how do i adjust my headlights

Periods are your friend.

That was helpful haha

go to a JY and snag the correct connectors problem solved

I have no idea what the actual question is there... Are your headlights working and you need to aim them? Or, do you have a wiring question because they are stuck on high beam? And what year is your car?

The adjusters are on the back and top of a fox headlight, small hex head. As for the wiring, you say you switched to the plugs from a 2000, why? It's very hard to diagnose a wiring hack job, all I can basically say is check your connections, make sure you have good grounds and nothing is crossed.

I have the same question. I installed some clear headlights in my '89 and have had a heck of a time finding where and how to adujust how they point. I got fed up and left it how it is now that is not very good. But man do they look good on the front end! I wonder if this is the same question he had? Any ideas? What hex bolts were you talking about?

The connectors you used are the same as the fox ones. There are screws to adjust the headlights. I will snap a few pictures for you when I get home.

87 GT Drop Top -- That would be great if you could get me a pic!

There are 3 adjusting screws. You have to open the hood to see them. 2 are twords the outside of the headlamp assembly. 1 on the top and 1 on the bottom. The other on is twords the inside on the top. You need a 4mm socket to turn them.

The 2000 mustang takes 9007 bulbs. The fox body takes 9004 bulbs. They both take the same part # connector. I can't think of why you are having a problem with the high beam light. Did you splice everything correctly? Do your headlight work properly?

OHH thanks, i seen them I wasnt sure what they did,,, thanks im on it!

rudy herrera said:

i cut wire by wire like i said before my switch for the lights is messed up wich causes the light to shut of on and off after a while could this cause the lights to be stuck on high beem allso when i actualy set it into the highbeam the lights get weaker
i also want to change the switch my car comes with a gt switch wich includes the fog light switch but my car was turned into a lx so i no longer have fogs could i put a lx switch which comes without the fog switch

Click to expand...

Sounds like you wired your high and low backwards, which might also make your indicator light on the dash come on at the same time. As I said before, check your connections.

If you're dimmer switch goes bad your dash lights won't work at all or you won't be able to adjust how bright your dash lights are.

Yes, you can change the headlight switch with one from an LX, but this won't solve your headlight problems, it will only make the foglight switch solid (it won't move) and has no markings.

I have tried to adjust them. What if the top one is rounded?

hiccup

A 5/32" socket is what you need to turn the adjusting screw with and my looked rounded off, but if it is rounded off as you stated you could probably use a small pair of vice grips on the very end to turn the adjusting screw with.

Headlight replacement cautions:

It took about 7 days to get the lenses, 20 minutes per side to install all 3 lenses and forever to try to align them.

I drove around for several days with the driver’s side headlight scanning the upper branches of trees for squirrels, owls and UFO’s. The headlight lens had extra slack between the retaining clip and the screw head which allowed the lens to shift around. Fixed that with some small washers between the screw heads and the bottom of the mounting hole. I would recommend that you find 2 extra adjustment screws per side - they are the ones with the hex ends on the end of the screw where it sticks through the mounting plate. That may help the alignment problems, as the stock setup only allows adjustment with 2 screws, and is hard to adjust in and down at the same time.

If you bought Genuine Ford headlights, the adjustment will be easy. If you bought reproduction headlights, they will be very difficult to align properly. I bought reproduction units the first time, and my headlights could not be aligned: they would shine up in the trees and across the road. I even had all 3 screws set up as adjustment screws.

The set of headlights I now have say "Ford" on them and they seem to line up properly.


Alignment instructions:
The adjustment screws are upper inside and lower outside screws. If the headlights were re-assembled properly, they will have a 5/32" hex on the screw. You can use a 1/4" ratchet with a 5/32" socket. The upper screws can be reached with the hood up, while the lower screws may require you to lay on the ground in front of the car and reach them from the bottom.

To align the headlights, find a level spot with a wall 25-30 feet away. Put a fender cover over the driver light and align up the passenger light so that the light pattern is slightly below of the actual centerline of the headlight. This is to illuminate the right hand side of the road.

Uncover the driver light and cover the passenger light. The driver light should be aimed so that the light pattern on the wall is inward about 6" and slightly below the centerline of the headlight. This keeps you from blinding the oncoming cars.

Covering and uncovering the headlights helps to show which headlight is shining in what direction. Reproduction headlights may shine in several directions at the same time, making it very difficult to align them if both lights are on at the same time.

I found this thread useful and I would like to add just a bit.

First I learned of the Lisle 14540 was in another headlight adjustment thread.
Wonderful tool, hate to buy such a specialty tool but I was unable to proceed with the normal tools I already had.

FWIW my 97 GT has 4mm adjustment screws.

Between this thread and the Haynes manual I learned the following:

the OUTSIDE adjustment screws, particularly the OUTSIDE TOP, adjusts up/down
the INSIDE adjustment screw adjusts the left/right



Epilog: Just got back from a night test drive. I got a little tweaking too do on the drivers side, slightly right and slightly up. Will be dialed in tomorrow

And I feel for the people who have had someone go at these adjustment screws with pliers