Driving at night can add a degree of heightened danger to your journey.  If your headlights aren’t providing the light needed to illuminate the road ahead, a solution will need to be found and fast. If your headlights don’t seem to be doing their job, there are many things that may be causing their failure.

If you’ve cleaned your headlights and checked that they are all working you may need to have your beams adjusted.

When you purchased your vehicle, those headlight beams were factory adjusted to be just right.  With age, your car’s headlights can get off kilter and over time will need to be adjusted.

When you drive that brand-new car off the lot, everything including your headlights are usually perfectly in place.  Over time, with the wearing down of shocks or the weight of a load will create a head light beam that isn’t doing its job.  Correcting this problem is not difficult and can make all the difference in the safety and functionality of your automobile.

If your headlights are less than helpful in the dark, the casing that those bulbs sit in may have come loose. With all those miles covered and all that time on the road, it’s only natural that screws can loosen, causing your headlights to head south.

Testing the Beams

If all is well in the housing of your headlights, it’s time to test those beams. It’s a good idea to let the professionals check this for you to make sure they are properly aimed, but if you are determined to see for yourself here are the basics.

Start by emptying the trunk of your car. The idea is to level your vehicle. Ensure all tire pressure is even and correct. Next, park fifteen feet from a dark wall or garage door. Ensure that you are parked on level ground.

Measure the distance from the ground to the headlight on each side to ensure the suspension of your car is level. Turn your lights on and mark the centre of the beam with tape on each side. Take the level and place it between the two measured points to see if those beams are at least level with each other.

Next, measure the distance from the centre of the beams to the ground. This measurement should not be more than 3.5 feet.

Now it’s time to move your vehicle. Back your car up exactly 25 feet from the wall or garage door and recheck.

If your beams are not level or are pointing too high or too low, the next step is to give the professionals a call to have them properly aimed.

Having headlights that light your path, is a must. Don’t let poor visibility put you and your loved ones in danger while out on the roads.