Hello
hoping someone can point me in the right direction
I am having problems with my headlights
in New Zealand once a year we have to get a warrant of fitness for our vehicles so we can drive them on the road

just another way our government rips us off

I failed on headlights
out of adjustment and poor beam pattern

this is where I get confused
I have read that headlights with halogen bulbs do not have self leveling
knowing me I am probably wrong
the headlights in car are second hand after someone smashed mine
the ones I put in had new adjusters and Chrome Reflectors put in
and had halogen bulbs but they also have the self leveling motors as in photo marked out in red
Car in side on dash has a round knob with a headlight showing
Dont know where to go from here
on my 4.2 s type 2004



Thanking you
Darrol

 

electric level knob is only for select markets. basically works the same as the adaptive but no height sensors or control module.

americans can’t be trusted to aim their headlights they only have auto level hid or straight up manual halogen

 

A common problem with these units is a broken leveling drive component inside the headlight, which results in a droopy beam. Things like these: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224290936643
These can often be carefully swapped out from the rear of the unit but you will almost certainly have to remove it from the car first

 

Hi Darrol,
This is my DIY guide to fix the "broken guts" of the electric leveling. I just call it electric leveling (and not self-leveling), because it is not automatic: There is a push-push turn-button near the headlight switch to adjust the leveling by hand, but this manual leveling causes an adjuster motor to move (and all that works only, if the "guts" are not broken):

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...er-kit-263728/

But I think you other issue is the confusion about those big adjustment "screws" on the headlights where you need that big Allen-Key. I understand your confusion and I did have the same problem:

After having the headlights fixed (with that kit) and your headlight is not falling around loosely in its housing anymore, the next step is to do the rough adjustment of the low beam headlights with an Allenkey on those big "screws", to ensure that you see something at night and your headlamps are not directed "at the moon" (nor at "the centre of the earth". After you got that right, the electric adjustment via that button in the car lets you adjust the up/down of low beam only minimally - just that little bit, which is required to adjust for lighter or heavier loads. That's all.
And those big "screws" are only on the high beams - there you can adjust left/right orientation.
Obviously you need to wait for night to be able to adjust all that.

 

Are they fogged up too?
Pretty easy to sand and buff the S-Type headlights back to new condition.
.
.
.

 

If I may clarify the comment above: "fogged up" => MILKY
That is a common issue with X- and S-Type.
The best product I found to fix this problem is Turtle Wax Headlight lens restorer.
I live in Australia, and currently Super Cheap Auto Australia has it on special for AU$29.99 (AU$15 off).
Plus - I checked because Darrol lives in New Zealand, that same offer is currently available in New Zealand:
Super Cheap Auto: NZ$38.99 (NZ$18 off) (sale ends 6-4-23):

https://www.supercheapauto.co.nz/p/t...=en_NZ&start=2

I think I wrote a thread of how to use it: If the lenses are seriously milky, start with wet 1200 grid sanding paper (need to buy separately), plus, I used buffers on a drill to polish the lenses with the turtle wax restorer (after sanding). Obviously, you need to make sure that you do not slip and damage the lenses...

 

hi I have tried adjusting the hex screws
but still have the problem of light beam not being correct

 

hi not milky had headlights buffed out Professionally
Now like glass

 

>> hi I have tried adjusting the hex screws
>> but still have the problem of light beam not being correct

The only idea, which comes to mind, is that those little plastic parts (holding the reflector inside of the headlamps in position) are broken - as not only I, but also others tried to point out above. My DIY guide shows how to swap the little old broken white parts with a new kit of little black parts. Did you check, if those parts are broken in your headlight? Are the reflectors inside of your headlamps swinging around loosely? Can you see broken off remnants of white plastic parts floating around inside of the headlights when looking with an eagle-eye inside the headlamps from the front?

 

hi Peter
The plastic adjusters have been replaced

 

I am actually not too sure, what you actual problem is... Is it that the road in front of you is EVERYTHING BUT properly illuminated? Are you basically driving in the dark, even though the lights are on? If not, what is the issue?
But if that is the issue: You have to adjust/turn the hex screws for quite a while to get them into a correct position. Park in front of a garage door or wall in the dark so that you can see, if you are moving the low beam higher or lower...

 

hi my lights have been checked and we have tried to adjust with a headlight tester like in photo
the main problem is the beam pattern

When I purchased these lights they had been repaired as adjustment blocks in side were broken so new adjustment blocks were installed and the Reflectors
were damaged so old owner repaired them from parts of different s type lights

I am wondering if I am using the incorrect bulbs for my car using what he put in lights which are halogen
thanks

 

Well, that question is out of my league... If you do NOT use one of those fancy headlamp testers AND the light shines exactly where it should, I guess the problem is with the headlamp tester and then the idea would be to find a place for rego-check, which does not make such a fuss. However, if you can see even without that headlamp tester that the light is not going where it is supposed to go, it may be the bulbs (which I think is unlikely) and you may try LED bulbs, or the previous owner made some boo-boo with his "headlamp puzzle" and something is seriously wrong with the headlamp - and if it cannot be fixed, it needs a new headlamp - there is also the question, if both headlamps are "a fail" or only one of them...

 

thanks I don't think it is the headlight tester as we have tried two different types
it is both headlights
I have tried led lights before they were even worse