Have you ever been driving at night and had someone flash their lights at you for what felt like no reason? Chances are, the reason was that your headlights are misaligned. While this may not sound like a serious issue, it can actually put you (and the drivers around you) in danger.
Proper headlight adjustment isn’t just essential for lighting your way during night hours and adverse weather conditions. It also has a huge effect on drivers around you, and misaligned headlights can blind people in oncoming traffic. Unfortunately, many car owners are unaware that their headlights may not be adequately aligned with the road ahead of them.
Knowing how to adjust headlights could save your life. Here’s what you need to know about adjusting headlights at home.
What Is a Headlight Alignment?
It’s no secret that over time, your vehicle will experience wear and tear. And it’s not just the noticeable bumps and bangs of daily driving that can knock your headlights out of alignment. Headlights can slowly become misaligned over time, or if you recently had one or both replaced, they could have been installed incorrectly. Other common causes of headlight misalignment are frontal collisions, driving over potholes, damage to the housing, or a scratched lens diffusion disc.
The obvious problem is that if you’re aiming headlights in the wrong direction, you’re limiting your line of sight in the dark and potentially reducing your reaction times. You’re also risking blinding other drivers on the other side of the road. In fact, drivers with misaligned headlights can unwittingly cause accidents around them.
The bottom line is that all headlights will need to be adjusted at some point, even on the most expensive of cars or most advanced systems. For example, even adaptive and self-leveling headlights will eventually need to be adjusted manually.
Signs It’s Time to Adjust Headlights
The signs you need to learn how to adjust headlight height are pretty obvious, but many neglectful car owners don’t notice the obvious signs. The most obvious answer: if other drivers are regularly honking or flashing their lights at you, then your lights are too high. It’s a surefire sign that you’re blinding other people or causing discomfort on the road.
Another way to tell that it’s time for a headlight adjustment is by assessing where your lights are shining. Are your lights only illuminating approximately 20 feet of the road in front of you? Then they’re too low.
What You’ll Need to Adjust Headlights
Adjusting headlights is undoubtedly a tedious process. Every vehicle has its own system for adjusting the headlights, so you’ll need to consider the make and model of your car.
Here’s what you’ll need to adjust headlights at home:
- Tape (Masking or painters tape is fine)
- Measuring tape
- Phillips screwdriver
- Socket set for some models
Naturally, you’ll need a flat workspace to work on. It could be your garage, the driveway, or on the side of the street. If you’re adjusting headlights on the street, make sure you’re being safe by staying visible to drivers passing by, keeping your tools off the road, and wearing a reflective vest if necessary.
How to Adjust Headlights: A Step-by-Step Guide
Before you get started on adjusting your headlights, remember that if you’re still covered by a warranty, your dealership might align your headlights for free. Another important note to keep in mind is that some states have specific laws regarding headlight beam adjustments, so make sure you’re in compliance before making any adjustments.
If you’re adjusting your headlights on your own, here’s a quick step-by-step guide. Learning how to align headlights can be tedious, but the process is fairly simple. Skip spending the money on a mechanic and follow these steps:
Step One – Consult the Owner’s Manual
Every vehicle is different, so you should always begin by consulting your owner’s manual. Not every modern vehicle even allows for headlight adjustments, so check to see if your make and model allow for adjustment. The manual will also indicate the position of the adjusting screws or provide the recommended distance between the beam’s center and the horizontal centerline. You may find that your vehicle has a leveling bubble in place to support your adjustment.
Step Two – Park Your Car on Level Ground
You already know this, but it’s so important we want to say it again: Move your car to level ground. Avoid parking your car on the driveway if there’s a gradient. This isn’t just to keep your screws and tools organized — you need to shine your headlights onto a flat surface, like a wall or garage door.
Step Three – Create the Center Axis
The ideal time to make a headlight adjustment is at dusk, as you’ll need to test them out in the darkness. Position your car roughly six feet from your flat surface and turn your headlights on at a low beam.
Get out of your car and mark your beam’s horizontal and vertical lines with tape. Ideally, you should see that the center of your cross is the center axis. These crosses are your baseline.
Step Four – Find the Difference
With your two crosses of tape in place, use the measuring tape to measure the lines. If both headlights don’t have the same measurement, it means your headlights are not in alignment. Use your measuring tape and note down the differences.
Take the lowest centerline mark and adjust to ensure they are on the same level. Some vehicles will even come with an integrated crosshair to make finding the beam’s center axis easier.
Step Five – Assess from a Distance
The next step is to back away from the wall, as you need to get some distance between you and the center axes. Use your measuring tape to measure 25 feet away from the wall. Back away until your front wheels hit the 25-foot mark.
Turn your headlights on again and see where the brightest part of the beam hits. It should rest on the spot where you positioned your tape.
Step Six – Prepare the Adjustment
Your owner’s manual will detail how to prepare for the adjustment. Generally, you’ll need to remove the ring or bezel of the headlights. Make sure you keep them in a designated location so you don’t lose them.
Look for where the horizontal and vertical adjustment screws are positioned. If you cannot locate them, refer to the owner’s manual.
Step Seven – Adjust the Vertical Field
Begin by adjusting the vertical field. Ideally, you’ll have someone to help you with this process. Place some cardboard or a dark cloth over one headlight and turn the headlights on.
Look for the vertical adjusting screw and use your screwdriver to turn clockwise to raise the lights or counterclockwise to lower the lights. The strongest part of the beam should hit the vertical centerline on the wall or just below it.
Step Eight – Adjust the Horizontal Field
Move the screws clockwise to turn the light inwards or counterclockwise to turn the light outwards. Your beam should hit just below the center tapeline.
After finishing this process, unblock the other light and go through these two steps again on the other headlight.
Step Nine – Finetune Your Lights
It can take considerable time and effort to ensure that the center axis lines up correctly with the tape on the wall, so make sure you get it right the first time.
While it may take a while, you’ll likely need to continue making extremely minor adjustments till you hit that sweet spot. Once you’re happy with the results, take your car for a test drive and see how your lights perform. If there are still some alignment issues, repeat the above steps.
The Bottom Line
As you can see, learning how to adjust headlights takes time but is a fairly easy process. Thankfully, most cars can run for years without their headlights needing adjustment.
To learn more about keeping your car in good running order, check out the eManualOnline selection of car repair guides now. Whether you’re in need of a BMW repair manual or learning how to adjust headlights on a truck with truck manuals online, we’ve got you covered. To save money on vehicle maintenance, start learning with eManualOnline today!
Thanks for info on headlights refocus
it’s a pleasure mate!