Checking Headlight Aim

sdp dm 18.02.001
  1. Park the vehicle on a level surface, 25 ft (7.6 m) away from, and perpendicular to, a vertical screen or wall. Shut down the engine and set the parking brake. Chock the tires.
  2. Each headlight has a height adjusting dot. See Fig.. Measure the distance from the ground to the height adjusting dot on each headlight. Note those distances. See Fig., ref. A.

    Measure beam height from the ground to the small dot roughly in the center of the headlight lens.

    Fig. 1, Headlight Beam Height Adjusting Dot

    • Measure the distance from the ground to the center of each headlight bulb.

    • Mark where the center of each headlight projection should appear.

    1. Screen or Wall

    2. Center of Right-Hand Headlight Projection

    3. Center of Left-Hand Headlight Projection

    Fig. 2, Headlight Aiming Screen/Wall

  3. Mark the vertical distances found in step 2 on the screen or wall, directly in front of the headlights. These marks represent the desired locations of each headlight bulb center in the following steps. See Fig., items 2 and 3.
  4. Turn on the low-beam headlights.
  5. Identify the center of each beam projection by marking the area of brightest intensity on the wall. The area of brightest intensity should fall on or very near the marks made during step 3. See  .

    1. Low-Beam Angle Upper Limit

    2. Ideal Low-Beam Projection

    3. Low-Beam Angle Lower Limit

    Fig. 3, Vertical Low-Beam Headlight Variation Limits

  6. Use Table. to determine the maximum vertical distance allowable between the marks made in step 3 and the marks made in step 5. If the vertical distance between the marks made in steps 3 and 5 is greater than the maximum distance given in Table., adjust the vertical positioning of that headlight.

    Table 1, Vertical Low-Beam Headlight Variation Limits

    Vertical Low-Beam Headlight Variation Limits

    Distance Between Ground and Headlight: in (mm)

    Desired Variation (  see Fig., item 2): in (mm)

    Upper Limit (  see Fig., item 1): in (mm) up

    Lower Limit (see Fig. , item 3): in (mm) down

    22–36 (560–900)

    0

    3.9 (100)

    3.9 (100)

    36–48 (900–1200)

    2 (50) down

    2 (50)

    6 (150)

    48–54 (1200–1400)

    4 (101.6) down

    1.6 (40)

    6.5 (165)

      Table 1, Vertical Low-Beam Headlight Variation Limits

    Note:
    Parent topic: Headlight Aiming
    Document Number: 0000109253
    Manual Publication Date: 2024-09-03
    Topic Publication Date: 2024-05-02