Headlight beams of different lengths? (ek1)

[CasperEK]

Hey guys,

I managed to take a snap of my headlights, and was wondering what was causing this, and how i can fix it..?

Its a 98 ek1, and i've been having this problem for a while now. The right headlight beam seems to be shorter then the left one, and the distance of both beams seems to be comparatively shorter then most other cars i've seen on the road. Havent been able to compare it with other eks, but i'm guessing my headlights are about able to shine 1.5 car lengths in front. Also, it doesnt shine out much sideways, so i'm wondering if that is normal or..?

Somethings i'm thinking of doing are:
1) Changing the bulbs, but not too sure if thats gonna be any help..
2) Trying to find the screw that can adjust the headlights, but cant really seem to be able to find it <-- Any help with locating this would help heaps! I've read the manual, but still cant seem to find it on my car
3) Probably wont be looking to changing the headlights, cos i'm on quite a tight budget.

Any pointers most welcomed! :)

[na-118]

adjust them,,, they both have same bulb?

[vinnY]

seems about right
the driver side is always shorter than the passenger side
this is because the driver sides are usually aimed lower to avoid glaring to the oncoming traffic

[OMG.JAI xD]

^^ +1

As above. Its the way its designed for a left hand drive country.

I recommend you DONT adjust the right hand side upways. Rather adjust the left one in more, so its more central. That way you dont glare oncoming traffic.

[CasperEK]

Ic.. But it looks really much shorter then other cars on the road though.. I'm not too sure if they're the same bulbs, havent had to change them yet for the past 6 months..

How far can your headlights shine in terms of car lengths?

[kenske]

you could try phillips brand bulbs in particular the one that gives a longer beam. otherwise do a search on here on ways to adjust the headlights in a safer and more precise way to adjust headlight beams. also, if ur headlights are discoloured, try using mothers plastic polish (also another DIY on the forum)

I did the above and worked wonders.

+1 on higher left and lower right too, dont blind oncoming traffic as well as cars in front!!

[Bludger]

you could try phillips brand bulbs in particular the one that gives a longer beam. otherwise do a search on here on ways to adjust the headlights in a safer and more precise way to adjust headlight beams. also, if ur headlights are discoloured, try using mothers plastic polish (also another DIY on the forum)

I did the above and worked wonders.

+1 on higher left and lower right too, dont blind oncoming traffic as well as cars in front!!A particular brand won't give a longer beam.

not on low beam anyway.

its the aim.

On driving lights and high beam, then yes, more power means more distance,

not on low beams where its pointed to the ground.

[Bludger]

seems about right
the driver side is always shorter than the passenger side
this is because the driver sides are usually aimed lower to avoid glaring to the oncoming trafficthey should be aimed equal.

AUDM cars have glare shields which cut off the light on the right side of the beam of both left and right lights.

JDM models don't have this, light is equal on both left and right side of each left and right light.

[Bludger]

Ic.. But it looks really much shorter then other cars on the road though.. I'm not too sure if they're the same bulbs, havent had to change them yet for the past 6 months..

How far can your headlights shine in terms of car lengths?again, please adjust the aim, or take your car to a mechanic to adjust it for you.

[vinnY]

seeing as the guy's got an ek, and providing he doesn't have aftermarket headlights i don't see where this glare cutoff shield is?
if you're talking about the cover thing infront of the bulb sure it cuts down but doesn't eliminate it
it just reflects it back into the rear reflector to minimize on light scatter
if you aim it equal to the passenger side it'll glare into oncoming traffic
projector headlights? maybe not so bad to have it aimed equally since the beam is better directed and usually had a cutoff in them anyway
reflector headlights? definitely aim the driver side lower than the left for all the other drivers sakes

[Bludger]

seeing as the guy's got an ek, and providing he doesn't have aftermarket headlights i don't see where this glare cutoff shield is?
if you're talking about the cover thing infront of the bulb sure it cuts down but doesn't eliminate it
it just reflects it back into the rear reflector to minimize on light scatter
if you aim it equal to the passenger side it'll glare into oncoming traffic
projector headlights? maybe not so bad to have it aimed equally since the beam is better directed and usually had a cutoff in them anyway
reflector headlights? definitely aim the driver side lower than the left for all the other drivers sakesthere is no shield, but its the actual design of the reflectors themselves, the grooves on the reflectors will reflect it in a different way.

You will see when the light is aimed closely to a wall......... starting from the right side moving left, the light cutoff is horizontal. moving further left it then angles diagonally up. This is on both left and right headlights. This also applies to AUDM projectors.

With JDM headlights, there if no angling up towards the left side of the beam. There isn't even a horizontal cutoff line. Its just a scattered beam of light, nearly an oval shape.


aim it in any which way you like. just note that they come out of the factory aimed equally on both sides.

[vinnY]

aim it in any which way you like. just note that they come out of the factory aimed equally on both sides.

or that, head out to the same road and quickly adjust it until it looks right
if you get flashes lower it a bit

the alignment screws are 10mm hex ones but have a vvvvvvvvvv pattern around the bolt too, this is so you can use a philips head screw driver to twist it to adjust
iirc the one closest to the wheel(outside screw) is to adjust vertically and the one closest to the grille(inside screw) is to adjust horizontally

[Bludger]

taking the OP's picture, you can see what I have described in post #11

http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=11276&d=1248439885





I will take a photo of my JDM light beam for you to see soon.

[Bludger]

Somethings i'm thinking of doing are:
1) Changing the bulbs, but not too sure if thats gonna be any help..
changing bulbs won't help
2) Trying to find the screw that can adjust the headlights, but cant really seem to be able to find it <-- Any help with locating this would help heaps! I've read the manual, but still cant seem to find it on my car
have a look behind the headlights, there are two adjusters on each left and right light. one for horizontal adjustment & one for vertical.
3) Probably wont be looking to changing the headlights, cos i'm on quite a tight budget.aftermarket headlights are really bad IMO. when upgrading, you should aim to go better than OEM

Any pointers most welcomed! :)answered

[dinorider]

they should be aimed equal.

AUDM cars have glare shields which cut off the light on the right side of the beam of both left and right lights.

JDM models don't have this, light is equal on both left and right side of each left and right light.

Agreed.

In the evening, drive your car to face a flat wall, 3 metres away. from your driving position, each low light beam should look like this:



unlit
_________
lighted up \ ______


See how each beam has a specific diagonal cut through it and the left side of each bulb shines higher than the right? It's the glare shield at work.

It's there. Trust me, just look at the projected light beam and you'll see it yourself.

Both lights are aimed at equal height from the factory. This business about the right light must be aimed lower than the left is an obsolete holdover from the really old days before cars had the glare shield. Some people still swear by it though, for every headlight aiming application.

Now, each headlight will have two adjusters, horizontal and vertical. They can be found around the housing. The trouble is, its one of those things that you won't know what to look at, until someone points it out to you. Each adjuster is really a gear, located fairly deep inside a small hole. Get a torch and start poking around till you find them.

A long philips screwdriver is inserted into the hole, engaging the gear teeth and turning them to adjust the beam. It's very low geared so you'll have to make many turns with the screwdriver to see a visible movement of the light beam on the wall.

What's the original factory setting for the height aim?

Here it is, straight from my DC2 factory service manual:


Find a level spot, Position the car to face a wall, with a 3 metre distance from the headlight to the wall.

Covered shopping centre carparks are ideal for this if your garage driveway isn't level.

Measure the distance from the centre of the headlight to the floor. Essentially the light's 'ground clearance'.

On my DC2 it's 58cm.

Now adjust the light beam until the higher portion of the light beam on the wall is this same height. In my car's case, this means that uppermost lit portion of each beam is 58cm off the floor at 3 metres distance.

Repeat the measurements for the width of both beams. i.e., distance between headlights on car, and the centre of each beam should be this same distance apart on the wall.

Since the low beams have a glare shield, the real centre of the beam is here, marked by the X:


unlit
_____
lighted \ unlit
lighted X____________



I didn't make any of this up. It came straight from the factory service manual.

[Bludger]

Agreed.

In the evening, drive your car to face a flat wall, 3 metres away. from your driving position, each low light beam should look like this:



unlit
_________
lighted up \ ______


See how each beam has a specific diagonal cut through it and the left side of each bulb shines higher than the right? It's the glare shield at work.

It's there. Trust me, just look at the projected light beam and you'll see it yourself.

Both lights are aimed at equal height from the factory. This business about the right light must be aimed lower than the left is an obsolete holdover from the really old days before cars had the glare shield. Some people still swear by it though, for every headlight aiming application.

Now, each headlight will have two adjusters, horizontal and vertical. They can be found around the housing. The trouble is, its one of those things that you won't know what to look at, until someone points it out to you. Each adjuster is really a gear, located fairly deep inside a small hole. Get a torch and start poking around till you find them.

A long philips screwdriver is inserted into the hole, engaging the gear teeth and turning them to adjust the beam. It's very low geared so you'll have to make many turns with the screwdriver to see a visible movement of the light beam on the wall.

What's the original factory setting for the height aim?

Here it is, straight from my DC2 factory service manual:


Find a level spot, Position the car to face a wall, with a 3 metre distance from the headlight to the wall.

Covered shopping centre carparks are ideal for this if your garage driveway isn't level.

Measure the distance from the centre of the headlight to the floor. Essentially the light's 'ground clearance'.

On my DC2 it's 58cm.

Now adjust the light beam until the higher portion of the light beam on the wall is this same height. In my car's case, this means that uppermost lit portion of each beam is 58cm off the floor at 3 metres distance.

Repeat the measurements for the width of both beams. i.e., distance between headlights on car, and the centre of each beam should be this same distance apart on the wall.

Since the low beams have a glare shield, the real centre of the beam is here, marked by the X:


unlit
_____
lighted \ unlit
lighted X____________



I didn't make any of this up. It came straight from the factory service manual.repped

edit: ohh dang, must spread around first:p:(

[Bludger]

one thing I would like to know is the correct way to get the horizontal positioning.

I just use the brightest part of the beam and adjust it to square up with or make the brightest part directly in front of the headlight.

I'm sure there is a more correct way than mine.

[twing]

On my ej headlight, there is a little plastic square right on the middle of it.
That marks the headlight horizontal light height.
- Find that square, measure the height from the ground.
- Mark a wall with the height.
- Drive back the car to about 3-5 m.
- Turn on the headlight and check the horizontal cut off is not over the mark on the wall.
From your pix, the driver side light needs to be pushed up a bit IMO.
It should be the same as the left side.
So the cut off should be \____ \_____ from 3 m distance.
If you are not confident to adjust it, take it to a trusted mechanic.
Hope that helps.

[CasperEK]

Thanks for the replies guys.. Was not online for a while so didnt get around to replying..
Anyways, I went poking around the headlights, and did manage to find the vertical adjuster!! Still am trying to look around for the horizontal adjuster, but cant seem to find it anywhere directly behind the casing.. It should look exactly the same right?

I've brought the car around and drove against parked cars to see if i'll light up their seats on normal beams, and i'm only lighting up to their front bumpers :) So, i'm not one of those ***es that adjust their headlights just to ensure that it shines into other driver's faces..

Since I'm not able to find the horizontal adjusters, the lights look like this
\_____ <-- Left \\\\\\\\\ <-- Right
but since its doing way better then it used to, it should be fine for now :)
Thanks heaps!!

[Bludger]

Thanks for the replies guys.. Was not online for a while so didnt get around to replying..
Anyways, I went poking around the headlights, and did manage to find the vertical adjuster!! Still am trying to look around for the horizontal adjuster, but cant seem to find it anywhere directly behind the casing.. It should look exactly the same right?

I've brought the car around and drove against parked cars to see if i'll light up their seats on normal beams, and i'm only lighting up to their front bumpers :) So, i'm not one of those ***es that adjust their headlights just to ensure that it shines into other driver's faces..

Since I'm not able to find the horizontal adjusters, the lights look like this
\_____ <-- Left \\\\\\\\\ <-- Right
but since its doing way better then it used to, it should be fine for now :)
Thanks heaps!!hmmmm, horizontal adjuster must have gone and played hide and seek on you.........

you sure you looking hard enough?

[dinorider]

hmmmm, horizontal adjuster must have gone and played hide and seek on you.........

you sure you looking hard enough?

the horizontal adjuster is usually lower in the housing on another portion away from the vertical adjuster, and the screwdriver is stuck in slightly sideways.

[CasperEK]

the horizontal adjuster is usually lower in the housing on another portion away from the vertical adjuster, and the screwdriver is stuck in slightly sideways.

Hmmz.. Judging from the amount of space i have in the ek's engine bay, i dont think i can poke around any further unless i remove the air filter, which i'm not very confident of doing myself..
But nevertheless i will pry again tmr as i convinced myself earlier that my ek only had 1 gear.. :zip:

[Bludger]

Hmmz.. Judging from the amount of space i have in the ek's engine bay, i dont think i can poke around any further unless i remove the air filter, which i'm not very confident of doing myself..
But nevertheless i will pry again tmr as i convinced myself earlier that my ek only had 1 gear.. :zip:both adjusters on both sides are designed so that you can adjust them without removing anything, just poke the screwdriver from top down and adjust.

you must be blind or just have that can't do attitude.