How to align lights?

lip277 said:
I've always just parked my car (at night) pointing at a garage door and... used that for seeing how they were pointed.
That has worked ok for me for the up-down.
The left right - I just see how they looked on the road as I drove around and took it from there.

Yeah - it was kind of an iterative operation.

Then again - I think the last time I adjusted the headlights on any of my cars was... uh... 1986 or so... LOL
Click to expand...
My technique as well, I think real world adjustment > contraption.
 
this interesting combination of details, graphics and texts:



1702393128809.png


the HH line represents tha line of the centers of the lights as they are placed in the car

the line BB is a 50mm lower line parallel to HH (in case that you separate the car from the wall only 5 m)

(if you separate the car 10m from the wall the BB line has to go 100mm below the HH line)



1702393085810.png


1702393181219.png


high beams and also driving ligths

1702393258353.png
 
Back in 1972 when I bought my 2002, I joined the BMWCCA (#1315). The Roundel in the 1970's talked about better headlights, and how to remove the General Motors pollution control stuff that was bolted on the engines. All USA cars had 1940s design sealed beam headlights that gave you about 50 ft of light in the dark. We had places that sold quartz beam Euro lights--H4, H1, H3 bulbs. They came in watts up to 100,and were bright compared to the sealed beam 5 3/4" headlights (round & rectangular) on modern cars, and the 7" lights on the older cars. The quartz lights had to be aligned or you would blind oncoming traffic. I installed Marchal Ampilux twin H1 100 watt bulbs with relays. They both came on for high beams. Then you had aux. lights up to the 8" Cibie Super Oscars that needed to be properly aligned. You could flash your high beams to an oncoming car a quarter mile away to tell them to turn off their high beams. Back then, we were the cars with the bright lights!
Today we are pawns to the LED modern lighting system in almost every car. Even their low beams hit us in the face. And trucks & SUV's have lights that go up on our roof! It doesn't matter where our quartz beams are pointed for oncoming traffic. So adjust your headlights any way you like them. They won't seem bright in today's traffic.
Don't drive at night in a 50-year-old BMW unless necessary. And turn your lights on in the daytime so the trucks and SUVs can see you when you pass them on the highway.
 
Not sure how that apparatus works, but it shows your lights are crooked DQ...
 
Yep, what I meant is that the apparatus is already helping, whatever it shows it is not symmetrical.
 
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