Adjusting headlamps for driving abroad ?

Nothing in the owners manual? Don't know about xenon lights, but on other headlights you can just tape over the lens segments with peel off masking tape.

I don't drive when traveling overseas, but I'm curious - don't all countries use the same high/low adjustment that's built into American cars? I thought it was standard practice to use high beams when driving in little-traveled non-urban areas, and lower them when oncoming traffic is encountered - to avoid blinding approaching drivers. (True, not all American drivers are courteous enough to comply, but SFAIK, there is a built-in switch to allow the driver to do so.)

Headlights in the UK do not dip vertically, they dip to the left. In Europe where they drive on the right, the headlamps dip to the right.

On Sat, 2 Aug 2008 20:32:53 +0100, Alfonso wrote (in article ):

Yes, the original poster doesn't bother to mention that he is posting from the UK, and when he says "driving abroad" he means driving outside the UK.

Johnny foreigner drives on the right, you know ;-)

This is just normal day to day (Or rather night to night) driving.

There should also be an adjustment to the headlight beams for when the car is fully loaded.

tim

Actually not. UK headlights dip to the left - correct. European headlights usually do not have the 'side blip' to light the kerb like UK types, so they rise and fall vertically. Hence the reason why you never see visiting European market cars in the UK with beam masks on their headlights. It isn't ignorance, they are just not needed.

I once has a Renault 12 in which you could fit the headlight bulb in two positions to make it dip left or right. With modern headlights with shaped reflectors and clear lenses this is not possible.

From the OP's point, I thought all Xenon headlights went up and down Europe style? You only need to shine them at the garage door from a yard or so away and you will see if they have the raised left blip on low beam indicative of UK headlights - if they are European the top of the beam will be flat all the way across.

Actually not .... I have a 1994 LHD Volvo 440 which most definitely dips right.

Same with my 307 !! Cars in Europe really do dip right!! With older cars you could very simply see on the pattern of the glass what you needed to cover up to drive in Brittain (or vice versa) but modern cars all have clear glasses without patterns... :-( So I would advise just to lower your lights so that other drivers don't get blinded. There should be better solutions, but I don't know how to find out...

Grtz, Eric B.

That makes sense! (I don't think they do that in the U.S., which may be why there seems to be a fair amount of variation in what constitute "high" and "low" beams.)

Shine your Xenon headlamps against a garage door or other flat vertical surface. You should notice that although they have a horizontal cut off (ahead) and rise to the left, they also then flatten out horizontally and don't just keep on going up to illuminate the nearside kerb, verge etc as with the 'older' type of headlamps. Because of this, when driving on the righthand side of the road, they don't dazzle oncoming drivers. When I took my 56 reg Citroen C5 to France in September 2007 I drove during the hours of darkness on dipped (Xenon) beam and didn't get a 'flash of the headlights' from any oncoming drivers, Gendarmes included. I think your dealer should have been able to give you this information or try Peugeot UK for confirmation. I think you'll find the 'white plastic gear thingy' is for manually adjusting the headlamp levels. If your car doesn't have self levelling suspension you will have the edge of a rotary control which, when revolved, will lower or raise the headlamp level. Have you had any advice from the newsgroup?

When I go to Spain and France I just stick on the beam benders, take them off when I get back, for £7 not worth worrying about. Lofty

Hi Don Ignore previous post, forget what I said about masking tape, there are no lens segments on xenon headlamps. I just found this in the BMW owners manual which may possibly apply to your car as well.

The manual says either get the workshop to do it, or if you wnt to do it yourself: - make sure headlamps are cold and switched off. - remove the cover from the back of the headlights - for driving on the left - raise Lever 1 on left headlamp, lower Lever 1 on right headlamp. - for driving on the right, the opposite, ie lower Lever 1 on left headlamp, raise Lever 1 on right headlamp. There's a diagram of the back of the headlamp with a little lever visible.

Like I suggested, try RTFM.

Yes, sorry about that, I'm resident in the UK but travel on the continent of Europe quite often. Don

If you go to Europe many times a year it can mount up, but if there is a switch or lever of some kind ?? However, I can check the beam pattern to see if it's an up and down dip or a down and left dip as others have suggested. Don Don

OK thanks for that, it's the kind of info I was looking for, unfortunately there's nothing in the manual on the Peugeot 807 exec. Don

:Headlights in the UK do not dip vertically, they dip to the left. In :Europe where they drive on the right, the headlamps dip to the right.

I'm in Australia and we have traditionally (in the main) followed whatever vehicle standards applied in the UK ever since I can remember. All UK vehicles I had any experience with (Austin. Morris, Standard Vanguard etc. etc.) always had dual lamp headlights. One set for High Beam and one for Low Beam, and there has been no change at all that I can see in the mode of operation. Yes, it is true that when dipped, the Low Beam lamps are adjusted slightly to the left, or kerb side, and the High Beam lamps are normally adjusted much higher and straight ahead. Dipping from High beam to Low Beam simply switches off the lamps which are aimed higher and straight ahead. As far as I know all current UK cars we get do the same - nothing has altered.

I have a Pug 2006 2.0L 307 HDi and exactly the same principle applies. Each headlamp has 2 bulbs. The inner bulb is High Beam and the outer bulb is Low Beam. Primary adjustment for these beams I assume is purely by mechanical adjustment on the lamp mounting assembly in the same manner as it was on muy older vehicles. Dipping simply switches off the two High Beam lamps, which are aimed higher and straight ahead, and leaves the outer Low Beam, which is aimed lower and to the left.

There is a small rotary headlight adjustment on the dash so that the beam can be adjusted vertically to compensate for traailer towing where the extra weight on the rear would lift the beams and blind oncoming drivers. I would be surprised if a similar vintage 807 didn't also have this control.

Some Xenon headlights have a fairly obvious lever that changes them between left and right hand dip. Others are fixed to one or the other and can only be changed with beam deflectors.

Colin Bignell

See if there is a removeable plastic cover on the back of the headlamp, and if there's a lever inside.