Align Your Headlights the Easy Way

Keeping your headlights aimed properly is important to not only avoid blinding on-coming traffic, but to give the best possible field of view at night and in poor visibility conditions.

All vehicles have two adjustment screws to align the headlights vertically and horizontally. Early model vehicles have the screws along the side of the headlight and are accessed from the front of the vehicle. There is one screw for vertical alignment at the twelve o'clock position and another at the nine o'clock for horizontal. A Phillips screwdriver fits along side the headlight to reach the adjustment screw. Later model vehicles will have the adjuster screws under the hood behind the headlight. These adjusters are vertical. They push up and down on a rod attached to the headlight, thus moving the headlight in the desired direction. It may be necessary, on some vehicles, to remove a cover that conceals the top of the headlight. Just remove the trim fasteners and lift the cover off.

To adjust the headlights, start by pulling the vehicle within a foot or two of a flat wall or garage door. Make a mark with masking tape or an erasable marker on the wall, directly in the front of the headlight, regardless of the way it's pointing. Just make sure the mark is centered with each light.

Back the vehicle up fifteen feet. Turn the headlights on and put them on high beam. Adjust the driver's side headlight beam so that the light shines exactly two inches directly below the mark on the wall. Adjust the passenger side headlight so that it is shinning two inches below and two inches to the right of the mark. The best idea is to adjust the vertical plane first.

The early model vehicles have a plastic rectangular or square plug with a threaded hole in the center that is inserted into the radiator support and held in with tangs. The screw has a couple grooves just below the head. These grooves are snapped into the chrome retaining ring around the headlight. The ring has usually three small Phillips screws that secure the ring and the headlight to a movable cup behind the light.

As the screws are turned, the grooves force the chrome ring to move the headlight in the movable cup. If you happen to find one that will not adjust, the plastic plug is damaged. The adjuster screw and plug can be purchased at any auto parts store. To install it, simply push the screw with the plug attached into the vacant hole and the plug will snap in and will not come out. Next, just push the grooves on the screw into the half moon section of the chrome ring.