how do you adjust headlights?
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1,755 Posts
you will get lots of love over here, i promise 
this is a column put together about clearing the headlights, and it will definitely help you get closer to which screws and such you need to deal with to adjust them.
hope this helps and let us know how else we can help!
http://www.acuraworld.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=580
this is a column put together about clearing the headlights, and it will definitely help you get closer to which screws and such you need to deal with to adjust them.
hope this helps and let us know how else we can help!
http://www.acuraworld.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=580
Joined
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13,827 Posts
Here's a run-down text-style BTW:
Raise the hood and look on the black cover in front and look for two markers on each side which say: "R - L" and "U - D."
If you look down behind each of these markers you can see a small wheel with teeth.
You stick your screw driver or drill straight down so that by turning the screw driver, the wheel turns, which adjusts the direction of the beams.
In my case, I knew the adjustment of the lights was going to be a collaborative effort when the tech explained that he had raised my lights by adjusting the "R - L" wheel. He said "R - L" meant "Raise and Lower." I said "Hmmm . . . That could be . . . but then I wonder what "U - D" stands for . . . Wait a minute, do you think maybe "U - D" is "Up - Down" and maybe "R - L" is "Right - Left?"
Okay, so anyhow, for this astute but non-judgemental observation I was invited back to the holy of holys- the service area, for a personal re-aiming session using their special guide. The special guide involved lowering their roll-up garage door on the inside of which, was a more or less straight line, spray painted a couple of feet above the floor.
Now to be fair, it's hard to do this when it's not that dark and it's not entirely straightforward because when you adjust the Up - Down wheel the beam does move a little to the left or right at the same time; and, you guessed it, the beam also moves a little up or down when you are making the Right - Left adjustment. Keep this in mind when doing the adjustment yourself. You're going to have to compensate a little with the R - L wheels, no matter what, if you raise the beams using U - L.
I suggest you find a dark, flat parking lot with a blank wall, which you can park about 30' feet in front of. For best results, use a tape measure to measure the distance from the ground to the center of your headlights, and measure the distance between the middle of the two headlights. Place a piece of electrical tape on the wall you are using at the same width, and at the same height. Make sure your car is pointed perpendicularly to the wall.
When I did this myself I did a search on the net for some exact geometry which ... I don't remember; but in essence you want the center of the beams a little below your marker. The left beam should be pointed a little lower and more inward than the right for the sake of traffic. A good reality check when you think you're done, is to turn on your high beams. Keep in mind you want to keep these aimed to still light up some road rather than the night sky.
If you drive home and your lights are aimed below the tops of the trunks of the cars you're following, you're not far off. If you're shining them in their rear windshields you're a menace, and probably also getting flashed by opposing traffic for being a jerk. Please don't be a jerk, there are enough jerks with headlights mis-aimed, already.
Raise the hood and look on the black cover in front and look for two markers on each side which say: "R - L" and "U - D."
If you look down behind each of these markers you can see a small wheel with teeth.
You stick your screw driver or drill straight down so that by turning the screw driver, the wheel turns, which adjusts the direction of the beams.
In my case, I knew the adjustment of the lights was going to be a collaborative effort when the tech explained that he had raised my lights by adjusting the "R - L" wheel. He said "R - L" meant "Raise and Lower." I said "Hmmm . . . That could be . . . but then I wonder what "U - D" stands for . . . Wait a minute, do you think maybe "U - D" is "Up - Down" and maybe "R - L" is "Right - Left?"
Okay, so anyhow, for this astute but non-judgemental observation I was invited back to the holy of holys- the service area, for a personal re-aiming session using their special guide. The special guide involved lowering their roll-up garage door on the inside of which, was a more or less straight line, spray painted a couple of feet above the floor.
Now to be fair, it's hard to do this when it's not that dark and it's not entirely straightforward because when you adjust the Up - Down wheel the beam does move a little to the left or right at the same time; and, you guessed it, the beam also moves a little up or down when you are making the Right - Left adjustment. Keep this in mind when doing the adjustment yourself. You're going to have to compensate a little with the R - L wheels, no matter what, if you raise the beams using U - L.
I suggest you find a dark, flat parking lot with a blank wall, which you can park about 30' feet in front of. For best results, use a tape measure to measure the distance from the ground to the center of your headlights, and measure the distance between the middle of the two headlights. Place a piece of electrical tape on the wall you are using at the same width, and at the same height. Make sure your car is pointed perpendicularly to the wall.
When I did this myself I did a search on the net for some exact geometry which ... I don't remember; but in essence you want the center of the beams a little below your marker. The left beam should be pointed a little lower and more inward than the right for the sake of traffic. A good reality check when you think you're done, is to turn on your high beams. Keep in mind you want to keep these aimed to still light up some road rather than the night sky.
If you drive home and your lights are aimed below the tops of the trunks of the cars you're following, you're not far off. If you're shining them in their rear windshields you're a menace, and probably also getting flashed by opposing traffic for being a jerk. Please don't be a jerk, there are enough jerks with headlights mis-aimed, already.
Joined
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13,827 Posts
Ok - I took some pics of the right headlight assembly for show. You probably only need the up/down alignment since it's for springs / shocks, I'm assuming.
This pic is 180k, but it's a good shot of the external housing:
![]()
In the middle left side, you see the u-d marking. I took that piece of plastic off to see if there was a mechanism to raise/lower, but found only the L-R mechanism. The arrow in the middle points to the hood support - maybe that's the up-down???
If you need to adjust the left-right alignment, the mechanism for that is also under the plastic cover. The pop-up tabs you need to remove are marked below:
![]()
Pop-up tabs are like wall anchors - there are two parts. The housing and the tab. Gently pry the center part with a flat-blade scredriver until it pops up. Then pull the entire anchor up and save it. To put it back, do that in reverse order.
This pic is 180k, but it's a good shot of the external housing:
In the middle left side, you see the u-d marking. I took that piece of plastic off to see if there was a mechanism to raise/lower, but found only the L-R mechanism. The arrow in the middle points to the hood support - maybe that's the up-down???
If you need to adjust the left-right alignment, the mechanism for that is also under the plastic cover. The pop-up tabs you need to remove are marked below:
Pop-up tabs are like wall anchors - there are two parts. The housing and the tab. Gently pry the center part with a flat-blade scredriver until it pops up. Then pull the entire anchor up and save it. To put it back, do that in reverse order.
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