-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Daniel Scherer
Junior Member
Zapped
Model S - PURE EV
toto_48313
CAN P #5
After the first night trip... I stop by the service center, they made the adjustement, and it's fine now.
Daniel Scherer
Junior Member
Passenger side is way low compared to drivers don't see any access from the back. May adjust from front. Haven't looked that close yet.
Sorry to revive this old thread, but in case others are reading...
DO NOT REMOVE THE RUBBER STOPPERS! The service center showed me how to do this, and it's incredibly easy. There are two plastic covers on either side of the frunk. Gently pull back on the plastic sections closest to the frunk hinges. As you pull it back, it should slide out from underneath the rubber seal around the frunk tub. You do not do anything to the rubber stoppers! Simply pull the plastic up and the rubber stoppers fold up and slide right through the hole. Those rubber stoppers control your frunk hood alignment, so if you adjust or mess with those, you might end up with a misaligned frunk hood.
I have had my Model S for about 14 months now and never had an issue about getting flashed at night until about a month ago. At first I thought it might be a night-time version of the Tesla thumbs up, but in light of this thread and the sudden frequency of the gesture, I will get it checked by a ranger.
I'm still trying to get it so that driving over 30 mph on a dark road doesn't overshoot the lights. Service Centre keeps saying they are perfect, but that just can't be right as I just had a loaner where the lights were adjusted correctly.
Having service adjust your headlights is asking someone to simply guess. Service has no specifications for beam height or any scientific way of adjusting your lights. I watched them do it in Phoenix. They park your car facing the garage door which has red tape on it. They aim your headlights so that the the top of the beam cutoff lines up with the red tape. The red tape represents the headlight level from another car, but there's no way to know if that other car was adjusted property, had coil or air suspension (height differences), etc. So that is why I ended up doing it myself, and to my satisfaction. When the service center did it, I couldn't see past 20 feet in front of the car. They had the lights aimed right into the ground.
TheAustin
Model X 90D (Former Model S P85)
I've had my car for over a year, and I too have drivers in the opposite direction flash me, usually at least once a night. I thought it might be due to the fact that I drive with my fog lights on (I like the extra bit of light). I guess I should turn them off and still see if I get flashed...And if I do, then I guess it's back to the service center...
Forty Creek
Member
My car goes in for service today and headlight adjustment is on the 'to do' list. Sure hope they don't aim them too low. I recall watching one of my previous ICE vehicles while the dealer worked on the lights (don't recall what car). They had a dedicated tool for the job that allowed for specific calibration of each side.
I went through this after I received my car. I worked with the service center to have the lights properly aimed. At that time there was two ways to align the headlights. One of them (From Tesla) included setting the car on level ground ~30 feet from a wall, marking the wall at a specified height, and then re-aiming the lights to that mark. This is almost identical to the aiming instructions I've personally used before from the factory service manuals from Honda and Nissan, I don't think there is anything wrong with it as long as it is followed correctly. M
Many shops also have a headlight aiming device that is placed in-front of the headlight to help adjust the light. It does the same thing, but without the need for the long space, level ground, or the wall.
Whichever they use, they do have to know what they are doing, and both should result in the same headlight aim.
Peter
Many shops also have a headlight aiming device that is placed in-front of the headlight to help adjust the light. It does the same thing, but without the need for the long space, level ground, or the wall.
Whichever they use, they do have to know what they are doing, and both should result in the same headlight aim.
Peter
The Service Centre in Dallas says they use a dedicated tool. It aims the lights way too low. Adjusting the ride height--as part of the annual service--and then setting the headlights didn't make any difference. The bottom line is that I'll have to adjust them myself.
palmer_md
Member
According to this paper, the cutoff should be 2" below centerline of lights at 25'.
http://www.coolbulbs.com/HID-VISUAL-HEADLIGHT-AIMING-PROCEDURE.pdf
http://www.coolbulbs.com/HID-VISUAL-HEADLIGHT-AIMING-PROCEDURE.pdf
Have had my lights adjusted at least 4 times now by SC since getting my car 9 months ago. The official light-height-at-X-feet our SC uses results in frequent flashes. Needed to set it lower than spec not to get flashed so much. Lights now seem well positioned, not too low, not getting flashed so much as at spec height.
Gizmotoy
Active Member
My last car had adjustable-height HIDs you could dial in while in motion. The zero point as factory spec, and you could lower them as desired. I got flashed regularly.
So I decided to do a (decidedly non-scientific) test: start with the highest setting, progressively lowering it over a period of months until the flashes stop. I had Mitsubishi correct my lights to the manufacturer's spec before I started.
Long story short, the flashes didn't stop until the hot spot was pointed at the ground at a distance of 20'. At that distance, that's roughly 2-3' lower than stock. So, huge. Notably, the flashes were ALWAYS from drivers with halogen lights. When your eyes adjust to dimmer yellow halogens, bluish/white HIDs look unusually bright.
So I gave up trying to be accommodating and use the legal height that provides the best visibility for myself.
So I decided to do a (decidedly non-scientific) test: start with the highest setting, progressively lowering it over a period of months until the flashes stop. I had Mitsubishi correct my lights to the manufacturer's spec before I started.
Long story short, the flashes didn't stop until the hot spot was pointed at the ground at a distance of 20'. At that distance, that's roughly 2-3' lower than stock. So, huge. Notably, the flashes were ALWAYS from drivers with halogen lights. When your eyes adjust to dimmer yellow halogens, bluish/white HIDs look unusually bright.
So I gave up trying to be accommodating and use the legal height that provides the best visibility for myself.
Similar threads
