2004 XJ8: How2Adjust Low Beam Headlamp
 

Hi guys... I've noticed my low beam headlamps aim very low ahead of the car. This forces me to use the HIGH beams on rural roads, which pains others coming towards me. When I dim the lights, I can only see the road well for about 50 feet ahead of me... not good!

Is there a simple adjustment screw/etc.? And where is it (if so).

I recall from my youth one would park in front of a wall (garage door) back about 15 feet and adjust the beam focus to a recommended settings (X & Y).

Please respond if you've adjusted yours.

Cheers,

Kyd

Kyd,

You've posted this in Off Topic section. I think you'd get a better response in X350 section. Do you want me to move it?

Graham

First, do you have HIDs?
1. They might be stuck in the "Day-Light" mode.
2. Check on your NAV screen, settings for the lights, see if Day-Light mode is on or off.
3. If on, the motor for the low beam adjust might be out.
4. If the motor is OK---
5. The adjustment screws for the low and high beams are on top of the light assy. One will adjust "up-down", the other -"left-right".

I did my adjustments last month, noticed my low beam was too high.

Thanks Reyes. Can you tell me how to get at the screws?

Cheers

The screws are under the plastic panel accessed though the 2 openings above both Headlights. The screws are plastic!


https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/a...ent-screws-jpg

Yes, that would be nice... I'm quite inexperienced on this site... and always stumble when it come to posting a NEW question... I wish our 'dashboard' had a 'new thread' or 'new post' button...

Chees,

Kyd

Thanks for the pictures... ;=)
 

Thanks my friend... When my wife gets home, I'll check this out (motor)... we DO NOT have HID's... Is their a standard diagram

We don't have the HID's... when wife gets home I'll check your ideas out... Thanks...

BTW, is there any info on where is the optimal spot for adjusting the low beams? As I originally stated, I remember we used to park a certain distance from a well and measure up on the wall the optimal target...

Chees,
Kyd

Kyd,

The JTIS procedure for headlamp adjustment is:

Prepare the vehicle for headlamp adjustment:
1. Place the vehicle on a level surface.
2. Before adjusting the headlamps, check them for faulty lenses, reflectors and blackened bulbs, and install new components as necessary.
3. Check the tire pressures and correct as necessary. The vehicle must be at normal unladen weight.
4. Normalize the suspension.
5. Adjust the headlamp using the adjustment bolts.

That's it. Absolutely no detail on measurements for the low beam setting!

I remember the same procedure as you on parking a set distance from a wall and measuring low beam height up the wall. Here's a link to an article on this:

How to Adjust Your Headlights - Aim Your Headlights - Popular Mechanics

Graham

:icon_nut: Don't be daunted with the detailed instructions on the website, with a little practice, both headlights can be adjusted within 5 minutes. :icon_really:

I see only two adjusting screws in the picture so I assume you adjust both hi and lo beam at the same time, ie when you raise the lo beam you also raise the hi beam. Am I understanding this right ? Second question if there is a leveling motor on HID lights what exactly is it leveling? If you can raise the beam mechanically then are you 'levelling' them relative to the load in the car?

Stu

"psg" you are correct, the red arrow points to the "UP-DOWN" adjustment screw.

When you adjust the headlight, you are adjusting the primary "Beam Angle" to keep from blinding on-coming drivers. The "HID" leveler operates from input received from a sensor to keep the "Beam Angle" at the same height.

Horizontal headlight adjustment - X350 Halogen lamps
 

I can adjust my headlamps vertically, but my driver's side low beam is aimed too far to the left (toward opposite lane of traffic). Where is the horizontal adjustment?

The stupid dealer charged me $150 and it made absolutely no difference (assuming they did anything at all). Tough to find anyone else that knows something about this.


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...bd7c93706e.jpg




This seems to be in the right location but it's just a smooth hole?

Standard non-HID do not auto-adjust. You do not adjust high/low beams independent of each other. If you are experiencing issues with beam, either the lamp is inserted incorrectly, (not properly indexed) or the housing is damaged. Tab fits upwards into indexing slot. If this is not indexed correctly, the beam will seem off or aimed incorrectly.

A couple of things you can do yourself, one, is to remove the cover and insure the H7 tab is properly indexed. Then, take a roll of masking tape, a 25' tape measure and find the backside of a local WalMart so you can use the building and one of the concrete expansion joint at a 90 angle to the wall as a guide. Pull the car up very close to the wall, and place a vertical and horizontal + in the middle of the beam on the wall in front of the headlamps. Using the 25' tape, mark a spot 25' back, and back the car up until the car is that distance from the wall. You adjust the 6mm hex (closest to the fender) to raise or lower the beam until the center of the horizontal plane is just under the horizontal masking tape on the wall. The way the refractor in the lens works, a flare happens upwards and should be centered close to the vertical masking tape line.

So just that I understand, there is no adjustment for horizontal movement of the assembly? I believe the bulbs are indexed correctly. I replaced the original bulbs to try and resolve the problem but it made not a bit of difference (pattern is the same only brighter now). The lamp is not damaged nor is the housing. The problem is only the driver side low beam. This is a low mileage car that rarely gets driven at night, hence my just noticing.

UPDATE: I took the bulb back out to verify the tab was at the 12 o'clock position, and noticed that the small "secondary" reflector that the bulb sits directly behind looked slightly tweaked out of alignment compared to the passenger side. Gently tweaked it back till it looked as perpendicular as possible with the main reflector. I'll take a look tonight and see if it did anything. I have an appt. with a mechanic friend to check the alignment as you specified above. Thanks.

Horizontal (up-down) yes. Vertical (left-right) is a bit more tricky. That is set in a fixture and should not move under normal operation. Generally, the H7 lamp is not seated and not indexed correctly if the beam is way off.

At 25' distance back from the wall, the pattern should look roughly like this;

You beat me to it. When we bought our X350 we had the same problem. I tried the "proper" adjusting techniques and it didn't help. I remember when we picked it up it was right before dusk and we had a 4+ hour drive ahead of us. My poor wife tried to drive the newly acquired Jag home and kept phoning to me that she couldn't see unless she had the high beams on. We switched cars, and sure enough, I could hardly see either. Not to mention I almost threw the Jag into a guard rail on the way home at 65 MPH due to hitting black ice. :/ Despite having summer tires on it, the traction control kicked in and saved me.

I digress. After owning it a few months I realized the reflectors that the bulbs sit behind were out of alignment. One was pointing way too far up, the other down. It was clearly visible when you crouched down and looked at the car head on. I dunno what would cause that. If someone was just careless in replacing bulbs and bent them, or the heat from the bulb caused them to warp..? So I took both bulbs out, reached my finger in the housings, and manually adjusted them to where I thought they should be. They were very easy to adjust that way. They've been good ever since.