Has any one by chance ever removed the spirit level and the metal clip that holds it in place? One of my headlamps would not adjust and I had my fingers in the headlamp assembly trying to engage the ball of the screw rod that manipulates the up down adjustment in to the socket it is supposed to be in; and I snagged the level and pulled it upwards, bending the metal frame that holds it in place and it needed to be reset to level. There is a very fine adjustment screw that is part of the metal frame and this seems to be a calibration adjustment for the spirit level when it is in the metal frame that holds the level. Its hard to describe how I did it without photos, I'm just curious if any one else has tackled this situation and how they level the level.

 

Mike,

253 Views but 0 Replies as I write this.

I'll ask the dumb question. What and where is the headlamp spirit level? I'm familiar with the Headlamp Levelling Actuator but can't recall anything more from my early XK8.



Graham

 

Graham, think he is referring to the level that one uses to adjust the headlight beam's angle on our earlier cars.

Mike, let's see if I understand your predicament.

You were adjusting the headlights, ran into a problem that caused you to dig deeper to find a better adjustment screw.

While doing this you knocked the level out of true. Now you'd like to reattach the level, but are unsure of how to true it up.

If you just make it show level, the headlights will have the wrong angle, yet the indicator (our level) will be showing: all ok perfect adjustment.

Mike I'd first look for centering markers. In an assembly line environment I doubt they take time to celebrate each spirit level. Given that, are there any notches or markings for dead reckoning?

If not, do it yourself. Let's say the drivers side is messed up.

1) set the passengers headlight to perfect level.

Be sure to be on a flat level price of ground. Use the door plate area to check "car level"
(Place with silver jaguar xk8 sticker).

2) drive to a parking lot that has a big white wall you can aim at. Park 20 feet away pointing right at wall.
(see Johns's later post #4 revising this distance recommendation - GGG)

3]) turn on high beam's ( my highs display a coherent center design)

4) grab some blue painters tape. Mark center of good side's high beam with an X of painters tape.

Grab a ruler. Measure the height of the X's center.

Tape a target X on other side at same height. Adjust headlights on that side to center in target X.

Note: high beam's and low beam's are locked together. You cannot adjust one without moving the other.

The out of whack bad side is now adjusted identically to good side's height and aim. Remember the good side showed level on level ground. Bad side is now the same!

Find a spot where good side's level shows level. Adjust bad side to same display: perfect level.

Do you need help with adjustment location? It is not in with the level. Just ask.

John

 

Mike, I can't get In to edit for the original note, but wanted to follow up. My suggestion of 20 feet is probably too far.

As I pulled into my garage last night I thought of you. I've got a pair of those painters tape X's right on my garage wall. Great for perfect parking I just drive til the headlight's center image overlap the blue tape's X = perfect parking alignment.

Anyway, at 3 or 4 feet from the wall, the image is about 5 feet high. So correct my 20 foot suggestion and make it easiest for you to work with. Hope it helps. Let us know how you do.

John

 

Hi John, My headlamps are aimed okay and I appreciate the tutorial on how to aim them. Here's a photo of the level in its metal bracket. The inside portion of the "U" bracket holds the level and the outer portion with the wavy edges slides in to the receptacle inside the headlamp assembly and at the bottom you can see the adjusting screw. I can't see the need for a calibration of the level once it is installed, yet it is there for a reason...



You can see the metal bracket that holds the level inside the headlamp assembly.




And here it is assembled.

 

Graham- it's an American idiosyncrasy. Here in the UK, we're quite happy to allow electricity to adjust our headlights (and we even have a little knob on the dashboard so we can do it while we are driving) but in the US, where the right of the individual to adjust his/her own headlights is part of the Constitution (or an amendment thereof) - it is done manually with the help of a little spirit level built into each light unit.

 

I recall back when I was a Chrysler dealer in the 80's & 90's that European Chryslers built here and shipped there had to be equipped with self-leveling headlights so that regardless of passenger load or trunk load the lights would always be properly aligned. That was a matter of Euro wide regulations that have not yet made their way to the U.S. Even the odd ball one offs like the early Vipers had to be refitted before they could clear customs.

 

My question is still unanswered and it is a moot point, but I'm still curious as to why the spirit level has a leveling device?

The nylon hex nut that you turn to raise or lower the lights on my unit has a broken tooth (The hex nut terminates in a bevel gear that turns the threaded rod) so I'm turning the threaded rod by hand and not using the nylon hex head. I noticed that one side of the rod has a flat spot so I turned the rod all the way in one direction until it stopped, I then counted the revolutions using the flat spot as a guide and I turned it the other way, again until it stopped. There were 16 revolutions total so I decided that eight revolutions should put the headlight right at about neutral level and sure enough, after the headlamp assembly was installed and the car lowered off of the jack stand, the level showed that it was almost level. It was pointed down ever so slightly and a quarter or a half turn on the threaded rod brought the bubble to within the two red lines on the level. Aiming the high lights at a wall showed that they were fairly well aimed so I'm happy that I can fulfill my American constitutionally afforded rights to adjusting the headlamps myself.