Mini Cooper S Headlight Adjustment
Ross
Please can anyone point me in the direction of some article/Offer advice on
how to adjust the self leveler on an 03 cooper s with xenon headlights. The
lights auto level far too low in front of the car making it near enough
impossible to see anything more than about 30 yards infront of the car on
unlit roads. The auto leveller works fine when driving the lights are just
too low.
Thanks in advance...
Ross
Brownz @ Work
What you think is to low, and what the Authorities think is to low, may be
two different things.
Take it to your dealer and ask them to check and adjust as necessary.
--
Cheerz - Brownz
http://www.brownz.org/
deeeenoregistrar@hotmail.co.uk_ bongo
"Taffy" <taffy_...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1161695628....@m7g2000cwm.googlegroups.com...
> Check this out and then quickly go & buy a different/better car:-
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyhInklrvgI
>
would be nice to find out what exploded.
battery?
Ross
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyhInklrvgI
Why? Now stop Trolling and f**k off....
R
Ross
It needs adjusting! It's dangerously low... think unloaded car with
headlights set at position 4 (try it, mine is worse, ive compared to 2
seperate brand new cars my beam alignment is way too low). The headlight
leveler seems to think the car is fully loaded when its only got me in it!
I refuse to pay the dealer 50 odd quid to correct this when I can find out
how to do this myself then take it to my mates garage and correct the
problem for free.
With regards to the authorities said above friend is a VOSA MOT Tester he
will keep me right at his garage so dont worry! he just doesnt know how to
adjust the cars lights being a citroen mechanic :-(
R
adde...@yahoo.co.uk
Ross wrote:
> It needs adjusting! It's dangerously low... think unloaded car with
> headlights set at position 4 (try it, mine is worse, ive compared to 2
> seperate brand new cars my beam alignment is way too low). The headlight
> leveler seems to think the car is fully loaded when its only got me in it!
>
> I refuse to pay the dealer 50 odd quid to correct this when I can find out
> how to do this myself then take it to my mates garage and correct the
> problem for free.
>
> With regards to the authorities said above friend is a VOSA MOT Tester he
> will keep me right at his garage so dont worry! he just doesnt know how to
> adjust the cars lights being a citroen mechanic :-(
>
> R
RTFM or try in the new mini newsgroup if it still exists.
Fitzy.
<adde...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1161699677.8...@e3g2000cwe.googlegroups.com...
headlight adjuster motors, he will find a sealed adjuster, as part of the
motor body,
?? being a mechanic and a MOT station, I would assume this is common
knowledge ??
or ask your friend to call the dealer, explaining that they are a VOSA, i,m
sure they will help
Fitzy
Brownz (Mobile)
Shirley being an 03 its still covered by warranty ?
I've nothing but praise for my local Mini dealer, who even replaced a worn
leather seat under warranty for me earlier in the year !
Fitzy.
"Brownz (Mobile)" <someo...@microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:ppr%g.7444$t6....@newsfe4-win.ntli.net...
Fitzy
Brownz (Mobile)
<FX> Whoosh </FX>
Airplane.....
Ted Striker: Surely you can't be serious.
Rumack: I am serious... and don't call me Shirley.
DanTXD
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyhInklrvgI
>
I got as far as 'Welcome to Watchdog" - Realised it was going to be some
lovely sensationalist bullshit and turned it off.
--
Dan - on his PC
Fitzy.
spot on,
;-)
Fitzy
Dave Plowman (News)
The mechanical adjustment is usually tamper proof. Seems strange both
beams are low. What is the main beam like?
--
Is the hardness of the butter proportional to the softness of the bread?*
Dave Plowman da...@davenoise.co.uk London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.
Tunku
@news.demon.co.uk:
> The auto leveller works fine when driving the lights are just
> too low.
>
Pump up the front tyres...
--
Tunku
"end user" v. A command regrettably not implemented in most systems.
Fitzy.
"Tunku" <stuartggr...@dsl.pipex.com> wrote in message
news:Xns98678CE03337st...@216.196.109.145...
house bricks in the boot should tilt it just right,
Fitzy
pete
"Ross" <ross....@bluetonic.net> wrote in message
news:ehl6q1$das$1$8302...@news.demon.co.uk...
I'm amazed someone working in a garage doing MOTs doesn't know how to adjust
a headlight - or even where to get the information. I wouldn't like him
testing cars incase he doesn't know what else to look for. Is he an actual
mechanic or just someone trained to change parts on a citroen - similar to a
fast fitting type garage where no real knowledge is required. Most car
headlights are standard XENON ones, although some are HID which are better.
How much do you weigh?
Pay the £50 if you are concerned. Most headlights are rubbish which is why
you have the full beam, they are not designed to be searchlights.
Dave Plowman (News)
pete <pet...@exer.co.uk> wrote:
> I'm amazed someone working in a garage doing MOTs doesn't know how to
> adjust a headlight - or even where to get the information. I wouldn't
> like him testing cars incase he doesn't know what else to look for. Is
> he an actual mechanic or just someone trained to change parts on a
> citroen - similar to a fast fitting type garage where no real knowledge
> is required.
> Most car headlights are standard XENON ones, although some are HID which
> are better.
I'm amazed someone writing on this topic doesn't know what they're talking
about. ;-)
--
*Young at heart -- slightly older in other places
Chris Whelan
> I'm amazed someone writing on this topic doesn't know what they're talking
> about. ;-)
I'm not; it's Usenet!
Chris
--
Remove prejudice to reply.
Ross
>> Please can anyone point me in the direction of some article/Offer advice
>> on how to adjust the self leveler on an 03 cooper s with xenon
>> headlights. The lights auto level far too low in front of the car
>> making it near enough impossible to see anything more than about 30
>> yards infront of the car on unlit roads. The auto leveller works fine
>> when driving the lights are just too low.
>
> The mechanical adjustment is usually tamper proof. Seems strange both
> beams are low. What is the main beam like?
Hi Dave,
Thanks for the reply, the main full beam is fine, interestingly you can fool
the car into setting them correctly by turning the lights on pointing up a
steep hill with the handbrake on, this has the effect of lifting the car up
on its rear suspension. doesnt work all the time but sometimes works.
I spoke to my mate again he recons as the leveler works fine during normal
driving that one of the sensors on the rear axle or front axle may have been
knocked out of alignment thus causing the car to calibrate the level
incorectly effectively fooling the car into thinking it is squatting down on
the rear axle during the calibration process. He suggested finding the
sensor, probably on the suspension strut somewhere and moving it in the
direction that would suggest that the suspension is extending.
He said a smilar thing about the adjuster being tamper proof, he said
adjustment would prolly be done electroncally by plugging a computer in
somewhere.
Acht well... Looks like a trip to the dealer!
Ross
adde...@yahoo.co.uk
Ross wrote:
> Hi Dave,
>
> Thanks for the reply, the main full beam is fine, interestingly you can fool
> the car into setting them correctly by turning the lights on pointing up a
> steep hill with the handbrake on, this has the effect of lifting the car up
> on its rear suspension. doesnt work all the time but sometimes works.
>
I would have thought that the main and dipped beams were fixed relative
to each other so adjusting the dipped without adjusting the main could
be a bit tricky.
Tunku
Ross
> address have been used several times and I didn't post a thing!
I know it wasnt the real Taffy...
R
Tim..
<adde...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1161777911.6...@i42g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
You havent a clue how HID's work then!
Tim.
Fitzy.
<adde...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1161699677.8...@e3g2000cwe.googlegroups.com...
Fitzy
Steve68s remove this bit}@btinternet.com>
having a spare wheel will mean you can get more in, thus the back end goes
down & the headlights re align them selves, should give you rear wheels more
grip too,
Steve.
"Fitzy." <fitzy.@home.com> wrote in message
news:i-WdnRydXMU...@bt.com...
Jacob
wrote:
I would think that the "tamper proof" aspect is in place because
if people started to adjust those headlights up any higher than
they're supposed to be, accidents would result from all the blinded
drivers.
I'm waiting to see this happen anyway, since those "blue"
headlights are too bright and should be banned. Once lawsuits start
to fly, you'll see those headlights disappear.
As you can tell, I'm not a fan of those "blue" headlights, and
there is no benefit from having them. The reason I say that is that,
by law, the center focus of a headlight has to hit the road, a given
number of feet in front of the vehicle.(I'm forgot what that distance
is, but let's just say it's 40 feet.) As long as the center focus or
brightest part of the beam has to hit 40 feet in front of the car, you
will never see any better, no matter how bright you make the light.
The only thing you will accomplish is to blind opposing drivers,
because if your car hits a bump, crests a hill, or you don't lower
your high beams, your headlights will momentarily blind opposing
drivers, or the driver in front of you.
We've all experienced this.....if you've ever been in front of,
or on the opposite side of the road of a car with these blue
headlights, you would have had intermittant blinding flashes from
those headlights. That happens because the vehicle is bouncing up and
down with the bumps in the road, or because the vehicle is cresting a
hill. Either of these things cause the blue headlight to momentarily
rise above the center focus point of 40 feet.
The best headlight system there ever was is the four tungsten
filament headlights of older cars. With those systems, the two outer
lights were your driving lights, and turning on your high beams turned
on the two inner headlights, as well as turning on a brighter, second
filament in the driving light. With 4 high beamed lights lighting the
road, you could see practically everything. Plus those bulbs were
only 2 bucks. How much does it cost for one of the "blue" bulbs?
What happens when those leveling motors stop working, as all
electrical devices eventually do in cars? Do you think that some guy
driving a 20 year old, dented door, bumper loose, cracked windshield,
oil burning Cooper, is going to be worried that his headlights are
blinding people?
The number one mechanical problem with cars is a misaligned
headlight, and I have never seen a cop stop someone for it.
Anyway, the rant stops here. Oh, the correct, and most effective
way to stop trolls is to ignore them, no matter how badly you want to
reply to their trolling, don't. If they don't have an audience, they
will stop posting.(it might take a while, but it does work.)
Jacob
RS
i nearly totally agree with you post, just had to make two points;
> What happens when those leveling motors stop working, as all
> electrical devices eventually do in cars? Do you think that some guy
> driving a 20 year old, dented door, bumper loose, cracked windshield,
> oil burning Cooper, is going to be worried that his headlights are
> blinding people?
When the levelers stop working, the headlights dont come up, ie you turn the
lights on and the level rises. so its the other way - you wont be dazzling
people, you just wont be able to see much.
> The number one mechanical problem with cars is a misaligned
> headlight, and I have never seen a cop stop someone for it.
May be true, but on BMW minis perhaps not due to the self levelers
RS
Jacob
Hi there RS. I didn't know that about the headlights. So the
headlights turn downward when you turn them off? I wonder what
happens if the motors stop working when the headlights are already
turned on?
I guess what bothers me about these systems is that they rely on
motors. A problem with the motors means a problem with the
headlights.....too many components just to get some light.
I was in a VW dealer last year, and I asked the manager there
what it would cost to replace the "blue" headlight in the Toureg.
He tried to sidestep the question by saying that they rarely burn
out, so I said that most headlights don't burn out, but instead, are
broken by rocks flying up off the road, so how much would it cost to
replace the headlight if a rock flew up and broke it.
I had an idea of what his answer would be, so I wasn't surprised
when he said it would cost about $3,000.
I'd be interested to know what it would cost for the Mini.
Jacob
RS
> Hi there RS. I didn't know that about the headlights. So the
> headlights turn downward when you turn them off?
Yep.
I wonder what
> happens if the motors stop working when the headlights are already
> turned on?
your guess is as good as mine.
> I guess what bothers me about these systems is that they rely on
> motors. A problem with the motors means a problem with the
> headlights.....too many components just to get some light.
> I was in a VW dealer last year, and I asked the manager there
> what it would cost to replace the "blue" headlight in the Toureg.
> He tried to sidestep the question by saying that they rarely burn
> out, so I said that most headlights don't burn out, but instead, are
> broken by rocks flying up off the road, so how much would it cost to
> replace the headlight if a rock flew up and broke it.
true
> I had an idea of what his answer would be, so I wasn't surprised
> when he said it would cost about $3,000.
> I'd be interested to know what it would cost for the Mini.
we had one headlight replaced under warranty, due to motor failure,
they cost just under 200GBP each new, we found out when we saw the insurance
parts bill when my sister shunted her boyfriends peugoet...
joe
open hood...in back of the headlight assy. are 2 ajustment screws....the
inside screw will do the up and down...ajust the screw out will bring the
headhights up
--
for full context, visit http://www.motorsforum.com/mini-bmw/mini-cooper-s-headlight-adjustment-1849-.htm