95 Saleemzr1 Thanks for checking us out!
Thank you, to all at 1A Auto
Always use a block wall lines also figure out height do you guys go in and outside aiming Rt & Lt
Can you make a video or tell us the parrameters for fog lamps ? Thank you.
High beams or low beams during proceedure?
Cool my truck was dropped 3/5" and after everyone was flashing their high beams. Probably out of adjustment big time. I will try to adjust. Thanks
Thanks for the instruction. Do you treat high beams the same height as low beams?
Since this adjusts the light housing it adjust both at the same time.
What do you do when you run out of adjustment and suddenly the adjuster won’t even adjust? It’s almost as if the adjustment screw completely and effortlessly disconnected from whatever it was moving before I ran out of the adjustment range. These are brand new headlight housings!
Turns out I wasn’t anywhere near out of adjustment. The adjuster just failed. It stopped moving along the threaded post and started slipping. Taking it off I could tell that the housing for the adjuster flexed allowing it to expand a bit so the parts inside couldn’t properly engage. I fiddled until it was back to the right shape and working again but it happens again immediately once reattached.
These things are garbage. I ended up transferring the adjuster and frame from my old headlight, which works but I kinda needed the new frame due to a chunk missing from mine where the side marker light attaches. I can’t move the adjuster alone since the threading is different. All they had to do was use plastic housing that doesn’t flex/expand when the parts inside turn! If I had a way to hold the two halves together while turning it would work perfectly.
These were TYC brand Taiwanese replacements for 2nd gen Venture, Trans Sport, Silhouette, plus 1st gen Montana, Uplander, etc. Unlike others, they fit great and it really is just these adjusters that are the Achilles Heel.