How to adjust car headlights properly

Car headlights help drivers see more easily, see a wider area when driving at night. However, during use, there are many cases where car headlights malfunction or have problems such as misalignment, not focusing the lights or not reaching the desired distance.

Many car owners buy car headlights and replace them themselves with the original headlights to increase brightness, but do not know how to adjust them properly, leading to unsafe conditions... Below is the correct way to adjust headlights.

How to adjust headlights

Some cars are equipped with Xenon lights that can automatically adjust the light beam according to the load and speed of the vehicle. These cars often have a knob so that the driver can adjust the light position according to the load on the car. You just need to turn the control knob to positions 0-1-2-3-4 according to the number of passengers and the amount of luggage on the car.

Vehicles equipped with halogen and projector headlights are adjusted by 3-point screws on the back of the headlight. The screw marked (UD) adjusts the light beam up or down and the screw marked (LR) adjusts the light beam left or right.

Steps to adjust headlights

Step 1:Inflate tires to the correct standard pressure

Inflate tires to the correct pressure to keep the vehicle balanced and stable before adjusting the headlights.

Step 2:Park the car on flat ground in front of the test wall and determine the center line.

Park the car on a flat surface (5-7m) away from the wall or screen to test the headlights. Draw a vertical line on the wall or screen in the middle, perpendicular to the surface. Align the centerline of the car so that it is facing the line on the wall or screen. This is to determine the exact position of the headlight beam.

Step 3:Measure the center of the light and the height from the ground to the center of the light on the vehicle

Step 4:Draw a cut-off line on the wall about 1-2 inches (2.56 - 5.08 cm) lower than the height of the light fixture.

Step 5:Adjust the lights to standard.

Start the car, turn on and adjust the lights according to the instructions so that the beam angle and height meet the standards. The beam height must be equal to the height of the headlight bulb on the car and the beam angle must be about 10-15 degrees.

Step 6:Adjust the driver's side headlight beam to the correct height and beam angle.

Step 7:Check the headlights

After adjusting the light beam of each side, turn on both lights and observe if the two light beams have equal height and convergence. If the two light beams are equal, it is okay.