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Headlight level adjust not working
25 Sep 2024 09:34 #257678
by facade
If it suddenly breaks, go back to the last thing that you did before it broke and start looking there
Replied by facade on topic Headlight level adjust not working
They are actually a little position servo, like in an RC aeroplane etc.
The roller on the dash is a potentiometer that sets a voltage, and the headlamp motor winds a leadscrew in or out until the potentiometer attached to the light gives the same voltage. After a few years, dirt/wear on the potentiometer track at the headlight end causes it to continually hunt back & forth with a sort of high pitched zzzzzzz noise that will drive you nuts trying to find it, but a slight tweak of the roller on the dash will sort it.
They run continually with the ignition IIRC, which is why the noise is so annoying & hard to find, as the lights aren't necessarily on so you don't think it is them.
The whole light doesn't move, just the reflector inside it.
Anyway, as Martin said, could be seized motors, or sometimes the leadscrew gets disconnected inside the headlight and the motor runs straight to one end of its travel and stops trying to get the voltages to match.
The roller on the dash is a potentiometer that sets a voltage, and the headlamp motor winds a leadscrew in or out until the potentiometer attached to the light gives the same voltage. After a few years, dirt/wear on the potentiometer track at the headlight end causes it to continually hunt back & forth with a sort of high pitched zzzzzzz noise that will drive you nuts trying to find it, but a slight tweak of the roller on the dash will sort it.
They run continually with the ignition IIRC, which is why the noise is so annoying & hard to find, as the lights aren't necessarily on so you don't think it is them.
The whole light doesn't move, just the reflector inside it.
Anyway, as Martin said, could be seized motors, or sometimes the leadscrew gets disconnected inside the headlight and the motor runs straight to one end of its travel and stops trying to get the voltages to match.
If it suddenly breaks, go back to the last thing that you did before it broke and start looking there
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25 Sep 2024 19:24 #257685
by facade
If it suddenly breaks, go back to the last thing that you did before it broke and start looking there
Replied by facade on topic Headlight level adjust not working
That explains why mine made that noise whenever the ignition was on.I took a quick look at the diagrams - headlight levelling gets power from the wiper/washer fuse ...
If it suddenly breaks, go back to the last thing that you did before it broke and start looking there
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