Adjusting your headlights is a job most everyone should be able to do and you should do on a regular basis. You should check your headlight adjustment about once a year and anytime something changes on your car that might move your headlights out of alignment.

Headlights become misaimed from a number of causes. Replacing a headlight can jiggle it just a bit hand have it pointing incorrectly, or you could have accidentally turned one of the adjustment screws instead of removing the retaining screws. Changes in tires or suspension, or a minor fender bender, can also change the orientation of your headlights. Or, the adjuster screws could just vibrate a tiny bit over a long enough time to move where the headlights are pointed.

If you don't have self-leveling headlights two screws on each headlight control the direction the headlights are aimed. One screw, usually at the top but sometimes below the headlight, adjusts the headlight up and down. The other screw, located to one side, controls the headlight from right to left. Turning the appropriate screw one direction or the other will change the direction the headlight points.

In order to aim your headlights you need to have a flat vertical surface you can aim your headlights at in front of a level surface on which to park the car. If your driveway is level your garage door is the perfect place to aim your headlights.

The tools you will need for this job are simple. Masking tape is used to mark where the headlights are to be aimed and a screwdriver is needed to adjust the headlights. A tape measure will be necessary to measure the distance of the vehicle to the surface you're using to check the aim and to measure the up and down distances from your marks.

To start you will want to pull your car quite close to the surface you are using to aim your headlights. This is done to allow you to mark, with the masking tape, where the headlights are on the car. With the car right up against the vertical surface, and your low beam headlights on, the center of the beams will be directly in front of the headlights. Use your masking tape to mark straight across where the headlights are shining. Use short pieces of masking tape to mark vertically the center of the low beams.

Now, back your car about 25 feet away to check the alignment of the headlights. The brightest spot on your low beams should be about two inches below the masking tape and slightly to the right of the vertical marks. (In countries where you drive on the left, set the beams slightly to the left.) Use the adjustment screws to move the beams up and down, and right and left, until the headlights are aimed properly.

If your car only has two headlights, that's all you need to do. With the high beam lights integrated into the single headlight there is no further adjustment possible. If you have a four-headlight system you will next need to adjust your high beams. Switch to your high beams and adjust them so they shine just below the line and are centered between your two vertical marks.

That's all there is to adjusting your headlights. Doing this job shouldn't take less than a half hour and will probably save you $50 or more over visiting your mechanic.

Learn more about this author, Keith Hamburger.
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