Headlight aim
 

Can someone post how to adjust aim on headlights? I have one that is a smidge low.

I thought the headlights were self leveling call you daeler

Re: Headlight aim
 

If it's the driver's side one that seems low, then you might just be observing the Xenon's Z-pattern... the cutoff is lower on the driver's side to avoid blinding oncoming traffic on your left.

I suppose this must be reversed for those countries that drive on the wrong side of the road...?

Does anyone know how to adjust the headlights?

Like Blue Flash said- they're self-leveling, so Mazda didn't make them "consumer adjustable". If you really want to try it yourself, the procedure is in the shop manual, IIRC.

I saw in a thread from last October Canzoomer was going to post the procedure from the manual but never did. I presumed the autoleveling feature compensated for load. Therefore if the aim is off the autoleveling feature won't help. Since I don't have a shop manual yet I was hoping some helpful soul that had one would shed a little light (pun)

I still haven't ordered my manual yet either, or I'd share. I think I'll do that this week...

Haven't gone back to the dealer yet, but I think that my right headlight is way too low. Anyone else notice that the aim isn't high enough to read the big interstate signs? I blew a stop sign in a residential neighborhood because the light didn't reach high enough to illuminate to the top of the pole.

Re: Re: Headlight aim
 

Thanks G8rboy. I've been wondering why my driver-side light seems aimed a bit lower than passenger. Makes sense. I feel better now.

From memory the actual headlight adjustment is done with a phillips screwdriver, but I think you should have your dealer adjust them for you, seeing it is still a relatively new car. They will adjust them so they are within legal limits, so you don't have to worry about people trying to take you to court for blinding them (popular passtime these days).

Had to have mine adjusted, unfortunately it didn't fix the problem. If I were to shine my lights on a wall the pattern I would see would look something like this:



___________-------------------""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""



Don't know how that will look when it's posted, but basically my light pattern steps up 2 levels from left to right.

Not sure what the problem is.

I seem to have the same problem in reverse. I constantly have drivers flashing thier lights at me.....thinking I have the high beam on.

I will get this checked at the 10 000k service

The self-leveling sensor appears to be measuring suspension travel and so I'd agree that it is probably applying a compensation for load to the base adjustment. When I first heard about it I figured they meant auto-levelling for vehicle angle relative to the horizon but I suppose you'd need gyros and pendulous vanes for that!

The headlight adjustment is made from behind the assembly. Access to the adjustment screw(s) appears to require removal of the front bumper.

There is a significant amount of warnings about electrical shock and that 25,000 volts are present.

For this reason I have to suggest that anyone interested in an adjustment either take it for service or get their own copy of the service manual. I don't want to be responsible for injury by not having included the proper instructions or *all* of the proper instructions.

thats the way a cutoff line SHOULD be with projector xenons...

it will never be a straight line like you would imagine...

the driver side will always be slightly lower than the passenger side to prevent blinding of oncoming traffic

I would like to correct my last post, there is no need to initialize the levelling unit (I was thinking of Mazda6).

Adjusting the headlights is as easy as twisting a phillips screwdriver, clockwise to adjust up, and anti-clockwise to adjust down. There is a round protrusion coming out the back of your headlight, with a hole in the top for this. Make sure you finish off by screwing in the clockwise direction, otherwise the adjuster may back off and you headlight adjustment will change (probably what your dealer did).

You need a white board or wall 9.8 feet away, and to mark the center position of the lights on it. Point X (below) of the headlight beam should be about an inch below the center position you marked on the board for each headlight. Leave the engine running while you do this, or your battery may go flat (there should be one person in the driver's seat too).

.................................../----------------------------------------
............not................./
....illuminated............../ illuminated area
............................./
_______________X
|
|
|
|__________________________________________

Don't adjust them too high!

Many thanks

This subject continues to amuse me. Here we are, in a country that prides itself in its level of technology, and we're only now coming out of the dark ages in terms of vehicle lighting. The rest of the world has had Z-beam halogen and HID lights for years, yet it's all new and exciting (and confusing, apparently) here.

(I installed my first set of aftermarket Z-beam Cibiés back in the early 80's.)

We've had fuel injection for 38 years, the light bulb for 126 years, and the differential for 177 years.

I bet you just fall over laughing when you hear stories about those!

Can YOU adjust your own headlights?

I can now. :)

Not all the RX-8's are self- leveling. Those that are with the GS trim in Canada have normal halogen headlights and don't have this feature.

Sure I can, now that I know where the adjuster is.

I'd fall about laughing if other contries had government agencies that prevented their citizens from using those technologies, sure. It's not about who invented what or how long ago, it's about utilizing available technology rather than forcing citizens to remain in the dark ages.

Until recently the DoT has forced us all to drive around with useless little puddles of light six feet in front of our cars, despite far better technology being available for years. And now that we're actually allowed lights that - shock, horror - light up the road more than twenty feet away, we all assume there must be something wrong because there's no puddle of light on the pavement right in front of the car.

Sorry, I mistook your previous post as criticizm for not knowing how to adjust your own headlights. I understand it wasn't now. Point taken, and agreed upon.

Mr. M, are you saying there's a way to get to the adjuster without removing the bumper? I can't see any access. There is a hole in the drain rail but doesn't look like you can reach the adjuster through it. Am I missing something?

Is it possible for someone to take some pictures and post a official DIY thread on our DIY Forum ? I think a lot of members will be benefited from this. Thanks !

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