headlight assembly

[ludikris]

Hey everyone, just wondering, im having problems with my lights are not aimed correctly and can barely see the road when i am driving. i tried to align the lights but I believe that the adjusters are broken.. I would like to put an hid convervsion kit in it but i have to be able to aim the headlights so i don't blind other drivers. my question is that if you buy a headlight assembly, does it include the adjusters. if not where could you get them, does anyone know. any help would be much appreciated, thank you

[passat 130 tdi]

passat headlights are rubbish , even with different bulbs in mine they are crap , i have to put the auto level switch up to get my lights to show me where im going , no one flashes me ,so i guess they are just below the legal requirement.

you can get at the adjuster pin if you take the plastic jog wheels off and use a tool to move them manually.

[ludikris]

passat headlights are rubbish , even with different bulbs in mine they are crap , i have to put the auto level switch up to get my lights to show me where im going , no one flashes me ,so i guess they are just below the legal requirement.

you can get at the adjuster pin if you take the plastic jog wheels off and use a tool to move them manually.


Hi, what kind of tool would you need to use to adjust them manually. would anyone have or know where to find a video or pics on how to do it manually.....

[passat 130 tdi]

long nose pliers or some kind of triangular tubing . try the auto level switch though ,set high may just help your plight.

[ludikris]

long nose pliers or some kind of triangular tubing . try the auto level switch though ,set high may just help your plight.


Sorry, but where would the auto level switch be. also, i have read that some people use the hex for aiming and some use the phlilps screw inside the hex. what is the proper way to adjust them.

[passat 130 tdi]

switch is on the right side of dash dimmer switch , i think its a 5mm allan key , but the heads and teeth on the cogs are plastic and wear/strip teeth , if you destroy the cogs you need to smash them off to gain acess to the metal rod that controls the inner working of the headlight adjuster.

[ludikris]

switch is on the right side of dash dimmer switch , i think its a 5mm allan key , but the heads and teeth on the cogs are plastic and wear/strip teeth , if you destroy the cogs you need to smash them off to gain acess to the metal rod that controls the inner working of the headlight adjuster.


Thanks for your help, so that allan key should adjust them up and down?

[passat 130 tdi]

yes 1 does left to right , the other up and down .

[ludikris]

yes 1 does left to right , the other up and down .


Hey i went outside to try and find this auto adjuster and could not find it at all. not sure if i mentioned the model of my car, but it is a 98 passat 1.8t. would it still have that adjuster bc i can't find it

[muddy]

Hey i went outside to try and find this auto adjuster and could not find it at all. not sure if i mentioned the model of my car, but it is a 98 passat 1.8t. would it still have that adjuster bc i can't find it

Just done all of my adjusters to get '99 1.8 through MOT.

Both outer ones had seized spindles
Both inner spindles were seized and one cog was effectively stripped, the other loose.

With headlights on bench (easy job, unhook side lights, undo three screws AND undo the top bumper screw in the rubber block.) This allows you to flex the plastic a little and eases headlight removal.

Outer ones responded to WD 40 and gentle tapping onto end of spindle whilst easing alley key back and forth

Loose plastic wheel was cleaned out and Araldited back into position - using washer of polythene sheet to stop it gluing to main housing.

Semi-stripped one was eased up and unseized. With a bit of finger pressure from the back , it adjusted the light ok.

[ludikris]

Just done all of my adjusters to get '99 1.8 through MOT.

Both outer ones had seized spindles
Both inner spindles were seized and one cog was effectively stripped, the other loose.

With headlights on bench (easy job, unhook side lights, undo three screws AND undo the top bumper screw in the rubber block.) This allows you to flex the plastic a little and eases headlight removal.

Outer ones responded to WD 40 and gentle tapping onto end of spindle whilst easing alley key back and forth

Loose plastic wheel was cleaned out and Araldited back into position - using washer of polythene sheet to stop it gluing to main housing.

Semi-stripped one was eased up and unseized. With a bit of finger pressure from the back , it adjusted the light ok.
lol seems kinda complicated. ill take them out and see what i can do. thanks.

[caldirun]

Hey i went outside to try and find this auto adjuster and could not find it at all. not sure if i mentioned the model of my car, but it is a 98 passat 1.8t. would it still have that adjuster bc i can't find it
Its a headlight level adjuster and its on the dash to the right of the steering wheel and next to the dash illumination adjuster. It is used to lower the headlamp aim when you have a heavy boot load (so of no use for your problem!)

[muddy]

I have to put the auto level switch up to get my lights to show me where im going , no one flashes me ,so i guess they are just below the legal requirement.

you can get at the adjuster pin if you take the plastic jog wheels off and use a tool to move them manually.
---------------------------------------------------
A bit of misunderstanding about the function of the height adjuster wheel?

With the wheel at the 0 or - position, the lights are set at 'normal' height and this what a UK MOT tester should check on the beam pattern box that he slides in front of each headlight during the test.

Any movement of the wheel (to 1, 2 or 3 marking) LOWERS the headlight beams so the driver can compensate for a heavy load in the boot.
None of the positions RAISE the beams above the normal setting.

You can get at the pins by destroying the cogs .... but try to free the shafts first before going for more drastic measures.

And if your adjusters are OK at present (i.e. not yet seized due to corrosion on the shaft) then put some oil or WD40 on the joint between the big cog and the black plastic headlight shell.

[SilentBob]

Hi,

Whilst trying to get this year's MOT, I have found out that I am missing the plastic cog/wheel from both height adjuster shafts.

Reading the responses on here seems to indicate that this shaft should rotate in order to make the adjustments, and that there is no need for the cog to do this. However I am now very confused. :confused:

From my looking at it, it looks to me like the adjustment is the moving/pulling in or out of this shaft, not the rotational movement. Even if the rotation does perform a sort of "fine tune" adjustment, then it looks like something is still needed for that initial pulling back of the shaft.

Am I completely misunderstanding what is required? I have tried to find a diagram of the adjustment mechanism, but wasn't particularly surprised not to find anything.

Now, it did cross my mind to visit a breakers and see if I could pull these cogs off another car. But my bet is that (if they don't break trying to pull them off) they would no longer be tight enough on the shaft to do their job.

Perhaps a wing nut of just the right size over the shaft (so that the thread just cuts into the shaft) would be enough to hold it whilst remaining adjustable?

[ddave05]

http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=90058