Headlamp Cover Alignment
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 255
Likes: 0
Headlamp Cover Alignment
New 2011 C6 Coupe...
When we bought the car we noticed a haze inside of both headlamp covers. It's not condensation but a cloudy haze. The Service Manager agreed to replace both of them under warranty. We dropped it of first thing this morning only to receive a call from the manager this afternoon saying that they need to keep it overnight because the new headlamps aren't lining up with the body correctly. He said that they need to pull the bumper cover back off and work on it and possibly contact GM to see what the problem is. Kudos to them for not giving it back "wrong" but DAMN I want my car!
Any ideas as to what they are doing wrong and/or anything I can tell them to look out for when reassembling the headlamps and the front end?
Thanks in advance.
When we bought the car we noticed a haze inside of both headlamp covers. It's not condensation but a cloudy haze. The Service Manager agreed to replace both of them under warranty. We dropped it of first thing this morning only to receive a call from the manager this afternoon saying that they need to keep it overnight because the new headlamps aren't lining up with the body correctly. He said that they need to pull the bumper cover back off and work on it and possibly contact GM to see what the problem is. Kudos to them for not giving it back "wrong" but DAMN I want my car!
Any ideas as to what they are doing wrong and/or anything I can tell them to look out for when reassembling the headlamps and the front end?
Thanks in advance.
Pro
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 736
Likes: 7
From: Chesapeake,VA
I just changed my headlights out (cyber gray to Blade Silver) and one of the things that's difficult to do is getting the gap around the headlight to come out even from both a depth and vertical / horizontal lineup with the fender.
I've found no mention of this on any of the projects documented here.
Mine's o.k. for now but not as good as it was with the factory lights.
I found out later that there are varying numbers of shims on the headlight mounting posts. Some posts have shims, some don't. So there must be a positioning process for setting the headlights in initially.
In all likelihood the dealership also found this out the hard way. There's no mention of it in the manuals that I have.
I'm sure they'll figure it out eventually.
I've found no mention of this on any of the projects documented here.
Mine's o.k. for now but not as good as it was with the factory lights.
I found out later that there are varying numbers of shims on the headlight mounting posts. Some posts have shims, some don't. So there must be a positioning process for setting the headlights in initially.
In all likelihood the dealership also found this out the hard way. There's no mention of it in the manuals that I have.
I'm sure they'll figure it out eventually.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 255
Likes: 0
I just changed my headlights out (cyber gray to Blade Silver) and one of the things that's difficult to do is getting the gap around the headlight to come out even from both a depth and vertical / horizontal lineup with the fender.
I've found no mention of this on any of the projects documented here.
Mine's o.k. for now but not as good as it was with the factory lights.
I found out later that there are varying numbers of shims on the headlight mounting posts. Some posts have shims, some don't. So there must be a positioning process for setting the headlights in initially.
In all likelihood the dealership also found this out the hard way. There's no mention of it in the manuals that I have.
I'm sure they'll figure it out eventually.
I've found no mention of this on any of the projects documented here.
Mine's o.k. for now but not as good as it was with the factory lights.
I found out later that there are varying numbers of shims on the headlight mounting posts. Some posts have shims, some don't. So there must be a positioning process for setting the headlights in initially.
In all likelihood the dealership also found this out the hard way. There's no mention of it in the manuals that I have.
I'm sure they'll figure it out eventually.
Thanks for the information. It seems odd that they would vary so much from lens to lens. You'd think that they would be exact duplicates. Perhaps it has more to do with how the mounting surfaces are fitted to the car that require the lenses to be adjusted to match the body panels.
Thanks!
Supporting Vendor
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 11,216
Likes: 178
From: Pensacola Florida GO GATORS!!! www.rlsebring.com www.c6c7vette.com
St. Jude Donor '17
I guess I learned something new today. Out of all the lights I have removed and reinstalled I have never ran across a shim.
My and others standard practice for reinstalling the lights are to leave the lights loose and align and bolt/screw the fender and cover snug moving the lights around in the process. Once snug finish positioning the light in the opening then tighten up the mounting bolt acccordingly. Usually ends up as good better than when started.
I may have to add that to the instructions.
My and others standard practice for reinstalling the lights are to leave the lights loose and align and bolt/screw the fender and cover snug moving the lights around in the process. Once snug finish positioning the light in the opening then tighten up the mounting bolt acccordingly. Usually ends up as good better than when started.
I may have to add that to the instructions.
Last edited by RLSebring; Oct 7, 2011 at 04:41 PM. Reason: in before the spelling Nazi's
Pro
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 736
Likes: 7
From: Chesapeake,VA
I guess I learned something new today. Out of all the lights I have removed and reinstalled I have never ran across a shim.
My and others standard practice for reinstalling the lights are to leave the lights loose and align and bolt/screw the fender and cover snug moving the lights around in the process. Once snug finish positioning the light in the opening then tighten up the mounting bolt acccordingly. Usually ends up as good better than when started.
I may have to add that to the instructions.
My and others standard practice for reinstalling the lights are to leave the lights loose and align and bolt/screw the fender and cover snug moving the lights around in the process. Once snug finish positioning the light in the opening then tighten up the mounting bolt acccordingly. Usually ends up as good better than when started.
I may have to add that to the instructions.
When I installed the Blade Silver lights, I just put one shim on each post without thinking about how they were used. By the way, a shim is just the washer on the mounting stud. The ones on my original lights were plastic. Some of the older ones are metal.
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Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 255
Likes: 0
So we get it back and the alignment is still crap. I can't imagine what it looked like before they went back in. And they did scratch the paint badly! Points go to V8ANGER. However, I don't think the alignment thing was a stall tactic because they made no effort to fix the scratches. I broke out the Adam's polishes and the trusty Porter Cable 7424 and was able to correct about 90% of it. WTF is it with dealerships?! We just can't have nice things!
Like turbod our headlight alignment is "ok" now but it's not right. It was snug before and now there are gaps. My forum searching skills are crap. Is there a DIY thread out there that might help me. I've got a service manual on the way so I'm sure that will help. Do any of you know if I can work on the alignment through the wheel wells without removing the bumper cover?
Thanks again everyone!
However, I don't think the alignment thing was a stall tactic because they made no effort to fix the scratches. I broke out the Adam's polishes and the trusty Porter Cable 7424 and was able to correct about 90% of it. WTF is it with dealerships?! We just can't have nice things!Like turbod our headlight alignment is "ok" now but it's not right. It was snug before and now there are gaps. My forum searching skills are crap. Is there a DIY thread out there that might help me. I've got a service manual on the way so I'm sure that will help. Do any of you know if I can work on the alignment through the wheel wells without removing the bumper cover?
Thanks again everyone!
Last edited by 3BVert; Oct 7, 2011 at 11:17 PM. Reason: Typo
