Model 3 headlights physically tilt with high beams - video proof

[ratsbew]

I've never heard this mentioned or seen it documented. The Model 3's headlights tilt upward when you select high beams and lower when you go back to low beams. See video below:

I wonder if this was the fix to the recent IIHS headlight rating upgrade?

 

[tivoboy]

Certainly there are some in vehicle adjustments that can be done but some of what one sees in a test like this is the short duration beam warm up and stabilization.

 

[ratsbew]

They are LED so there shouldn't be any of that. I think they are using the beam adjust mechanism to help throw light farther.

 

[artsci]

What that shoes is the difference in the projected light from low and high beam. There's no mechanical "tilt" just the difference in the beam projection.

 

[css28]

I suspect they're referring to the visible translation of the new pattern in the first second after the switch--upward after switching to "hi" and downward after switching to "low"

 

[scaesare]

Many projector style/HID lights have mechanical "shades" that move up and down inside the headlight assembly. It's not practical to have a second "hi-beam" HID projector that turns on and off with each transition like incandescent headlights used to have … that would burn out lamps and ballasts too quickly. So the lamp itself is in "high" all the time, and the shade simply moves in to the light path to change the beam pattern.

The headlights them selves do not move. Pieces inside them do.

On edit: I should add that LED's can have second sets of emitters just for high-beam, so don't need the movable shade mechanism. They can transition on/off instantly for 100,000's of cycles with no issues....

 

[css28]

Many projector style/HID lights have mechanical "shades" that move up and down inside the headlight assembly. It's not practical to have a second "hi-beam" HID projector that turns on and off with each transition like incandescent headlights used to have … that would burn out lamps and ballasts too quickly. So the lamp itself is in "high" all the time, and the shade simply moves in to the light path to change the beam pattern.

The headlights them selves do not move. Pieces inside them do.

Have you even viewed the video?

 

[scaesare]

Have you even viewed the video?

Yes.

I'm not averse to being wrong, so what do you see in it that contradicts what I say?

 

[Needsdecaf]

Yes.

I'm not averse to being wrong, so what do you see in it that contradicts what I say?

I agree, I'm not sure what in this video indicates that something in the headlights is moving.

If it's LED's than it's likely that additional LED's are simply turning on.

Mercedes Matrix LED headlights have 84 individual units to make a "shaped pattern" that can go low beam, high beam, illuminate the shoulder, etc. BMW's new Laser Lights, as Audi's laser lights, operate in a similar fashion.

Older Xenon projector-style lights did use cutoff shutters that would raise to allow light out from the top of the projector assembly. My old Volvo had reflector Xenons, which actually DID tilt up. The whole assembly rotated. However that was pretty rare. The cutoff assembly was more common for projector-style xenons. There weren't too many reflector style xenons as it was difficult to control the lighting pattern. Easier with a projector that has a cutoff.

 

[css28]

Yes.

I'm not averse to being wrong, so what do you see in it that contradicts what I say?

There appear to be two "stages" to the transition. Instantaneously the pattern changes, then there's a slow translation in each direction that lasts a second or so after the first. I suppose that the shutter might move quickly then slowly, but that wasn't my impression.

 

[scaesare]

I agree, I'm not sure what in this video indicates that something in the headlights is moving.

If it's LED's than it's likely that additional LED's are simply turning on.

Mercedes Matrix LED headlights have 84 individual units to make a "shaped pattern" that can go low beam, high beam, illuminate the shoulder, etc. BMW's new Laser Lights, as Audi's laser lights, operate in a similar fashion.

Older Xenon projector-style lights did use cutoff shutters that would raise to allow light out from the top of the projector assembly. My old Volvo had reflector Xenons, which actually DID tilt up. The whole assembly rotated. However that was pretty rare. The cutoff assembly was more common for projector-style xenons. There weren't too many reflector style xenons as it was difficult to control the lighting pattern. Easier with a projector that has a cutoff.

I have also heard of a few where the reflector changed angle. But same thing... an element inside the headlamp moves... not the headlamp assembly itself.

 

[scaesare]

I suppose that the shutter might move quickly then slowly, but that wasn't my impression.

I suspect that's exactly what's happening. Slamming in to the stop probably ain't good for longevity.

 

[jerry33]

This is not new. The 2CV also moved the headlights to go from dim to bright.

 

[Needsdecaf]

I suspect that's exactly what's happening. Slamming in to the stop probably ain't good for longevity.

I suspect that it may be a combination of cutoffs and additional LED lamps. With LED's I'm more inclined to believe it's simply additional lamps however I do see the quick / slow phenomenon which would indicate that there may be a cutoff moving.

Regardless, I don't think the actual lamp assemblies move.

 

[StealthP3D]

I suspect that it may be a combination of cutoffs and additional LED lamps. With LED's I'm more inclined to believe it's simply additional lamps however I do see the quick / slow phenomenon which would indicate that there may be a cutoff moving.

Regardless, I don't think the actual lamp assemblies move.

It looks to me like more than a simple cut-off is moving. Xenon lights use a shutter type cut-off that moves as fast as a camera shutter. I suspect the Model 3 uses a servo motor to move the LED's. It could probably be answered definitively with a short video using a DSLR shot directly into the headlights.

 

[mswlogo]

Many projector style/HID lights have mechanical "shades" that move up and down inside the headlight assembly. It's not practical to have a second "hi-beam" HID projector that turns on and off with each transition like incandescent headlights used to have … that would burn out lamps and ballasts too quickly. So the lamp itself is in "high" all the time, and the shade simply moves in to the light path to change the beam pattern.

The headlights them selves do not move. Pieces inside them do.

On edit: I should add that LED's can have second sets of emitters just for high-beam, so don't need the movable shade mechanism. They can transition on/off instantly for 100,000's of cycles with no issues....

I was about to agree with you that it's just a shade but it does sort look like (OP Video) the whole "projection" moves together (not just a "shade"). That the shaded area and lighted area move together.

Could be a shade in there too. But it does look like the whole "projection" is motorized.

Looks like it has two calibration points, one for low and one for high. And it adjusts the projection once it gets into either state.

 

[Saghost]

It looks to me like more than a simple cut-off is moving. Xenon lights use a shutter type cut-off that moves as fast as a camera shutter. I suspect the Model 3 uses a servo motor to move the LED's. It could probably be answered definitively with a short video using a DSLR shot directly into the headlights.

My Volt had the moving cutoff - in EV mode you could hear them click on and off.

I think the OP is correct - there's an instant LED shift, followed by a slower trimming of the angle of the entire cluster.

I've seen several European models that had the whole light trimmed up and down with a lever or knob on the dash, but never anything quite like this.

Matrix lights are clearly the future, if NHTSA signs up to them - you can have high beams all the time and not bother anyone...

 

[StealthP3D]

I think the OP is correct - there's an instant LED shift, followed by a slower trimming of the angle of the entire cluster.

Except that the OP never mentioned a dual stage adjustment. In any case, a video looking into the headlight would likely answer the question. I'm guessing high beam is an additional set of LED's illuminated along with a servo motor to shift either the LED's themselves or a lens assembly/reflector. We do know the physical light assembly body/frame/exterior doesn't move.

 

[ratsbew]

This thread is bonkers. Do any of you actually have a Model 3? Yes, there are extra high beam LEDs that come on. The shift in the low beam pattern is what I'm talking about and there is a servo sound that goes along with it. I'll take some video this weekend to see what's going on in there. I'm 95% sure that it's using the headlight adjustment system to extend the spread of the low beams when using the high beam setting.

I was just trying to show off a previously unknown detail of the Model 3 and this diverged into madness.

 

[StealthP3D]

This thread is bonkers. Do any of you actually have a Model 3? Yes, there are extra high beam LEDs that come on. The shift in the low beam pattern is what I'm talking about and there is a servo sound that goes along with it. I'll take some video this weekend to see what's going on in there. I'm 95% sure that it's using the headlight adjustment system to extend the spread of the low beams when using the high beam setting.

I was just trying to show off a previously unknown detail of the Model 3 and this diverged into madness.

Yes, I agree. And I think some of the "madness" is simply a misunderstanding due to using language imprecisely.

For example, when Saghost said "I think the OP is correct - there's an instant LED shift, followed by a slower trimming of the angle of the entire cluster.", I interpreted the word "shift" to mean a movement from one place to another. I now believe he didn't mean a physical "shift" but rather the illumination of additional LED's. That confused me.

I think we all agree there is a servo moving something (in addition to different clusters of LED's being illuminated). The question is, does it move the LED's, a lens, a reflector or a cut-off?