My headlight allignment is fine but when I switch to full beam I am illuminating treetops and not the road. I can find the headlamp adjustment screws but cannot find adjusters for the full beam, Ive searched google and Utube but cant find any answers. - Any suggestions ?
Harry V
The adjustments are one in the same. The light you see in the trees is the halogen bulbs. The HID’s have a shutter that flips out of the way and puts light down the road. The halogens are more for flashing as they’re instant on off opposed to the HID’s which have a warm up time and don’t work well for that purpose. If your headlights are adjusted correctly at 1.2% then you should be okay there. You may want to consider new HID bulbs as the light output can fall off with age.
@Ham Hands just put some LED bulbs in his L494 and is very happy with them. Might be worth contacting him to find out the brand. Otherwise Osram Xenarc Laser Nightbrealer are the brightest with Osram Xenarc Classic only a few lumens below, but a much lower cost.
@Ham Hands just put some LED bulbs in his L494 and is very happy with them. Might be worth contacting him to find out the brand. Otherwise Osram Xenarc Laser Nightbrealer are the brightest with Osram Xenarc Classic only a few lumens below, but a much lower cost.
@NoExpert: Didn't want to go overboard with this as I wasn't sure the LEDs would perform, so decided not to splash big $$$ for the italian kit and start with something cheaper - upgrading to the italian kit only if necessary. Read a million opinions and went for some Allegro stuff: ŻARNIKI LED D3S D3R D-SERIES P&P CANBUS 8400LM 70W for low beam and ŻARÓWKI H7 LED XSTORM 120W 22000LM MOCNE CANBUS for high beam. The latter need some tinkering: there is a separate "CANBUS" thingy which calls for quite a tight fit inside the headlight and then the bulb itself needs some rotating inside the reflector to adjust the beam.
@TheWojtek the ones for like 280zł? For that price I may try them out. Heck, cheaper than the Gorilla lug nuts I just bought in CA.
I have the same MY L320, HSE Lux, and will need to separate outer cover from reflector / housing body to clean out a major accumulation of what appears to be pollen.
A you tube vid shows that being done, more tedious than magic. Just not a priority for another few months.
I THINK this thread actually has covered what you / we need as to gettng light-pattern corrected - or it will become more understandable after "going in there", the assembly necessarily out of the vehicle for the cleaning work.
More when I know more, but ... it might be August?
A you tube vid shows that being done, more tedious than magic. Just not a priority for another few months.
I THINK this thread actually has covered what you / we need as to gettng light-pattern corrected - or it will become more understandable after "going in there", the assembly necessarily out of the vehicle for the cleaning work.
More when I know more, but ... it might be August?
So you get the answer and you don’t like it. Well, I guess it’s time to pull it apart yourself and start damaging things to your liking.
Again, the H7 high beams are mostly for flashing other drivers and filling in some areas for the HID bulbs. If you don’t think you have enough light on the road with the HID’s in high beam you may want to investigate your bulbs, ballasts or both. The HID’s should out reach the H7’s by quite a bit.
If you’re really worried about offending an alien flying overhead or a tree squirrel, I’d suggest starting with bending the locating tabs on the H7’s to see if you can get them aimed to your liking. At least new bulbs aren’t as much as a new headlight assembly if you completely screw them up.
Before you start going Neanderthal on it, pull up to a wall at night, hit the high beams and back away to see if the main pattern is really as you think it is. Just an idea. I know I have light going into the trees (F those aliens and squirrels), but it’s more like an errant strip and not the light pattern.
By the way, I have a 2011 L320 and a 2011 headlight at the house that’s been completely disassembled. Separately adjusting the two beams was never in the cards when Valeo assembled those lights. I can take pictures of the light unit if you want.
Again, the H7 high beams are mostly for flashing other drivers and filling in some areas for the HID bulbs. If you don’t think you have enough light on the road with the HID’s in high beam you may want to investigate your bulbs, ballasts or both. The HID’s should out reach the H7’s by quite a bit.
If you’re really worried about offending an alien flying overhead or a tree squirrel, I’d suggest starting with bending the locating tabs on the H7’s to see if you can get them aimed to your liking. At least new bulbs aren’t as much as a new headlight assembly if you completely screw them up.
Before you start going Neanderthal on it, pull up to a wall at night, hit the high beams and back away to see if the main pattern is really as you think it is. Just an idea. I know I have light going into the trees (F those aliens and squirrels), but it’s more like an errant strip and not the light pattern.
By the way, I have a 2011 L320 and a 2011 headlight at the house that’s been completely disassembled. Separately adjusting the two beams was never in the cards when Valeo assembled those lights. I can take pictures of the light unit if you want.
My understanding is that the high beams cannot be adjusted separate to the low beams, it is only the entire housing that can be adjusted.
That applies to both types of headlights - the BiXenons and those with only halogens. As mentioned, the BiXenons have hi and low beam in the projector and the Halogen lamp is a filler for the the Bi Xenon.
In the halogen lights, like I have, the projector is just low beam (halogen) and the "filler light" is the halogen high beam light. My low beams are poor and I have looked at adjusting them but I found it is not possible as the whole housing moves so if I tilt the light so low beams are higher, the high beams then shine in the air.
Sorry, you are stuck with what you have (BiXenons or Halogens) - adjust the housing to the best compromise position of hi and low beams.
Garry
That applies to both types of headlights - the BiXenons and those with only halogens. As mentioned, the BiXenons have hi and low beam in the projector and the Halogen lamp is a filler for the the Bi Xenon.
In the halogen lights, like I have, the projector is just low beam (halogen) and the "filler light" is the halogen high beam light. My low beams are poor and I have looked at adjusting them but I found it is not possible as the whole housing moves so if I tilt the light so low beams are higher, the high beams then shine in the air.
Sorry, you are stuck with what you have (BiXenons or Halogens) - adjust the housing to the best compromise position of hi and low beams.
Garry
I am not sure what a rally car has to do with this tread and I am not sure what what you are saying in your last paragraph.
Can you please clarify if relevant to the discussion.
Can you please clarify if relevant to the discussion.
Saying you are not the first person to find limits to what can be done with lighting systems built-in to the shape of a vehicle's bodyworks and compromised to a market - and build-budget - average. Not by over a hundred years.
From earliest days of any sort of lighting at all, those who needed something not furnished by the maker, found ways to add what THEY wanted for THEIR purposes .. most-often, externally.
Nowadays, once common 7" round lamps gone, we regulation-bound have to class these as "auxilliary driving lights", obey rules that require they be supplements to, not replacements for, our 'high' beams. Generally.
Shorter range but really broad "fans" can be handy as well, some conditions - off-road more than on.
"Fog" lamps we already have, not that those are perfect, either.
Want better than JLR shipped?
Just research it. Choices exist from cheap and cheerful up to whatever your budget can stand.
Want it 'stealth' - to look and fit the "stock" shape and housing?
That can be had, too. But NOW you might need a bank loan?
From earliest days of any sort of lighting at all, those who needed something not furnished by the maker, found ways to add what THEY wanted for THEIR purposes .. most-often, externally.
Nowadays, once common 7" round lamps gone, we regulation-bound have to class these as "auxilliary driving lights", obey rules that require they be supplements to, not replacements for, our 'high' beams. Generally.
Shorter range but really broad "fans" can be handy as well, some conditions - off-road more than on.
"Fog" lamps we already have, not that those are perfect, either.
Want better than JLR shipped?
Just research it. Choices exist from cheap and cheerful up to whatever your budget can stand.
Want it 'stealth' - to look and fit the "stock" shape and housing?
That can be had, too. But NOW you might need a bank loan?
Huh??
The thread is about the question - how do you adjust the high beams separate to the low beams - the answer is I believe it cannot be done - the entire housing has to be adjusted which is a compromise for both hi and low beams. If you do not agree please chime in.
The thread is about the question - how do you adjust the high beams separate to the low beams - the answer is I believe it cannot be done - the entire housing has to be adjusted which is a compromise for both hi and low beams. If you do not agree please chime in.
To the original poster; headlamp assembly is adjusted as an assembly. You cannot adjust low beam without adjusting the high. All adjustments to headlamps should be made in low beam position. If after this adjustment, you feel the high beams are too high, I would suggest inspecting your bulbs and the headlamp assembly to see if everything looks correct and intact.
I see a lot of comments about LED bulbs on here. While I am not 100% against them, I would like to point out that factory headlamps are designed to put out the best light output with the bulbs in them as installed at the factory. Meaning, you can try replacing an HID or Halogen bulb with an LED and you may and probably will get brighter light. However, it is the quality of the beam output that can be suspect. The reflectors inside our lamps are designed for the bulb from the factory. As soon as you put an LED or HID in place of a Halogen, you have now changed the position of the bulb and therefore how it reflects inside the headlamp assembly. With HID bulb conversion, this is almost always a terrible idea, as it results in light scattered all over the road except where you want it. With LED's they can sometimes be adjusted, rotated and tuned in to make work, but after every conversion it is important to reaim your headlamp assemblies.
In case you cannot tell, I work in collision repair, and I see people make this mistake all the time, and it is rare that the headlamps put out the quality of light they wanted. IMO, you will not get a better headlamp than the OEM headlamp with the OEM bulbs. In all the years of me installing and aiming headlamps, I have yet to see an aftermarket option that was as good as what was provided by the factory. Which makes me circle back the the original poster and his problem. Recheck your bulbs, make sure they are original equipment, and make sure they are seated and installed correctly, then reaim lights on low beam. If everything is correct, your lights should be in good shape.
I see a lot of comments about LED bulbs on here. While I am not 100% against them, I would like to point out that factory headlamps are designed to put out the best light output with the bulbs in them as installed at the factory. Meaning, you can try replacing an HID or Halogen bulb with an LED and you may and probably will get brighter light. However, it is the quality of the beam output that can be suspect. The reflectors inside our lamps are designed for the bulb from the factory. As soon as you put an LED or HID in place of a Halogen, you have now changed the position of the bulb and therefore how it reflects inside the headlamp assembly. With HID bulb conversion, this is almost always a terrible idea, as it results in light scattered all over the road except where you want it. With LED's they can sometimes be adjusted, rotated and tuned in to make work, but after every conversion it is important to reaim your headlamp assemblies.
In case you cannot tell, I work in collision repair, and I see people make this mistake all the time, and it is rare that the headlamps put out the quality of light they wanted. IMO, you will not get a better headlamp than the OEM headlamp with the OEM bulbs. In all the years of me installing and aiming headlamps, I have yet to see an aftermarket option that was as good as what was provided by the factory. Which makes me circle back the the original poster and his problem. Recheck your bulbs, make sure they are original equipment, and make sure they are seated and installed correctly, then reaim lights on low beam. If everything is correct, your lights should be in good shape.
I tend to agree with @GeorgeBuhr. In my research I am seeing HID’s beat LED’s in projector assemblies while LED’s beat HID’s in reflector assemblies. Osram has come out with some TUV approved H7 LED bulbs (street legal in Germany) that I may try later. However, I think I’m going to stick with HID’s in the projectors. Seeing some testing on LED bulbs in projectors has left me pretty underwhelmed. Meager gains in low beam with losses in high beam.
Like it or never, driver-density has grown faster than population density, whilst road quality - and driver skill & manners - have declined, US, Canada, Western Europe, lo the sixty three years I've been participating in all three plus-plus Asia and Oceania...sooo..
The 'overdriving' of the visual range one's factory-issue headlamps provide is no longer often even a valid option if we wanted to risk it. And we need not risk it, ordinarily.
Can't see throwing money and effort at minor gains on that issue when driving a tad more carefully is free as well as safer..
Not while more serious claims on the mobility-budget exist, anyway. As there are. Always.
The 'overdriving' of the visual range one's factory-issue headlamps provide is no longer often even a valid option if we wanted to risk it. And we need not risk it, ordinarily.
Can't see throwing money and effort at minor gains on that issue when driving a tad more carefully is free as well as safer..
Not while more serious claims on the mobility-budget exist, anyway. As there are. Always.
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