Headlight adjuster

[j4gz]

Does anyones headlight adjuster on the driver undertray work and if so is connected through some type of pipes or wires ?

[jmc330i]

They're hydraulic mate, but rarely work. You should see two white plastic pipes from the back of adjuster that make their way across the back of the dash to the passenger side, through the bulkhead and then to each headlight.

The common upgrade is to mod and fit E34 electric adjusters I believe.

[Brianmoooore]

There are one or two adjusters still working on member's E30s, but the vast majority have long since quit.
The system comes as one piece, is not able to be dismantled, and so is not repairable.
If you really want a working system, they were available new from BMW not long ago, at around £70 or so, IIRC, but I don't know the current situation.
The alternative is to fit electric motors from an E34 (almost straight swap) or an E36 (a bit more work), and modify the under dash control to turn a potentiometer.
If yours have failed, the coarse adjuster (the threaded steel rod from the front of the headlamp cylinders) usually needs to be screwed out a couple of turns to get the beams high enough to pass an MOT test (and to see where you're going at night).

[Grrrmachine]

I just retrofitted E34 electric adjusters to my car. It's not a simple job (modifying the switch is very tricky), and you'll need some clips from BMW that aren't exactly cheap, since the ones on your headlights will definitely break.

The manual screw rods are a lot easier to fit, and are a lot more durable.

[Mitchen]

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Umbausatz-elektr ... 2a4eed01e9