HID headlight alignment

[JamesL]

I installed my HIDs yesterday, so took my car to the VW garage right opposite my work at lunch. When I went to pick it up they told me they could only align the drivers side? So I asked to speak to the techie that did it as they service man was talking rubbish, and he basically said there was no beam pattern from my n/s bulb, said it was just emitting a 'blob' of light basically, he tried adjusting it anyway but no luck. Anyone else had any trouble with alignment?

He suggested refitting the original bulb and seeing if I could get a kick up from the n/s bulb, but on the way home I thought I was looking at a kick up! The only thing I thought was that the bulb may not have been fully warmed up when he tried it? How long do they take to heat up?

He also said if the normal bulbs dont kick up then it must be the headlight.

 

[Fl@pper]

The only thing I thought was that the bulb may not have been fully warmed up when he tried it? How long do they take to heat up?

He also said if the normal bulbs dont kick up then it must be the headlight.

takes seconds to warm up to be honest - by the time you tun em on and go round the front to adjust em they are pretty much ready

might be a reflector or cap missing - or even not fitted in right? make sure the are flat or even swap to a standard bulb or side to side to narrow it down

 

[Phil K]

Don't think alignment is a common problem tbh - are you sure the lamp is seated correctly?

Anyone elso had problems with the near side?

 

[JamesL]

That was my only other thought - When I installed them I may have just clipped them in and it had slipped and twisted or something. I know the way the wires had been folded they were pulling the bulb, but thought I'd corrected it. I'll check it in the light tomorrow and see what its like. I'm hoping I've done it wrong to be honest - I dont fancy sending it back to hong kong

 

[bozwellox]

Does your beam pattern look like the one in this post: http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=147653&highlight=diane-shop

If so, mine does too (i.e. the beam doesn't slope up to the left like it used to). I haven't had my allignment checked yet (getting it done next week) so don't know if this is likely to be a problem for the MOT.

Would be interested to hear from other people if they have the same pattern (i.e. a pretty flat line from right to left).

By the way, mine were from Diane-Shop on Ebay.

 

[RikH]

me and beezasport fitted mine
i put it in for MOT, and they adjusted it during the test as they were too low
so now they are aligned they are even better and 100% LEGAL (without headlight washers which was bounded about recently)

 

[bozwellox]

me and beezasport fitted mine
i put it in for MOT, and they adjusted it during the test as they were too low
so now they are aligned they are even better and 100% LEGAL (without headlight washers which was bounded about recently)

How about the kickup (I think that is the term) on the passenger side? Does it kink up towards the kerb? Mine always used to but since fitting the HIDs they don't, it is level all the way accross. Not much of a problem in terms of visibility as I don't really need to see the hedge I'm driving next to illuminated, but just wondering if other people have noticed the same thing.

 

[JamesL]

Thats what the techie was saying, that there was no kickup and so he couldnt get a decent reference position. I havent had chance to have a proper look but I did see what I thought was kick up on the way home last night - although I must just be imagining it as I'm sure the dealer would have seen it! It does seem to be pretty similar to what I remember my dads standard xenons being like though.

miner were from diane shop too. They must just have been made without the kick up bit on them! RikH, have you got the kick up, or was anything mentioned when you had the alignment done?

 

[JamesL]

Just been out and checked my lights, the n/s is in properly and was when I got there, so I reckon that it must be that the bulb doesn't have the kickup on it. Which is a little annoying, but not the end of the world I suppose, as long as it passes the MOT.

I had my ballast on the n/s in the little shelf under the bulb cover, and found it today in a little puddle of water :s

 

[RikH]

How about the kickup (I think that is the term) on the passenger side? Does it kink up towards the kerb? Mine always used to but since fitting the HIDs they don't, it is level all the way accross. Not much of a problem in terms of visibility as I don't really need to see the hedge I'm driving next to illuminated, but just wondering if other people have noticed the same thing.

i now have a flat top beam of light all the way across and 1 noticeable kick-up on the kerb side

 

[Number86]

Speaking of bulbs. The ones from Diane's are fixed into wires, which then plug into the ballast. When you order a new bulb, would this then come with fixed wiring??

 

[lc_allan]

Speaking of bulbs. The ones from Diane's are fixed into wires, which then plug into the ballast. When you order a new bulb, would this then come with fixed wiring??

They do , got a spare set this week from them.

 

[edmong]

The kick up needs to be up towards the kerb. The kick up needs to start between the 0% and 2% VERTICAL dotted lines.

I fitted my diane-shop ones and noticed the kick up was crap on the nearside and was going to go down the route of projector headlights.

Yesterday I was at a MOT station doing some work and decided to check the allignment again. This is what I will advise that anyone checking there allignment does:-

1. Make sure the lens is spotless, dirt will and crap will chuck the beam pattern out.

2. Get the car as close to the beam setting equipment as possible, HIDS (standard and aftermarket) need to be close to enable a good pattern.

If this is done and the MOT tester knows what there doing (most of them dont!) then you can allign them correctly and get a good pattern. I did this to mine yesterday like I said above and got a great pattern. But like I als said it was only on the N/S that I had he problem.

Hope this helps.

 

[Phil K]

Kick up is down to the reflector in the head light rather than the lamps AFAIK...

have just recieved my kit from Diane shop so will be able to post my comments on them by the end of the week...

I'd assume that if the standard H7's line up correctly then just changing the lamps shouldn't alter things too much and if a loss of kick up on the nr side does occur then thats just the nature of HID's with our headlights...

So long as I can see better and don't get flashed from oncoming traffic I'll be happy until MOT time although if I'd known that beam pattern would suffer I'd have thought twice about buying them

 

[lc_allan]

Who gives a **** about the beam pattern though seriously.?

1. They pass an MOT no problems and can be adjusted slightly anyway.
2. They are currently causing no bother to other motorists.
3. They perform much better than the original bulbs and light up the road a lot better.

I don't care if the beam is slightly to the left or has a funny pattern out of the lense as long as the above 3 are met.

 

[RikH]

i dont have dianneshop ones but my HID's are STREETS better than any H7 halogen, which is what you want when upgrading your headlights

 

[JamesL]

PhilK, the beams dont suffer at all, they are miles better than halogens, just the kick up isnt as noticable, but when you headlights are so much better than standard anyway its not that much of an issue at all.

I thought that beam pattern came from the headlight rather than the bulb, but when I mentioned this to the 'master' techie that did my lights he either wasnt sure or didnt want to commit to saying in case it showed up that he couldnt do them cos he was rubbish!

r6 allan, how much were the replacement bulbs? ta!

 

[lc_allan]

£17.50 delivered.

 

[edmong]

Just going on from my reply above if there is no kick up and just a straight line then this is NOT a reason for failure at MOT.

 

[Phil K]

All good then

Hoping I manage to get home tomorrow or Friday with a bit oof daylight left to get them fitted!