Headlights

Ever drove at night and found your beams are somehow off? One side reaching farther ahead than the other? Then bet on it, your headlights are misaligned.

So the next thing to do is to fix it, have it aligned. But do you have to pay an expert for it? Better keep your wallet stuff because you can do it yourself.

Well, depending on you car’s condition, it may be one of three things – vertical misalignment, horizontal misalignment, or both. First thing to do is to check it.

  • Vertical misalignment is usually a case of one light beams reaching farther up the road than the other.
  • Horizontal misalignment is usually when your light beams look crossed.
  • Both means both.

Now if you experience any of these, you better prepare the following tools:

  • A tape measure
  • A carpenter’s level
  • A Phillips screwdriver
  • A wall (preferably light colored)
  • A bit of tape to mark the wall with

Headlight Alignment

Vertical misalignments are a lot easier to deal with. It’s a matter of spotting the right alignment and twisting an adjustment screw. But here’s a more detailed process:

  1. Park your car about 10 feet from a wall on level ground.
  2. With your headlights turned on, mark the spots on the wall where each beam is highly concentrated (which is usually the center of the beam).
  3. Now, using the tap measure and the the level, measure the two spots. Determine how high the side with lower mark should go. Mark that spot.
  4. Pop up your hood and look for the headlight’s adjustments screw. You may refer to your car’s manual for that.
  5. With the screwdriver, turn the screws slowly until you hit the right spot on the wall. You might have to try which direction lowers or raises your beam.
  6. Remember that your headlights shouldn’t point too high that it blinds other drivers.
  7. Do a test drive to see how it goes. Just repeat the process until you feel comfortable about your light alignment.

Horizontal misalignments can be tougher to handle. You headlight adjustment screws only deal with vertical adjustments. To adjust horizontal alignment, you might have to toggle the whole headlight’s mounting to make sure the beam points to the right direction. If you aren’t sure how your headlights are mounted, you just have to accept that it’d be better to have it checked by an expert.

Always read you car’s manual to be sure of what you’re doing. Buckle up and drive safely.

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