Have just installed my HIDs and want to adjust the alignment of the the dipped and the main beam. I know where the adjusters are but was wondering how i line them up. Obviously i need it to be dark for a start! Do i park close to a wall or garage door and check they are at the same level but how do i know they are at the right height and the side to side alignment?

i marked a chalk line on a wall with the height of the light and a vague circle for the main the intesity area before i removed my normal bulbs and then checked the line once the hids were installed... the pattern is at an angle so you can generally get a good match.

 

otherwise, if your worried about it, just pop down to your local mot centre and have them aligned, shouldnt cost much :)

i didnt do that before unfortunately and dont think they were that well adjusted anyway.

 

What do MOT places use to make the adjustment?

A beamsetter! :)

Shouldnt need much change as bulb rougly in same place.

Put them as high as possible until people flash you!!! :D

Tom - Best to take the car to your local MOT centre. They charge me a fiver for the privilege.

 

However, you may find that the adjuster internals are shagged and that you can't alter the bulb position. Don't ask my why but Nissan, in their infinte wisdom, decided to use plastic cogs in the beam adjusters. These will obviously perrish over time and I have yet to see a 15~17 year old Zed in which the adjusters still work. If yours are broken you can get replacement adjusters from Nissan - they are quite cheap - or you can buy metal replacement cogs and fix the adjusters yourself. Give me a call if you want information on the DIY route as I've got part numbers and instructions to hand.

 

Alternatively, park your car on a level surface approximately 7 meters from a wall. Measure the vertical hight from the ground to the top of you headlights (easier said than done) and mark that hight on the wall using chalk, marker pen, masking tape, whatever. Now turn your lights on and make adjustments until the top of the beam sits just below the mark on the wall. This is a crude DIY method and should only be used for rough adjustments. I still advise you to go to a MOT centre.

 

All the best,

 

Dan

 

PS - even with the headlights adjusted correctly you'll find people flashing you because the lights are so much brighter (300% brighter in fact). It makes it look as if you're on full beam. Just ignore them ... ! LOL

have gone through the adjuster thing before and hopefully they are all working after i did the metal cog conversion with the cogs from a model car. I actually found these cogs didnt work very well and would rather get the replacements from nissan (do they really do these relpacement parts?? do you know the part number).

 

Dont want to take the car to a MOT centre for adjustment because the adjustment cogs need to be adjusted gently! They method you describe of doing it yourself sounds similar to a way i heard where you drive very close up to a wall and mark the centre point of the light then reverse 10 metres then line up the light on the mark.

 

How do MOT centres do it. Do they have some sort of professional device to do it?

How do MOT centres do it. Do they have some sort of professional device to do it?

 

In a way, yes. They shine the headlights into a device, measure how far out of centre they are and then manually adjust the headlights.

 

Regards,

 

Dan