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headlight aim formula?

8

83_Shortbed

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I know that theres some formula to be able to adjust your headlights against a wall but I don't recall what it is and thought someone might remember (if I remember right is like 10 feet from the wall by x feet high by x feet apart but that was off a 2 headlight setup and I have 4 so Im not sure how different it is). also does anyone know where you can still pick up a headlight aimer I know snappy had something close but the one I saw online didn't sound right so I wasn't sure it was the right one (kinda doubt it) and no other tool truck site showed any results and Im not sure where else to look
 
Actually that link isnt that bad. It is kinda difficult to follow but probably a good starting point. In the case where the high beams are above or below the low beams, your vertical marks will be one over the other as opposed to one inside the other as that link showed.

Honestly Ive tried the wall method and still wound up making adjustments when I actually saw them on the road at night. I just find a dark street and tweek them at night.

There are some garages that have setups to adjust lights. Its one of the things you have to do in CA if you bring a vehicle back on the road with a salvaged title. Last time I think it cost me somewhere between $10-20 to have a shop do it in 5 minutes.
 
88Silverado said:
It is kinda difficult to follow.
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thats why I asked about something in plain English

88Silverado said:
Honestly Ive tried the wall method and still wound up making adjustments when I actually saw them on the road at night.
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I'm not really looking for perfection just trying to get my headlights closer then what they are at now and the distance I use is too close (usually in a spot in my apt complex towards a wall so maybe 2-3 ft) to know how off they really are

88Silverado said:
There are some garages that have setups to adjust lights. Its one of the things you have to do in CA if you bring a vehicle back on the road with a salvaged title. Last time I think it cost me somewhere between $10-20 to have a shop do it in 5 minutes.
Click to expand...
I've dealt with this kind of shop when I had a Celebrity since the previous owner salvaged it and part of the agreement was I just finished off the paperwork for the salvage title but since I no longer live in Ca and in no hurry to go back and don't know of anyplace like this in AZ to give it a shot
 
Sorry, cant help too much but heres a little more information I snipped from some other sites:

Legal Requirement - The technical legal specification in the USA for headlight height adjustment is 2.1" below the center at 25 feet and the right to left adjustment should be centered at 25 feet.

Heres a couple more links:
http://www.carinsurance.com/Articles/content169.aspx

http://www.automedia.com/Aiming/Headlights/ccr20010801ha/1

It seems the common factor here is somewhere between 10' and 25', you want to adjust the low beam lights so that they hit no less than two inches below the horizontal centerline and zero to two inches right of the vertical centerline. If you can only space your truck 2-3 feet away from a wall, try adjusting them at 1" and see how they look from there
 
I re-searched the tool trucks sights and found that snappy has a kit but it says its for large/small aerodynamic headlights and runs 500 bucks which is too much for a one time/once in a while job, mac and matco show no results and cornwell doesn't have a search feature and I don't have a catalog for them (the one online you have to go through page by page) and craftsman doesn't come up with the right item and my shop doesn't have one (asked before posting the q). So does anyone have any ideas where I might be able to pick up a kit for less then $500 if I decide to just go that route?
 
2" drop of the light for every 25 feet down the road.

Park the truck 25 feet from a wall - level ground. Measure the height of the headlamp center on the truck.

Mark a line on the wall 2" below the measured height of the lamp's center.

Adjust the light so the main focus is on the line 2" below the height of the bulb's center.

Adjust left/right accordingly. IIRC slightly to the right for both lights.
 
88Silverado has given the best method. Headlight adjusting equipment will run about $500 so purchase for individuals is out.

If you are having a hard time centering your headlights you can also use sunglasses, welding glasses might work, the center of the light will be more apparent.

You can also block off, or disconnect, the light you aren't adjusting to help.
 
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