MOT headlamp alignment

==================== I use a piece of 4' x 2' chipboard painted matt black. I prop it up (at 90 degrees) with bricks and have the car on level ground. I can't remember offhand but I think it's wide enough and tall enough to do both headlamps at the same time. I set it up using the centre line of the car and make sure that it's parallel to the front of the car. It's not perfect but it does work and because it's black it's easier to use than a plain brick wall.

Cic.

Also sprach "Cicero" :-

I just mark where a known good car shines on the wall with chalk - and copy it.

Although they are not supposed to make adjustments to your car any MOT tester that didn't check and adjust the headlamps for free just before checking them for the test would be a complete and utter bastard. If he finds it can't be adjusted due to broken adjuster screws or some other fault and it's misaligned then it's a valid reason to fail the car.

Oh, I've got a phone number for that man. Total arse who fails everything then informs the police if you remove your car with a defect. Rv!

IIRC the headlights should be aligned so that the high beam is parallel to the ground or slightly below parallel. I found with the Xantia that firstly you can't align the separate high and low headlights separately and secondly I just tweaked the low beam so that it gave good vision when I was driving. It took a couple of goes to get it right but it's been through 2 MOTs now without further adjustment.

-- Malc

My old ROver failed its MoT on beam alignment (only!)

--Nick.

Cheers everyone, there are some good, simple ideas here that i am sure will get the car through.

thanks again

Nick

Headlight adjustment is usually free, however if the beam is the wrong pattern or the adjusters are snapped or seized there may be a problem. To check, face the car at a wall, the dip pattern should be a horizontal line from each lamp with a flick up at the left. left and right alignment is very difficult without a beam setter, but is rarely out. The up down adjustment is all that usually gets knocked out, to check it get the car on a level surface, with the headlights on dip get a steel tape or long rule and measure to where the horizontal beam line is at just in front of the headlight, move the rule about three feet away from the headlight and check that the beam is about three quarters of an inch or so BELOW the height you got when right near the headlamp.

if you have headlight adjuster on the dashboard this should be set to the 1 or highest position.

mrcheerful

Unless he issues a red notice that vehicle is dangerous to use you are allowed to remove vehicle to a place for repair. That includes your own home. If you get a red notice it has go on a trailer.

You obviously know more of the rules than I do, but I know he pretty much refused to return the keys to me once for a car that had a weak handbrake. The auto-adjuster had seized on the handbrake so the pressure wasn't quite high enough for a pass. The next garage I took it to tested it as "just pass" and suggested the cable was replaced.

Rv!

Also sprach "Rv!" :-

Vote with your wallet and never go there again!

"mrcheerful > Headlight adjustment is usually free, however if the beam is the wrong

The easiest way is to wait until it's a bit foggy/misty out. But the other way I use is to find a level piece of ground & a wall. Put the car near the wall with the high beams on then reverse. If the point of the beam moves up the lights are too high, if it moves left they're too left etc. etc.

With my old old Mini the MoT tester said the lamps were such an old design that there was no "hotspot" as such for thim to measure but he said the lights weren't bright enough to dazzle anybody anyway so it passed.

One has to remember these adjusters seize.

Bill