Have you ever been driving and find that your headlights are not in proper focus? This is a common occurrence, which may result in getting honks from oncoming drivers as the glare may be pointing right to them. In such a situation, the main culprit is the improper aiming of the headlights. To prevent such an occurrence, you need to know how to aim headlights, adding them to your essential automotive maintenance skillset.
If you have unaligned headlights, you need to rectify them immediately for both your safety and that of other road users. If you do not know how to go about it, this article will show you how to go if you do not find who does headlight adjustments near you. Below is a guide on tackling this process.
How to Aim Headlights: Step By Step Guide
Here are some of the items you may need for this procedure.
- A measuring tape.
- An erasable marker.
- A wall or flat vertical surface.
- Space of at least 25-feet in length.
- A roll of tape.
Step 1: Leveling Your Vehicle
When you want to aim your headlights correctly, you should note that it involves measuring to get the right angling. To get it right, your car should be at the right level on a flat surface with a wall in front. In this step, remove any luggage from your vehicle, which can affect its weight. You should also ensure that your wheels are at the recommended pressure, preferably the manufacturer’s standards. Your gas tank should be half full, and if possible, there should be someone in the driver’s seat. Also, ensure that the headlight adjustment tool is at the zero mark. The car should be on level ground for the best results. You can try pushing it down to see if it is stable.
Step 2: Positioning Your Car
The next step involves positioning your car, where the front must face the wall. You now measure the distance to the ground from the headlights to ensure that they are on a flat surface. If you get varying measurements, you should reposition your car.
Step 3: Find the Headlight Axis
You have to find the headlight axis to make the right aim and angling. Turn on the regular headlights and mark the center of each lamp; a small dot will do. Be careful not to use the high beam light or fog lights as you may make errors. You should also mark the axis point on the wall with tape; a horizontal strip will do well in helping you with the plotting. Now measure the distance from the axis to the floor and transfer the measurements to the wall. Mark the right place.
Step 4: Backing Your Car and Aiming
You should now reverse the car 25-feet from the wall. Do not estimate the distance; use the tape measure instead and mark the spots on the floor. You can use a headlight aiming wall chart to help you understand most of the metrics involved in this procedure as it requires accuracy. Once you are at the correct distance from the wall, you can turn off the light and remove the ring around the headlights to find the adjustment screws.
Where are the headlight adjustment screws? Once you remove the ring from the headlight assembly, you will notice the two adjustment screws, one at the top and another on the side of the headlight. The top is for vertical adjustment, while the one on the side is for horizontal tuning.
Step 5: Adjust Each Light Separately
It is advisable to adjust each light separately. You turn on the lights and focus on one first, then the other. You can cover the different lights with a dark sheet or cloth to proceed smoothly. Use a headlight alignment tool to tackle the tuning. When tuning the lights, start vertically, where clockwise raises them, whereas counterclockwise lowers them. The top of the beam should be at the headlight axis on the wall. With the aim correct, focus on horizontal adjustments, where the intense part of the beam should be to the vertical line’s right.
Make the same adjustments for the other car light, and you are good to go. Fix ring back to the assembly and go for a test drive to see if everything is alright. This procedure is similar to aiming fog lights, meaning if your fog lights do not have a proper alignment, you can follow most of the steps highlighted in this guide.
Before adjusting the lights, make sure that you have a clean headlight. If it is not clean, the beam may appear distorted, leading to an inaccurate aim. Look at how to make headlights brighter to have a precise beam on the wall. A look at how to aim HID headlights, keenness is critical due to the power of these types of light.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How High Should Your Headlights Be Aimed?
In the aiming of your car headlights, you should have the rights values for you to get the perfect beam angle. The distance from the ground to your headlight’s auxiliary point should not be more than 3.5 feet from the ground.
Q: How Much Does It Cost To Get Your Headlights Adjusted?
If you have a garage, do the headlight aiming work for you, you may part with something around $40 to $60. The cost depends on many factors, for example, if you are in a hurry you may spend more. It also depends on the garage or mechanic handling the job.
Q: How Far Should Your Headlights Shine While On Low Beam?
On the road, you have to look at the illumination distance to safeguard other road users’ welfare. Your low beam lights’ furthest distance should shine 100-feet away and should be at an angle pointing to the ground.
Q: Should LED Headlights Be Vertical Or Horizontal?
LED headlights produce much light compared to other light types like halogen lights. You should install the LED lights in the right direction for them to create ample light, but not too much to cause glare to other drivers. For single filament LED bulbs, set them in a side-to-side orientation to provide 360-degree coverage.
The same orientation should apply to double filament bulbs. This is horizontal alignment.
Q: Can You Adjust Headlights Up And Down?
Yes, you can adjust the headlights up and down by turning their vertical screw, which you will find at the top of the headlight in most car models. There is also a screw on the headlight’s side that you can use for sideway adjustment.
The screws are present in most cars, and you rely on this adjustment method when focusing on how to aim projector lights.
Final Word
The headlight is a crucial car light type, and it needs to be in the best shape for easy navigation in low visibility conditions. Still, on this car light, you have to ensure that it illuminates at the right angle to prevent glare on other road users. Follow the highlighted steps when you want to aim headlights. Check that you have the right set of headlight bulbs and that they are clean before proceeding with the adjustments.
Read More:
- 9005 Vs. H11: Headlight and Fog Light Bulb Cross-Reference Guide
- 3057 Vs. 3157 Bulbs: Which one is the Best?
- Yellow Vs. White Fog Lights: Makes A Better Decision for Your Car
