I had the car in to the dealer yesterday for repair of the intermittent airbag light and asked the dealer to check and re-aim the headlights, as several folks had flashed me when I was just using the Xenon low-beams. They did say that the drivers side light was high, and that it was adjusted correctly.

I asked two different service writers what the aiming process was, and how to adjust the lights. I got the following two answers:

1) There's a remote adjustment tool that snakes up under the hood and allows the tech to adjust the aiming of the lights with the hood closed.

2) The light leveling devices are mechanically connected to the front suspension and there is some adjustment that is made to a link there that ultimately affects the aiming of the lights.

Both told me that the process also involved shining the headlights on a blank wall with some kind of reference markings on it.

I don't know which one of these is true (if either) but was just thinking that it's a pretty difficult proposition to mechanically adjust the lights since they are on the hood itself. If anybody has any more info, I'd like to hear it.

 

I thought mine were too low. One day at work I pulled the car right up to within 5 feet of a clear wall, enough to see where the xenons leveled off at, popped the hood and made the adj. myself. If you look at where the adj. points on the back of the Xenon light, each one of them tells you what it does. I just adjusted mine to be a little higher, might have been 1/4 turn or so.

 

I raised my Xenon's aim too. Just be sure you don't turn the dial too far as
the auto level motor will jump the gear. I don't have a long enough screw
driver so did it this way...

I shined my lowbeam onto my garage door, placed masking tape on the door
where the low beam illuminated and on the driveway noting where the tire was so that I can reposition the car after I make a test spin.

Then I popped the bonnet, raised the aim by 1/4 turn increments, closed
the bonnet and shined until the car was illuminating a little higher than
where it originally was.

Then took it out for a spin making sure no one high beamed me and seeing
if I needed to raise it a bit more. I needed it higher a tad more.

Came back, stopped the car again on the same spot on the drive way,
raise the aim a tad more, took her out for a spin to double check, done. :smile:

 

SF & Kenchan

Good to know these are ajustable without relying on the dealer to have it done. Thanks for the tip, I'm tired of looking at the diagonal light up the ground in front of you only illumination pattern.

 

Now that it has been a while how do you feel about the adjustment? Any misgivings with a month or more to drive around?

 

back from the grave...
doesnt the xenons have some kind of auto leveling mechanism? i can understand adjusting azimuth, but if its auto leveling why does the elevation need to be adjusted?

oh...
my driver side is pointed too much to the passenger side. i figured i'd search and resurect a dead thread than to start another one.

edit:
oops didnt see the other thread in MINI talk...