Hey guys, you got me confused here. I've xenon on my 06 MCS. Shall I consider aligning the xenon headlights or are you talking about the non-xenon lights?

 

Xenon.
Let me guess. You are disappointed that you really can't see down the road unless you use the high beams?
Do the adjustment like Rawhide instructs, just try a 1/2 turn for starts. It will make a huge difference. Maybe you'll need a little bit more, but once you understand, it is so easy that you can just pull over at night on a side street and adjust as you'd like.
Clearly (to me) MINI purposely sends the cars out with misadjusted xenons to avoid complaints of them shining in oncoming driver's eyes. As a result, they are horrible until you adjust them, then they really are nice!
Enjoy.

 

So even if the Xenon lights do auto align, I have to consider adjusting them???

 

They don't actually auto-align, they auto-level. Think of the alignment as being within the housing and controlling the focus of the light, while the auto level just points the housing.

 

I hate to bump old threads, but does anybody know if the high beams can be adjusted seperately? My lows are great, my highs point straight into the ground.

 

You have a good excuse. If you get some good information out of it (certainly not from me), we will all learn.

Can someone who knows something help A-W?

 

A-W, this is a thread worth bumping or making a sticky IMO. MINIs come with poorly aligned headlights and this thread provides helpful information that has helped me become a believer in good xenon headlights (properly aligned, that is!)

 

I'll be trying this tonight....thanks for the infomation guys.

-Cody

 

The instructions apply to xenon and non-xenon headlights. So far, every MINI I"ve driven has its headlights aimed WAY too low from the factory. This is by far the best "free mod" you can do. Remember, a little turn does a lot!

Rawhyde

 

For proper aim instructions see this web site. http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/aim/aim.html

Please follow the instructions and do not aim your lights any higher than it suggests because I might be sharing the road with you some night and I do not want to be blinded by some fool with poorly aimed headlights.

High beams can not be adjusted independently.

Good luck

 

Guys, i stumbled across this thread by accident, and im glad i did! I thought it was just my '05 xenons that were too low! Im going to tweak my lights now and see what happens!

While searching this matter further, i came across this forum about the self-leveling features from European cars.
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho....php?p=2920120

"For the self-leveling clueless: the auto leveling compensates for vehicle loading. It keeps the headlights to the adjusted level when the rear of the vehicle is loaded (that's why they adjust down). This is common in HIDs setups, but some are manual. In fact, ECE Regulation 48 requires manual systems on all vehicles (ECE=United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) and self-leving for cars with headlamp bulbs producing more than 2,000 lumens (like HIDs).

In the US, self leveling HIDs are just cool technology; useless for 99% of people."

 

MAYBE if anyone from MINI US or MINI Canada is reading this, they might consider putting things right by sending out a service bulletin? That way EVERYONE will have the correctly adjusted lights on their MINIs

Just a thought

 

Guess I need to adjust mine, because I thought the same thing. XENON sucks! Guess I was wrong. I'll take a look at it...

 

for those of us with the early xenon lights (non projector)...adjusting is a little tricky, make sure your adjusting the right one, should be the "inner" adjuster....I'm trying to locate the proper factory BMW headlight adjuster tool (p/n-63 2 100-per the Bentley manual) that allows you to hook the tool to the adjuster and close the hood to adjust...somehow I've managed to get the "hot spot" out of whack a little bit....

 

Thanks, that was a helpful thread. I thought I was going mad. But I was curious if anyone knows which direction does what on the outboard adjuster? When I adjusted the horizon up the horizontal adjustment went out a little.

Thanks.

 

It would seem to do that because the cutoff is a diagonal, sloping up to the right.

 

thanks for the tip, so with reflector hids, i should be look for the screw that is closest to the intercooler, to make the lights adjust up or down, and the outer screw is for left/right adjustments? My lights seemed to be pointed straight ahead, so I would hate to risk messing up that adjustment.

 

I'm adjusting, but not really getting any change in the aim... tried 1/2 turn, 3/4 turn, etc., inboard adj. screws, but nothing really changes... then I tried 3 or 4 full rotations of the inboard adj. screws, and nothing really changes... driver's side headlight is acceptable, but low, passenger side is way too low.... hits the ground about 1 or 2 car lengths in front of me.

What am I doing wrong?

 

I was getting nowhere with 1/2 turn, 3/4 turn, etc.... no change at all in the aim... I backed the inboard screws out so far (loosened them to raise the aim) that they came out! and the aim changed a little, but not much... still too low... the bright spot hits the ground about 2 car lengths in front of me.

what am I doing wrong?

thanks,

mark loft
'03 CVT 51K miles, K&N in the airbox, my only mod

 

Well I found a place that will sell me the BMW headlight adjuster tool, $250.00....still trying to decide if I should get it, maybe rent it out to ya'll when I'm done

 

Sounds like you're not turning the correct screw. A little bit is all it takes. How can your headlights be pointing straight down to the ground? Look back at the first posts that describe the way to adjust and try again, I can't think of any way you can have the right adjuster screw and turn them much, unless by unscrewing them completely you've disconnected the mechanism. Can't help you there.
Good luck.

 

I'll double check, but I think I have the right screws... black, plastic, hex head with a slot for a flat-head screwdriver, one inboard, another one just like it outboard side... the aim does change slightly when I run these in and out... just not enough.

I do hear a funny click or pop after I turn the screw 3 or 4 complete turns, as if I've turned too far... something pops on the inside of the headlight assembly... but, returning them to where I started, then starting over doesn't seem to help... I always get just a tiny bit of movement in the aim, and I can never get them aimed high enough.

????

 

If you've got auto adjusting lights, it might be worth a quick look at the sensor on the left front control arm.
I forgot to reconnect mine once and when nightfall came the lights were aimed nearly straight down and I couldn't see anything.

 

I don't think I have auto-adjust headlights. I have an '03 MC CVT w/ sport package... just bought it used as a first car for my 16 year-old daughter... trying to figure everything out before she takes it away from me.

Didn't see anything in the list of features when I bought it that said anything about auto-adj. headlights, and they certainly don't make any attempt to adjust themselves when I turn them on at night.

I'm back to thinking that my adjusting screws really aren't doing much adjusting... maybe the previous owner ran them in or out too far and broke something inside the headlight assembly?

 

wow! what a difference. I had to turn the inboard screw counter clock wise about 3 or 4 revolution.