adjusting xenons?

[smstext]

Is there away to adjust the xenons so they point abit lower? i have tried reseting them with vag com and they still seem to high (when drivers start flashing you you know theres a problem). They also go through stages where they really bounce or if you going along a perfectly flat road they will bounce for no apparent reason.

help this is doing my head in now.

[bosnjo]

Originally Posted by smstext

Is there away to adjust the xenons so they point abit lower? i have tried reseting them with vag com and they still seem to high (when drivers start flashing you you know theres a problem). They also go through stages where they really bounce or if you going along a perfectly flat road they will bounce for no apparent reason.

help this is doing my head in now.

HERE IS A TEXT I HAVE SAVED TO MY PC FROM SOME OTHER THREADS FROM THIS FORUM:
"Headlight unit off:
Open bonnet and look down
You will see a white plastic wing nut thing on a black threaded screw coming through the engine front member from the back of the top of the headlight unit.
Remove it
There is a locking lever at the bottom of the headlight on the left. Push down on the plastic tab and pull the lever straight out (away from the headlight). It might need a bit of a tug.
Then just carefully withdraw the headlight using light pressure from behind.
Then reach behind the headlamp, pull out the little locking tab at the bottom of the wiring connector and remove the connector. This is a bit awkward as you are doing it by feel but you will get it eventually.
Offside is exactly the same except there is enough slack in the wiring loom to allow you to change bulbs without disconnecting the wiring connector.

Unscrew plastic nut (not in picture but where arrow A is pointing) and pull lever B in direction of arrow. Unclip wiring loom which will leave the headlight assembly free to remove.
All the bulbs are now very easy to replace except the sidelights (minnimum). This is a real pig of a job and you will almost certainly need two pairs of hands and some very thin bull nose pliers!.
Incidently, the red arrows point to the screws which adjust the headights, top one adjusts side to side and the bottom adjusts up and down.


To change the headlight bulb:
1) Unscrew the white plastic retaining nut holding the headlamp in place.
2) Pull the metal lever (b) out beneath the headlamp unit
3) The headlamp unit should pop forward, you can now disconnect all leads and the headlamp is out
4) Unclip both large metal springs holding the black dust cover in place and remove the dust cover


How do you gain access to change a bulb in the H8 front foglight?
Pull out the grill next to it. with a torx bit (?) undo the retaining screw and pull out. access is from the back


Indicator bulb change:
There's a small bolt on the top in the corner where the wing meets the front. (Actually it's a self tapping screw but it looks like a bolt!) Undo the bolt and the whole indicator unit slides forwards until it's free of the body work. Bulb holder is a bayonet fitting in the rear of the assembly.
Job done!
Be careful putting it back.



Adjustments:
With the bonnet open you can see two hex nuts one above the other on each light fitting, these adjust the horizontal and vertical position of the projector lens, this is the same with halogen and xenon bulbs, you don't need to mess with these unless you intend to fiddle with the dipped beam alignment.

If you look inside the engine compartment at the rear of the light fitting you will see the white nylon nut that keeps the fitting in place, directly underneath this there is a single upward facing hex nut, this is what adjusts the up/down position of the main beam.

Note, this screw adjusts the entire main beam unit - that's the bulb AND the surrounding reflector.

I found mine needed to be wound down quite a bit to achieve the desired effect and as a result there is no longer a gap between the top of the xenon cut off and the main beam. The output from the nightbreakers means the colour difference is minimal and the light output is excellent too."

[bahnstormer vrs]

I got my dealer to align mine properly for me as a 'warranty' job as they were both too high and one higher than the other!

[GAFF]

Originally Posted by bosnjo

I found mine needed to be wound down quite a bit to achieve the desired effect and as a result there is no longer a gap between the top of the xenon cut off and the main beam. The output from the nightbreakers means the colour difference is minimal and the light output is excellent too."

I must try this, I find a "dead spot" between both, wasn't sure if it what the difference between both, but quite high up on trees gets illuminated. How did you find the best way of checking as adjusting? Against a wall or something?

Originally Posted by bahnstormer vrs

I got my dealer to align mine properly for me as a 'warranty' job as they were both too high and one higher than the other!

Dips or Fulls?

[bahnstormer vrs]

Originally Posted by GAFF

Dips or Fulls?

Dips.

I did the full/main myself.

[GAFF]

I tried the Full beams this evening, a good tip for anyone planning it is to MARK THERE CURRENT LOCATION FIRST, EG TIPEX.

Anyway looking at the part the allen head screw actually turns, I turned it 2 full turns clockwise (when looking from back of lamp). The were touching the road , anyway its a good thing I did over adjust them as it looks like the drivers side one is slightly higher (would this be normal ????), anyway I backed off the Passangers side one by 1 revolution and I think they are more level now. So I brought back up the level of both a bit, so they are now Drivers 1.25 turns & Passangers 0.25 turns from there original position.

[skomaz]

Only two full turns? - Mine needed three!

[GAFF]

Originally Posted by skomaz

Only two full turns? - Mine needed three!

On the Black allen head screw or the White part that it turns? My adjustment was on the white part.

[skomaz]

Originally Posted by GAFF

On the Black allen head screw or the White part that it turns? My adjustment was on the white part.

On the single upwards facing hex nut (black part) that adjusts the main beam - six half turns so three full turns!

The mian beams no point at the road instead of treetops and are actually useful!

[Crinkley Ol Sod]

If it is of any interest, you do have a left / right adjustment on the main beams also.
I found tweaking these adjusters (as well as the up and down ones) lets you ‘fine tune’ the main beam pattern quite nicely.

Regards Ken

[kenny rsell]

On the mk1 octavia,after any adjustment using the manual adjusters,you have to reset the values using vag com.

[GAFF]

Originally Posted by Crinkley Ol Sod

If it is of any interest, you do have a left / right adjustment on the main beams also.
I found tweaking these adjusters (as well as the up and down ones) lets you ‘fine tune’ the main beam pattern quite nicely.

Regards Ken

So what kind of set up have you got with that ? This is very crude but mine is currently like the following, the dotted being the top of the dips and the 2 n's being an upside down v denoting the fulls (best way to describe them ), the fulls are actually running along the top of the dips, but should the fulls over lap or have a gap? -------n--n-----

I actually think because of the upside down V's being apart theres still a dead spot in the middle between them.

@ Crinkley wheres the sidewards adjustment?

[Crinkley Ol Sod]

Originally Posted by GAFF

So what kind of set up have you got with that ? This is very crude but mine is currently like the following, the dotted being the top of the dips and the 2 n's being an upside down v denoting the fulls (best way to describe them ), the fulls are actually running along the top of the dips, but should the fulls over lap or have a gap? -------n--n-----

I actually think because of the upside down V's being apart theres still a dead spot in the middle between them.

@ Crinkley wheres the sidewards adjustment?

My main beam setup has basically been adjusted to give the best spread without gaps in the pattern, (i.e. no dark areas). They ‘look’ (if that’s the correct phrase) straight ahead and illuminate from just a bit above the cut off point of the dipped beams. I found they both needed to be pulled in a bit to get rid of a centre dark spot I had. They don’t overlap as such but where they hit the road in the distance, the inside edges of the individual beams sort of ‘touch’ each other in the middle of the spread.
I used a deserted unlit car park to set them up (it’s better than tying to dodge fast moving traffic on a B road) and just played with the adjusters until they gave the results I wanted. The left / right adjusters are sort of diagonally opposite the up & down ones, at the back of the lamp fitting and are (just about getattable) using a flat bladed screwdriver.
(N.B. They are a bit flimsy, please make sure your screwdriver fits them well, coz if it don’t, you’ll chew the ends of them off)!
Picky attached which may help.
Ken.

[gadgetman]

Originally Posted by bahnstormer vrs

I got my dealer to align mine properly for me as a 'warranty' job as they were both too high and one higher than the other!

Just had to have mine done too!

Quick test is, car about 5 ft from a wall. If light cutoff is above lights, get them adjusted!

Also since adjusting, rather than both lights giving a perfect horizontal, there is now a -~- looking line on the horizontal. Lights also point towards the pavement more, and you now notice the difference when you use mains (before didnt see any change from the drivers seat).

You'll always get some drivers who flash thinking your lights are too bright, but not EVERY car

[Crinkley Ol Sod]

Update to my last post.
On reflection (no pun intended), in the text of my attached photo I may have reversed the effect that turning the main beam adjuster has.
Best bet is to point the car at a wall (in the day time) and try the adjusters first to see which way the beams deflect relative the rotation of the adjusters. This will give you the chance to become familiar with the operation before setting the lamps up for the real world (i.e. on the road / car park at night).
Ken.

[skomaz]

Originally Posted by Crinkley Ol Sod

Update to my last post.
On reflection (no pun intended), in the text of my attached photo I may have reversed the effect that turning the main beam adjuster has.
Best bet is to point the car at a wall (in the day time) and try the adjusters first to see which way the beams deflect relative the rotation of the adjusters. This will give you the chance to become familiar with the operation before setting the lamps up for the real world (i.e. on the road / car park at night).
Ken.

To adjust the main beams down turn the vertical facing nut on the rear inside corners anticlockwise on both headlamp units. I've adjusted mine so that there is some overlap between main and dipped (to pick up the road surface from where the dips stop) but that the mains still light up the distance.

[bahnstormer vrs]

Originally Posted by Crinkley Ol Sod

My main beam setup has basically been adjusted to give the best spread without gaps in the pattern, (i.e. no dark areas). They ‘look’ (if that’s the correct phrase) straight ahead and illuminate from just a bit above the cut off point of the dipped beams. I found they both needed to be pulled in a bit to get rid of a centre dark spot I had. They don’t overlap as such but where they hit the road in the distance, the inside edges of the individual beams sort of ‘touch’ each other in the middle of the spread.
I used a deserted unlit car park to set them up (it’s better than tying to dodge fast moving traffic on a B road) and just played with the adjusters until they gave the results I wanted. The left / right adjusters are sort of diagonally opposite the up & down ones, at the back of the lamp fitting and are (just about getattable) using a flat bladed screwdriver.
(N.B. They are a bit flimsy, please make sure your screwdriver fits them well, coz if it don’t, you’ll chew the ends of them off)!
Picky attached which may help.
Ken.

My xenons dips were adjusted by my dealer quite some time ago and have been 'perfect' ever since. However my main beam whilst I got them at the right height were pointing into the cutoff area of the dip so were not offering any further lighting.

Having read these instructions, I found the sideways adjusting screw and brought the main beam to the right so that it illuminates the dark spot within the 'V' of the dip beam.

Eureka - I can now see the road further ahead on main beam!!

Thanks for the instructions.