Adjusting MK1 C5 headlights

[SwissSPEC]

Has anyone ever adjusted the beam on MK1 C5 headlights before? If you have, can you describe how to do it please? I've had this car for a while now, but have always found the beam brightness great, but it just doesn't extend very far in front of the car which seems quite poor in my view. I should be able to get it to go another 20 metres at least to make it safer & easier to drive at night. Any hints or tips would be gratefully received, lets hope this task doesn't take as long as changing the bulbs did, that was awful. 1.5hrs of my life lost, but at least next time it should be quite a bit quicker, i prefer the BX one's, 2minutes max.

[BX]

Adjusting the lamp is simple. The adjusters for vertical adjustment are clearly visible from the top when the bonnet is opened. They are just beside the top mounting bracket. You will need an Allen key, 6mm I think. However both main and dipped beam adjust together. If you raise the beam you may fail the annual test.

[SwissSPEC]

Many thanks, i'll have a looksey when there is some daylight

[SwissSPEC]

I had a look, & there is a small screw hole white plastic bit which i think BX was referring to? Further behind the headlight, there is a larger white plastic hex bolt which appears to be part of the whole mechanism, is it easier to move this than the small bit?

[RichardW]

I'd be surprised if they are that far out - they get checked pretty tightly at the MOT. Drive it right up to a wall on level ground, put the lights on dip, note where the lights hit the wall, then drive straight backwards - the centre of the beam should stay more or less in the same place. You may find that adjusting the LH light left a bit so it highlights the edge of the road a bit better will help. Fitting uprated bulbs, and possibly uprating the wiring with relays will help enormously!

[BX]

If I get a chance I will post a picture. The one which is accessed from the top is for up down adjustment of the beam. The one on the back of the lamp is for left right adjustment if we are thinking of the same one. The dip beam on a vehicle with the headlamps at the height of a normal car should decline at 1.25%. That means for every metre the beam should drop by 1.25cm. For example, on level ground if the car is facing a wall and the cut off of the dip beam is at 20cm from the ground. Moving the car back 4M should result in the cut off being 15cm from the ground.
The attached link is to the NCT testing manual. Go to page 47, 48, and 49. The tests are mostly standard throughout the EU. In countries where the testing is carried out by individual garages who may also carry out repairs there is possibly more make it up as you go along.
http://www.rsa.ie/Documents/NCT/NCT%20M ... 202014.pdf

[Gibbo2286]

The easiest way is to pop into where you get your mot done and ask them to check and adjust them, they'll often do it for free but in any case it won't cost a lot and you will be sure it's right.

[Stickyfinger]

The easiest way is to pop into where you get your mot done and ask them to check and adjust them, they'll often do it for free but in any case it won't cost a lot and you will be sure it's right.

This.....The easiest way........also the Best way for me as another road user, the last thing I need coming the other way is a guess or a thumb lined up on a garage door

[daviemck2006]

Because when it's a guess or a thumb then someone coming the other way could bounce off a crash barrier and write off their C5
Or could go off thr road and be killed. My pet hate now is bad lights for obvious reasons.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

[old-un77]

agree with that Davie,...............and "motorbikes" with four wheels should be given no more than 7 days to get the defective lights fixed, or else!!!

[SwissSPEC]

Managed to adjust them today, a major improvement, no one flashed me, so i'm assuming they are fine, but will get them double checked. No idea why, but they hardly lit up the front of the road before, totally dangerous in my view at anything above 30mph.

[Stickyfinger]

Are you sure the bulb is seated correctly in its holder ? , it is easy to get it misaligned in the holder....Halfords managed it twice.

[SwissSPEC]

After spending 1.5hrs doing them, i can confirm they are seated correctly, initially they weren't which i'd spotted & the clip wouldn't lock into place because of this. Who knows what jokers have done to this car prior to my ownership. There are quite a few clips, lugs etc smashed or missing, so either a diyer who was heavy handed or just idiots who didn't care. I even managed to get the split tailgate to open up manually today after i noticed the rear number plate light unit appeared loose, so took the rear boot trim off which was easy as most of the clips were missing So tomorrow i'll take the 3rd brake light out & give it a clean & try and make it water tight as there is condensation inside it.