Proper low beam pattern?
From : jmc
Q: 2001 dakota 4x4 ive suspected its been off since the beams were adjusted it returned from overseas where they drive on the wrong side of the road. this morning heavy fog i could hardly see my low beams meet at a point some distance in front and to the right side of my truck - actually off the right edge of the road. at about headlight level - so they are adjusted straight out or only slightly down. im not good at distance calculation but im guessing theyre meeting at a point in the air that they should be touching the ground at. are they even *supposed* to be meeting at a point so i took it back to the shop that did the adjustment and some rude little old man insisted that they were right because the machine said they were right. i suspect that the machine was set wrong for the height of my truck but i could see the futility in arguing with him so i just took my truck and left. i know another mechanic i can take it to. bah! does anyone have a photo or graphic or can describe of what the low beam pattern should look like am i wrong jmc .
Replies:
From : royroy
suddenly without warning geekboy exclaimed 9/22/2008 508 pm 2001 dakota 4x4 ive suspected its been off since the beams were adjusted it returned from overseas where they drive on the wrong side of the road. this morning heavy fog i could hardly see my low beams meet at a point some distance in front and to the right side of my truck - actually off the right edge of the road. at about headlight level - so they are adjusted straight out or only slightly down. im not good at distance calculation but im guessing theyre meeting at a point in the air that they should be touching the ground at. are they even *supposed* to be meeting at a point so i took it back to the shop that did the adjustment and some rude little old man insisted that they were right because the machine said they were right. i suspect that the machine was set wrong for the height of my truck but i could see the futility in arguing with him so i just took my truck and left. i know another mechanic i can take it to. bah! does anyone have a photo or graphic or can describe of what the low beam pattern should look like am i wrong the wonders of google - http//.carjunky.com/howstuffworks/how-to-align-your-headlights-abc449.shtml jmc oh i googled and got plenty of descriptions on how to align them myself. i have no wall to work off of though but what im asking is is the pattern i describe above correct for low beams heres a good description with graphics http//www.coolbulbs.com/hid-visual-headlight-aiming-procedure.pdf the machine they used was less than a foot from my truck. ive just come off the phone with the shop manager and that was a pretty wasted conversation as well. the only concession i got was that he readjusts his own headlights after they get readjusted to pass inspection. but he insists that its normal for the low beams to cross over past the righthand side of the vehicle. id say the drivers side is haring off at perhaps 30 35 degrees. at this point i think im just venting. somewhere i gotta find myself a wall pace out 25 feet and take a picture of what i see. and find a friend who can help me adjust the damn things correctly. jmc jmc jodi one of the aftermarket light makers had a target and procedure on line maybe pia im not sure. .
From : geyser
jmc wrote suddenly without warning geekboy exclaimed 9/22/2008 508 pm 2001 dakota 4x4 ive suspected its been off since the beams were adjusted it returned from overseas where they drive on the wrong side of the road. this morning heavy fog i could hardly see my low beams meet at a point some distance in front and to the right side of my truck - actually off the right edge of the road. at about headlight level - so they are adjusted straight out or only slightly down. im not good at distance calculation but im guessing theyre meeting at a point in the air that they should be touching the ground at. are they even *supposed* to be meeting at a point so i took it back to the shop that did the adjustment and some rude little old man insisted that they were right because the machine said they were right. i suspect that the machine was set wrong for the height of my truck but i could see the futility in arguing with him so i just took my truck and left. i know another mechanic i can take it to. bah! does anyone have a photo or graphic or can describe of what the low beam pattern should look like am i wrong the wonders of google - http//.carjunky.com/howstuffworks/how-to-align-your-headlights-abc449.shtml jmc oh i googled and got plenty of descriptions on how to align them myself. i have no wall to work off of though but what im asking is is the pattern i describe above correct for low beams http//www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/aim/aim.html is probably worth a look. depending on vehicle height the beams should dip 0 to 3 inches but not cross. daniel stern is a real helpful guy and knows lights. .
From : jmc
suddenly without warning geekboy exclaimed 9/22/2008 508 pm 2001 dakota 4x4 ive suspected its been off since the beams were adjusted it returned from overseas where they drive on the wrong side of the road. this morning heavy fog i could hardly see my low beams meet at a point some distance in front and to the right side of my truck - actually off the right edge of the road. at about headlight level - so they are adjusted straight out or only slightly down. im not good at distance calculation but im guessing theyre meeting at a point in the air that they should be touching the ground at. are they even *supposed* to be meeting at a point so i took it back to the shop that did the adjustment and some rude little old man insisted that they were right because the machine said they were right. i suspect that the machine was set wrong for the height of my truck but i could see the futility in arguing with him so i just took my truck and left. i know another mechanic i can take it to. bah! does anyone have a photo or graphic or can describe of what the low beam pattern should look like am i wrong the wonders of google - http//.carjunky.com/howstuffworks/how-to-align-your-headlights-abc449.shtml jmc oh i googled and got plenty of descriptions on how to align them myself. i have no wall to work off of though but what im asking is is the pattern i describe above correct for low beams heres a good description with graphics http//www.coolbulbs.com/hid-visual-headlight-aiming-procedure.pdf the machine they used was less than a foot from my truck. ive just come off the phone with the shop manager and that was a pretty wasted conversation as well. the only concession i got was that he readjusts his own headlights after they get readjusted to pass inspection. but he insists that its normal for the low beams to cross over past the righthand side of the vehicle. id say the drivers side is haring off at perhaps 30 35 degrees. at this point i think im just venting. somewhere i gotta find myself a wall pace out 25 feet and take a picture of what i see. and find a friend who can help me adjust the damn things correctly. jmc jmc .
From : geekboy
2001 dakota 4x4 ive suspected its been off since the beams were adjusted it returned from overseas where they drive on the wrong side of the road. this morning heavy fog i could hardly see my low beams meet at a point some distance in front and to the right side of my truck - actually off the right edge of the road. at about headlight level - so they are adjusted straight out or only slightly down. im not good at distance calculation but im guessing theyre meeting at a point in the air that they should be touching the ground at. are they even *supposed* to be meeting at a point so i took it back to the shop that did the adjustment and some rude little old man insisted that they were right because the machine said they were right. i suspect that the machine was set wrong for the height of my truck but i could see the futility in arguing with him so i just took my truck and left. i know another mechanic i can take it to. bah! does anyone have a photo or graphic or can describe of what the low beam pattern should look like am i wrong the wonders of google - http//.carjunky.com/howstuffworks/how-to-align-your-headlights-abc449.shtml jmc .