Name : Dmitry Joined : 2016-08-28Post Count : 252 Merit : 11
Subject: High beam shoots to the left - is that normal? Fri May 07, 2021 3:39 pm
Is that normal? I have my low beam adjusted to my taste and suddenly I noticed, that my highs are beaming waaay to the left. I'm puzzled.
albertj Master
Name : Location : Finger Lakes of New York State Joined : 2007-05-31Post Count : 8688 Merit : 181
Subject: Re: High beam shoots to the left - is that normal? Fri May 07, 2021 10:01 pm
check if your high beam bulb is mis-installed
DeepFrozen Fanatic
Name : Dmitry Joined : 2016-08-28Post Count : 252 Merit : 11
Subject: Re: High beam shoots to the left - is that normal? Sat May 08, 2021 3:54 am
albertj wrote:
check if your high beam bulb is mis-installed
This is kinda insulting, you know ) It is really hard to install incorrectly both bulbs. Four of them, for that matter ) In fact, I removed the headlights completely to make sure all the bulbs installed as they should be. All bulbs are Philips White Visions, not some crooked LED crap from the AliExpress.
Guys, why don't you check your high beams against a wall?
Last edited by DeepFrozen on Sat May 08, 2021 9:02 pm; edited 1 time in total
Jack the R Master
Joined : 2007-01-16Post Count : 8074 Merit : 105
Subject: Re: High beam shoots to the left - is that normal? Sat May 08, 2021 4:44 pm
Because I rarely drive at night - but one of mine is definitely misadjusted.
Doesn't the Riv have screws for adjusting the alignment of the headlights?
DeepFrozen Fanatic
Name : Dmitry Joined : 2016-08-28Post Count : 252 Merit : 11
Subject: Re: High beam shoots to the left - is that normal? Sat May 08, 2021 9:24 pm
Of course it does, like any other car. But you can't adjust the high and low beam separately. The headlamp assembly is a single unit and the relative position of the low beam and high beam is predetermined and can't be changed..
albertj Master
Name : Location : Finger Lakes of New York State Joined : 2007-05-31Post Count : 8688 Merit : 181
Subject: Re: High beam shoots to the left - is that normal? Sun May 09, 2021 11:16 pm
DeepFrozen wrote:
albertj wrote:
check if your high beam bulb is mis-installed
This is kinda insulting, you know ) It is really hard to install incorrectly both bulbs. Four of them, for that matter ) In fact, I removed the headlights completely to make sure all the bulbs installed as they should be. All bulbs are Philips White Visions, not some crooked LED crap from the AliExpress.
Guys, why don't you check your high beams against a wall?
No insult was intended. The metal on the socket is kinda sharp. If a bulb base tab gets cut, the bulb can't align correctly in the socket. That's all. Because it's a parabolic reflector and a functional lens, a slight misalignment will change the beam pattern a lot.
There is one other thing - on the old US DOT lenses part of the pattern on the lens was intended to beam light to the sides and up to illuminate reflective road and highway signs.
DeepFrozen Fanatic
Name : Dmitry Joined : 2016-08-28Post Count : 252 Merit : 11
Subject: Re: High beam shoots to the left - is that normal? Mon May 10, 2021 4:44 am
Albert, you don't really think, that both of my high beam bulbs are misaligned, do you? ) I tend to think that my headlights are Ok and they all are like mine, but nobody notices, that high beam shifted to the left (for unclear reasons).
albertj Master
Name : Location : Finger Lakes of New York State Joined : 2007-05-31Post Count : 8688 Merit : 181
Subject: Re: High beam shoots to the left - is that normal? Mon May 10, 2021 10:05 am
DeepFrozen wrote:
Albert, you don't really think, that both of my high beam bulbs are misaligned, do you? ) I tend to think that my headlights are Ok and they all are like mine, but nobody notices, that high beam shifted to the left (for unclear reasons).
I could not answer further without inspecting the headlights myself. Really, there are two things on the table so to speak. One is that metal on the socket is kinda sharp. If a bulb base tab gets cut, the bulb can't align correctly in the socket. That's all. Because it's a parabolic reflector and a functional lens, a slight misalignment will change the beam pattern a lot. The bulb will feel like it's installed OK but it's not, and because of the fluted lensyou can't really easily tell that the bulb is in correctly. I mean, you can figure it out but you can't just glance at it.
The other thing, again, is that these are old-style US DOT spec lenses on these headlights. On the old US DOT style lenses part of the pattern on the lens was intended to beam light to the sides and up to illuminate reflective road and highway signs. It is if the lens was made up of dozens of tiny lenses grouped together, each lens beaming part of the available light to a different place. More insight can be found by reading the documents linked to Daniel Stern's DOT light page, here: http://www.danielsternlighting.com/nhtsa/NHTSA.html
All that said, here is what you absolutely can do (and I presume you already did): use these guidelines to aim your US-sec headlights. From the video, things look OK BUT again I am not there to inspect headlights so I don't really know. Here you are: https://haynes.com/en-us/tips-tutorials/how-adjust-your-headlight-aim-emergency, or this: https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/r/car-projects/how-to-aim-and-adjust-headlights - the instructions are essentially the same. You are "aiming" the obvious 'hot spots' (bright, intense areas of light) that the headlights project forward. Again, the old US DOT spec headlight lenses put light all over the place. Part of the Riv's light even seems to cast a low, wide pattern like fog lamps. But the point here is once the bulbs are properly installed and headlights properly aimed then you are done, and the lenses do put lots of light in areas you would not expect if you were used to the pattern thrown by Euro-spec reflectors and lenses.
Sponsored content
Subject: Re: High beam shoots to the left - is that normal?