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Poor LED Performance - 1 Solution

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Can someone measure the beam height off a wall or garage door so I know how high to set mine?

Measure the distance from the ground to the center of the low beam reflectors on the car. Assuming a level surface, the cutoff of the headlights should be a few inches below your measured value. If it’s too low then you’re not lighting up enough of the road. Too high and you’re blinding everyone.
 
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The first thing that I remember surprising me about the Model S was that it’s LED headlights were rated very poorly. When I first got my car out at night, the headlights were bad - so I agreed. There was nice white light, but it was not spread out enough and anything over 30mph I would be out-driving them, which is extremely dangerous. I do a lot of back country road driving where it’s true pitch black and there are no street lights. Aux lights are not uncommon.

I did my usual research and all I could find on TMC was people complaining that their nose cone HID headlights were aimed too high and people were flashing at them. As I have the LED and they’re the opposite of too high this didn’t really apply. However, I noted where they adjusted their headlights up and down and went out and tried it.

Well the difference is astonishing. I went from having the worst headlights I’ve ever had, to having headlights equivalent to what I consider to have the best HID headlights ever made (Honda s2k). I understand in detail the differences between HID, LED, and halogen, so I had the right expectations going into this.

This post is more a PSA that Tesla is not adjusting all cars’ headlights at the factory, so if you’re not satisfied with the light output, check your alignment - it literally took me 4 minutes! And please please please be careful not to blind oncoming traffic! Too high and you waste light going off into the sky. Too low and you can’t see down the road.

Here is the data from IIHS for a 2017 Model S with LED headlights ... 2017 Tesla Model S

upload_2018-7-7_21-1-0.png


upload_2018-7-7_21-2-58.png
 
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I too am in total agreement. I knew about the poor headlights and confirmed it the very night I drove back home from delivery. That was September 2017.

That being said, I've had both headlights replaced under warranty in January 2018 as they had condensation problems and noticed the replacement headlights were much more powerful. SC confirmed this as they told me they had a better technology headlight introduced end of 2017. On a winter drive to Sudbury, ON at night I validated the much improved quality of lighting, but as you mentioned I too thought they were pointed too low.

So I asked from SC an upwards adjustment of about 2'' from 20' and validated this improvement on a all-nighter road trip to the Carolinas in April 2018, and I can say the lighting was absolutely supreme, even in wet and foggy conditions.

This is a simple adjustment everyone with Model S LED headlights should perform for improved safety.
Could you please post the part number from the service invoice?
 
Parts Replaced or Added
Corrections: Headlight Assembly - RH
effectuer remplacement des phares avant du a la condensation
Part Quantity
HD/LP ASY, SAE UP-LEVEL, RH (1053571-
00-D)
Part Quantity
HD/LP ASY, SAE UP-LEVEL, LH (1053570-
00-D)
 
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Now that the panel is off, look at the back of the headlight and you will see a round piece of white plastic (the rest of the headlight is black so it stands out). You can put a Phillips head screwdriver into this and screw up - this is how you adjust the headlights.
  • COUNTER CLOCKWISE goes up
  • CLOCKWISE goes down.
Count the number of revolutions of your screwdriver so you can fine tune it. That’s really it. I put them up 3 full turns and went for a drive and it was astonishing the difference

Thanks for the instructions... :cool:
Just a note that the cars with coil suspension are equipped with auto-leveling headlights, so only the left/right aim is adjustable.

Lighting Component Description Headlight Assembly

1. Blade-light - Daytime Running Light (DRL) mode or as a sidelight
2. Low and high beam headlight
3. Turn signal

The following headlight configurations are available:

· D3S, 35W High-Intensity Discharge unit - USA and Canadian specification
· D8S, 25W High-Intensity Discharge unit - European specification
· HB3 Halogen bulb

NOTE: Headlight leveling motors are fitted to cars with coil spring suspension.

The assembly is secured to the carrier and fender by 4 bolts. In addition to the headlight bulb or High-Intensity Discharge (HID) unit, the headlight also includes LEDs for the Daytime Running Lights (DRL), parking lights, and turn signals. The blade light in the headlight assembly can function as either a DRL or as a sidelight.

NOTE: The halogen bulb, the HID bulb, and the HID burner can be replaced.

For cars with air suspension, the headlight beams are adjustable for height and left/right aim. Cars with coil suspension are equipped with auto-leveling headlights, so only the left/right aim is adjustable. The headlight assembly is non-serviceable and must be replaced as an assembly.

upload_2018-7-8_11-24-29.png
 
So I measured my current setup adjusted by Tesla SvC.

From 10' away, driver side headlight's top cutoff was at 28'', passenger side top cutoff at 32''.

Slight bias upwards but not to the point where high beams would be irrelevant.

Here's a pic of the pattern from 10ft away:
IMG_20180710_2228354.jpg


Now the low beams on the road:
IMG_20180710_2236346.jpg


Same place, high beams:
IMG_20180710_2236428.jpg


And finally a side view of the lighting bias:
IMG_20180710_2248148.jpg


All in all, easy fix, great improvement! :)
 
So I measured my current setup adjusted by Tesla SvC.

From 10' away, driver side headlight's top cutoff was at 28'', passenger side top cutoff at 32''.

Slight bias upwards but not to the point where high beams would be irrelevant.

Here's a pic of the pattern from 10ft away:View attachment 316078

Now the low beams on the road:
View attachment 316079

Same place, high beams:
View attachment 316080

And finally a side view of the lighting bias:
View attachment 316081

All in all, easy fix, great improvement! :)
In the garage measurement, it might be important to know where your suspension was set.
 
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I finally had a chance to do this on my 16 S. I can vouch for much better low beam illumination. It seems to come at a slight cost of excessively high, high beams. I consider it a worthwhile trade though. I believe that the lights are aimed too low from the factory.

The process is very easy. The panels slip on and off quickly. I marked the plastic screws at one end to more easily see how much I was turning each one. I also used 3 counterclockwise turns.

Thanks for the tip!
 
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So I measured my current setup adjusted by Tesla SvC.

From 10' away, driver side headlight's top cutoff was at 28'', passenger side top cutoff at 32''.
Just checked mine, set from the factory (I assume, I never adjusted them), and this is very close to what I have. Perhaps a little lower on the passenger side.

Maybe it's not a universal problem, but then I have never understood why people were complaining about the headlights -- maybe mine were properly adjusted so I had no issues.