Anyone have the procedure for aiming the headlights?

 

i want to know how to adjust the headlights...i see the torques but where do i aim the light???? thanks

 

Look for my post, 4th post down in the thread below. I scanned and posted the instructions from the service manual.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show..._id=103&arch=1

 

I read all the instructions on this about a year ago and wound up doing a trial and error thing myself in the garage. MOST important thing is lube those adjusters and their cams with a dri spray lube. Don't ask me why........... Then it was just aim and drive until I got them the way I felt was to my likeing..............

 

Do the fogs also, makes a big difference, IMHO

http://www.c5forum.com/diy/fog_lamps.php

 

After doing my free headlight motor fix this weekend, I just finished adjusting my lights per the factory service manual. That didn't go so well, so I also referred to the Daniel Stern adjusting instructions. While Daniel Stern's stuff does in fact point out that US lights are different than Europeans, neither the factory service manual nor Daniel Stern's procedures are quite right.

You see, both procedures say to adjust the aiming using only the low beams. In fact, the service manual make no mention of adjusting in high beam mode, and Daniel Stern's instructions say that once the low beams are adjusted, the high beams are adjusted correctly.

Well, the fact of the matter is that the driver's side light is actually different than the passenger side in that the low beam aims down and to the RIGHT compared to the passenger side, where the passenger side low beam is only LOWER than the high beam.

Thus, if you aim the low beams per the factory's or Daniel's instructions, when you turn your high beams on the driver's side will be higher than the passenger's side, and shine over to the left. So, here's what I did instead:

1) Aim the low beams per the factory manual.
2) Then turn on the high beams and fine tune the aiming so the high beams aim dead ahead, as Daniel Stern advises for the European high beams.

It's no wonder why so many of us find the stock lights to be useless. Not only are they weaker, they adjust them wrong to begin with. You THINK they're right because when the low beams are on they seem to be pointed down the road ahead of us, but when we need the high beams and turn the highs on, the left beam is shining off into never-never land, leaving you with virtually only the passenger side shining in the right direction - straight ahead.

Now, we probably never notice that the driver's side high beam is way off because the stock lights are so yellow to begin with, thus, that one driver's side high beam doesn't reflect enough off of things for us to notice that it's really pointing up to the left, and not down the road.

Now that I have the PIAA Xtreme White Plus bulbs in, it's VERY obvious that the factory aim is WAY off. And, yes, I've double-, triple- and quadruple-checked the seating of the bulbs in the driver's AND passenger's housings and they're correctly seated.

I heard somewhere that the US housings are designed to run low beams down and to the right a bit, but I never realized just how much.

With these particular PIAAs and the 4 lights on with highs relay mod, the brights are great. And, although the highs in the lows slots help alot when the low beams are on, it sucks that the driver's side has to point lower and more to the right in order for the high beams to be correctly aimed when they're turned on.

For those that live in rural areas, it's probably no big deal, cause you run mostly highs anyway, so you can simply adjust the lights so the highs shine correctly and don't worry about the lows. Conversely, those that live in metropolitan areas can just adjust the lights so the lows are aimed properly. But, for those of us that drive in both types of areas at night, we're kind of stuck in the middle. Of course, you can always adjust your lights in a compromising position, but then you don't really get good aiming when running highs or lows.

I have noticed, however, that the 50 watt 885s I put in the fog lights, along with the re-aiming of the fogs to top out in the center of the high-intensity zone of the passenger-side low beam helps fill in with ambient light when the lows are on, but it sure would be nice to have good lighting when I run without the high beams on. Hmmmm.... maybe the reasonably-priced PIAA 1100 driving lights will do the trick.

Any comments?

 

Exactly why I did mine my way (two posts above you) the specs make no sense...... a nightmare aiming these lights but well worth it once they're tweaked by trial and error ... aim, test drive, aim, test drive etc.........

 

I have to admit that when I first saw your post, I thought you were crazy for wasting your time aiming then on your own, when you had perfectly "good" instructions. I now feel ashamed in my previous thinking :o

Makes you wonder what the heck they were thinking when they decided to make the lights work that way. I think it was because they were in Detroit, or something, where in the city you have many street lights, so you don't rely on your low beams to see while in the city? So, just make sure they don't shine into oncoming drivers' faces? Those numbskulls!

 

Yea, that was a time consuming process that da*n near drove me goofier than i already am... Man, i was pulling up to building walls, cars in front of my bumper, observing oncoming traffic that I didn't get flashed, etc. etc. Glad someone canrelate.What a pain but the only way I could come up with to solve it.

 

I know EXACTLY what you mean. After doing my 9005s-in-the-9006 slots, and the headlight relay mods, I was doing just what you were doing with building walls, other cars, etc. Then, I finally decided last night to take the extra few minutes to actually measure and mark a wall per the factory manual. And, that's when I noticed all the little idiosyncrasies. I sure am glad I'm not the only one who noticed this.

 

Yea, when I first saw the pattern on my garage wall I thought what the hell did they do to this car? and then, as you know, the fun begins...... like grandpa used to say " a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then" love the plate............

 

Just curious. When you fine tune the high beams does it cause the driver side low beam to shine too low?

Never mind. I found the answer re reading your post.

 

>>>Now that I have the PIAA Xtreme White Plus bulbs in, it's VERY obvious that the factory aim is WAY off. And, yes, I've double-, triple- and quadruple-checked the seating of the bulbs in the driver's AND passenger's housings and they're correctly seated.<<<

Funny you should mention this. When I replaced the factory bulbs with Silverstars the aim was WAY off. I too, double and triple checked the seating of the bulbs and they were good.

Took a good deal of adjustment to get them right. BTW the improvement is noticeable and worth doing IMHO. I am more concerned with the low beam aiming in my situation. I don't drive the Vette that much at night and when I do I can almost never use the high beams.

I am considering the PIAA bulbs but the cost scares me.

 

What got me into going with the PIAA bulbs instead of the Silverstars was this forum. One member, BLUE LIGHTENING, actually posted pics of Silverstars vs. PIAA Xtreme White Pluses, and the difference was like night and day. I am happy with the PIAAs but then again I didn't pop for Silverstars first, and then have to buy PIAAs. I got my PIAAs for $90 for the pair.