WxChaser Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Anyone know how to do it and check for proper alignment? I've heard of the way to do it using a garage door and some tape, but I wasn't sure exactly how to do it. I'm thinking the headlights are off due to being able to keep my high beams on even with oncoming traffic (and no, I'm not trying to be a dick, but I've never been flashed and I've checked with a friend who thought I had my low beams on). Basically, I'd like to clean the lenses, potentially put new bulbs in (I'm reading in on another forum all of your suggestions for bulbs!) and then aiming them properly. Thanks for your help. Also, anyone mount any flood lights (aftermarket, like Hellas) to their bumper in front of the grille? I ended up not being able to get a brush guard but still want the lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hcr32 Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Super easy to do. Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WxChaser Posted January 12, 2013 Author Share Posted January 12, 2013 Thanks... Doing a more thorough look, I found what would probably be the headlight adjuster holes. Didn't see those yesterday. Anyone mount their floods to their grille area? Or in a different location? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/aim/aim.html Grab some tape, find a level surface with a flat wall 90* to the ground. I find parking garages to be great for this. get your bumper so it's pretty much touching the wall, you'll see a very very bright spot right in the front of the headlight on the wall, place your tape there, that is the focal point of the beam and that's what you want to align it to. you can either align it with a drop, or with 0 drop. If you decide to do it with a drop, there is a table in that link that shows you how many inches down from your tape mark you need to go from how far your headlights are from the ground. zero drop would mean you are going to align your headlights with the tape that you placed when your bumper was on the wall Once you have your tape placed and decide where you're going to align your lights, back up approximately two car lengths, turn adjusters accordingly. Basically, the "hot spot" of your beam is going to be at the center of the tape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WxChaser Posted January 13, 2013 Author Share Posted January 13, 2013 Excellent writeup Silverton! I'm back on a college campus with a few parking decks, so I'll be sure to go and get it done on an off day! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 (edited) I mounted my driving lights (Hella 500FF) to my bumper. Didn't do a whole lot of measuring, just got the marks pretty much even, drilled, and bolted them up. Bolting it up through the turn signal holes and putting the factory fogs back in was a PITA so you might consider removing the bumper first. And thanks for the writeup, I need to do mine one of these days. edit: jesus this new image posting system is useless Edited January 13, 2013 by Slartibartfast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Excellent writeup Silverton! I'm back on a college campus with a few parking decks, so I'll be sure to go and get it done on an off day! Thanks! I have aligned all my vehicles with "zero drop". Mind you, this is zero drop at 25'ish feet, so farther on down the road the beam does dip. If I had a lifted truck, I would highly recommend a drop in the alignment. And as a disclaimer, I've never been high beam flashed, and I generally run non-stock brighter bulbs, so my methods must be alright! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WxChaser Posted January 15, 2013 Author Share Posted January 15, 2013 Perfect! I've got a long weekend off from school ahead, so I'll attempt to knock it out then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 I mounted my driving lights (Hella 500FF) to my bumper. Didn't do a whole lot of measuring, just got the marks pretty much even, drilled, and bolted them up. Bolting it up through the turn signal holes and putting the factory fogs back in was a PITA so you might consider removing the bumper first. And thanks for the writeup, I need to do mine one of these days. edit: jesus this new image posting system is useless FYI: Running more than 4 lights at a time can get you into trouble in some states. Keep 2 of them covered up or don't run the fog lights with the driving lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 Yeah, I'm pretty sure WA is one of those states, but I've never been hassled for it. I hardly ever use my factory fogs... in fact I think the last time I turned them on was for my profile pic. I'm always afraid I'll miss the switch and hit the hatch popper instead. Thanks for the heads up though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 Those fog lights are actually pretty good if you use them for fog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 Good to know! Fog isn't really a thing that happens around here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 Washington is one of those states where only 4 forward facing lights may be used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 Do you know if they actually allow fog lights (or driving lights) on vehicles with dedicated high and low beam lights? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 I searched around a bit, looks like the restriction is only for how many lights are turned on. (You can only have two fog lamps, but you can also have two spots and two 'passing lights,' whatever those are.) So if the truck in the pic had the high beams (all four lights) and the fogs on, while driving on a public road, that would be considered illegal. Also apparently you can only use fogs with the low beams. Then again this is the state that outlawed flicking the high beams... doesn't stop anyone from doing it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 Yeah I saw the rule about only using fog lights with low beams too. That's really stupid in my opinion. Makes sense why Nissan wired the fog lights to only come on with low beams. You can change that by hooking the trigger wire directly to the battery. That's the wire that runs to the low beam wire on the passenger side where the fog relay is. Basically, it is a positive source for the fog light relay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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