How to properly aim C5 headlights
 

So as I understand it I mark the center of my headlights on a wall along with another mark 4 inches below the headlights center line on the left and 2 inches below on the right.
back away from the wall 25 feet, then I adjust the lights. I'm doing this solo.

Is it normal to have the left light's top beam 4 inches below the centerline on a car like a C5 Z06 that already sits so low.
How do you aim your headlights for the best visibility my lights have always been off. The beam is aimed more to the left on the drivers side.

Can someone please tell me or show me where the proper hotspot on a C5 Z06 headlight should be. Mine sits way off to the left in the oncoming traffics lane. It always has since I bought the car.
I never knew where the hotspot should be close up to a wall so I just assumed that was how they were aimed from the factory.

I can adjust the left and right, but I have no idea how to raise and lower the beam on a c5 with pop up headlights. Pictures or videos on this would be very helpful in achieving this. It's one thing to tell someone, but its alot better to have actual visuals to follow. I have searched the internet for this, but came up with very few results which actually show how to adjust these beams. I want to make sure my hotspot is right where it should be on my new 9005 and 9006 silverstar ultra's for the best visibility possible. There is a video attached showing the aiming proceedure that mentions 4 inches and 2 inches below the centerline.

This is a decent video. Spray WD on the adjusters! Mine were crusty when I did mine.

That was exactly what I needed. Thank you man.. Not only did it show me how to find the screws, but it also told me the torx bit size aswell as the light positioning too.
It said 24 inches height for the left.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...37adba8226.png

Mine looks like that! If you have it set to that height, then you should be good and not blin ding oncoming-

He sets the left side to 24 inches and then matches the right side to it, so it is 24 inches too! He just marked one side with tape, set it and then aligned the other side to that beam.

He also has the ACA-Bi LED lights and they "shine" a little different than the stock housings. That's why there is that "stepped" look to the light beam (I have them too)

I now understand why the lights are pointed so far down ever since I bought the car. The left light's hotspot at 25 feet back from a wall sits at just 8 inches off the ground. It should be 16 inches higher.
The exact height of a C5 Z06 is approximately 24" off of the ground to the center of the bulb on the OEM housing. Turns out that the measurement the guy gave in the video above is spot on when you use a tape measure from the floor.

I found out that my car has a broken turn screw rod that extends out for where the T-15 would insert on the drivers side. The gold rod for adjusting up and down on my left headlight has been completely snapped off by the previous owner. This explains why the lights have always been pointed so low. Without that rod being available how do I gain access to adjust the headlight unit to manually turn the screw itself.

My lights being only 8 inches off of the ground makes it almost impossible to see up the road. The right side still has the adjuster rod. He didn't snap that one, visibility being only 8 inches above the road at 25 feet makes overall visibility absolutely horrible. As I am sure you could have guessed this presents a safety issue when driving on dark backroads at night. The lights have always been set this way ever since I purchased the car in 2013. I have adjusted to driving with them like this after having the car for so long, but if possible I would like to get the lights to there proper height for better visibility. Any help is appeciated.

There should be a long gold rod for a T-15 extending out of this for the up and down position.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...94f6ecd7e.jpeg

Thanks for posting the adjustment video. Wonderful information. Wonderful forum.

Drive em safe

head lights
 

i just run bright lights all the time problem solved

I just run my bright lights all the time they are h.i.d.no problem

head lights
 

i just run bright lights all the time problem solved

:rofl:

I've got lights with a sharp cutoff. I first roughly adjust them then drive around the neighborhood and see if they stay below the beltline on cars sitting in the streets. If the light is not cutting into the bottom of their windows it won't cut into their eyes

I run with all 6 of my headlights on and never have once been flashed

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...648fcf1dd.jpeg

If you Google "C5 Golden Rod" you will find that replacement parts are available.


At 16:00 into his installation video, Damian details the right tool to use and which adjusters affect height vs. lateral position. (It's the same for stock headlights.) I had tried using a 1/4" socket, but found I had more success when I used the E-dogbone tool. And it is easier reach things with the bezels and lids removed.

I went through the whole aiming against a target and marking the beam height at 25'. Actual experience on the road was that the beams were too low. I kept raising them until I was satisfied. They are now aimed well above the target spec, and no one has ever flashed me. (Don't know if it matters, but I have the same setup as jdmvette.)

Hope this helps

Thank you. To show you just how low my lights are sitting I took a picture from 25 feet away with blue tape marking the line. I thought surely this can't be the way this comes on the car stock, but like I said it has been this way since I got the car way back in 2013. It's only now that I have discovered the rod is broken. The red circles show you where the hotspot is for each light. You are looking straight down the left headlight. The guy who had the car before me broke the gold rod off, so visibility has always been poor on backroads. My hotspots should be about 20 inches higher with the cutoff right below the line. The right light can still be adjusted, but for now I left it where it's always been.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...45acfbc44d.jpg

25 feet ahead of the vehicle both hotspots are on the ground. That's where they have always been set ever since I got the car in 2013.

:willy::willy::willy:

So what's the plan?

You can find complete new adjusters on eBay, I had to replace mine as they were frozen and would not spin at all.

Is it possible to take the pop up light cover off and just manually spin the screw that the broken adjuster rod seems to connect to.

If I am looking at this correctly the T-20 socket goes into the golden rod which then somehow adjusts the black rod to raise and lower the horizontal positioning. This just a thought I had, but I haven't tried it yet. This is just an image from the internet, If the image is correct, it seems the golden simply adjusts that black rod hitting it with deep creep should be able to spin it manually if I can get access to it from a top down position with the cover removed I may be able to fix the horizontal, but again it's just a theory. I don't know how to access the headlight under the pop up covers to get access from a top down view.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...54213a1f1.jpeg

I don't think the black rod you are referring to turns. The two rods together behave like a worm gear. Here is an assembly off the car and on its back. (Ignore the stainless bracket. It's from an aftermarket lighting system I tried.) Hope this helps.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...1125531a08.jpg

Helps a lot thank you man. I couldn't find any pics with the adjuster attached. I think I may just order a brand new adjuster assembly and reattach it to the headlight. I found some on ebay for like $30.00. Also thank you for the explanation about the worm gear. I couldn't find any pics showing how it actually functioned inside of the black plastic piece