Adjustable headlamps failed MOT

[dannosail]

Beemer failed MOT cos dipped beam was apparently too low. Hydrualic adjustment hasn't been working before and car has always passed.

Garage want to charge me Ԛ£135 to fix it but they're not BMW Specialist - knew I made a mistake here but expected car to pass

I'm not bothered about getting the adjustment to work as I believe its a bit unreliable anyway - never had them working on my Touring.

Can I manually adjust the lights to the right level so that I can get the car through its MOT?

[smithy318i]

Can I manually adjust the lights to the right level so that I can get the car through its MOT?

Yes.

Use these white adjusting screws (if not siezed up)



1 Each headlight has two adjusting screws,
one controlling up-and-down movement and
one controlling left-and-right movement (see
illustration). It may be necessary to remove
the grille (see Chapter 11) for access to these
screws.
2 There are several methods of adjusting the
headlights. The simplest method requires a
blank wall (or garage door) 25 feet (7.62m) in front of
the vehicle, and a level floor.
3 Position masking tape vertically on the wall,
to mark the vehicle centreline and the
centreline of both headlights. Note: It may be
easier to position the tape on the wall with the
vehicle parked only a few inches away, and
then move the vehicle back the required
distance when all marks have been made.
4 Make a horizontal line on the wall to mark
the centreline of all headlights.
5 Move the vehicle back so that it is 25 feet
away from the marked wall (keep the front end
of the vehicle square to the wall). Adjustment
should be made with the vehicle sitting level,
the fuel tank half-full, and with no unusually
heavy loads in the vehicle.
6 Switch on the dipped beam. The bright
spots on the wall should be two inches below
the horizontal line, and two inches to the left
of the headlight vertical lines. Adjustment is
made by turning the adjusting screw to raise
or lower the beam. The other adjusting screw
should be used in the same manner to move
the beam left or right.
7 With main beam on, the bright spots on the
wall should be exactly on the vertical lines,
and just below the horizontal line.

[gazza]

or turn the ribbed section of the hydraulic adjusters behind the headlight (black plastic) and they will adjust up and down ....takes seconds to do then allign them against a wall and follow the instructions above

[gazza]

garage are a bunch of to**ers they could of done it in a few minutes

[oneblueleg]

My garage did mine for nothing and just mentioed it in passing when I went to pick it up...

[dannosail]

oneblueleg,

Exactly, I'm 400 miles away from home in Scotland and my Dad has had to pick the car up. If I was dealing with the garage I'd tell them they were talking rubbish when they said they can't be adjusted manually.

The fact that I can get an DIY answer on the Zone in minutes says something:thumb:

Guess I won't be using that garage for the car again.

Cheers guys

[e30-unit-soldier]

Mine passed the car and said "make sure you get it sorted mate!"

[stonesie]

Where i work the boss/tester keeps a selection of tools in the test bay for doing minor jobs like securing batterys and adjusting headlamps, his attitude is "for the time it takes to put right its not worth failing a car for that"

[Brianmoooore]

or turn the ribbed section of the hydraulic adjusters behind the headlight (black plastic) and they will adjust up and down ....takes seconds to do then allign them against a wall and follow the instructions above

This will adjust the beam up and down, but you may still not be able to get them high enough.
Quick method is a dozen concrete blocks in the boot, or even fill the fuel tank, but a better method is to take the outer grilles off, unscrew the three big self tappers that hold the headlamps in place and take them out.
You will then be able to see a small diameter threaded rod coming out of the hydraulic piston, going forward to the headlamp. The ball end at the front of this rod has a cross head screwdriver slot in it. Unscrew this rod a few turns to lift the headlamp beam into the range where it can be set correctly by the knurled outer barrel of the hydraulic cylinder.
If you really want headlamp adjusters, then the elecric ones from an E34 can be adapted to fit.
The hydraulic headlamp adjusters are the only thing I allow not to be in full working order on my collection of E30s.

[Bob_S]

an MOT tester said they couldnt be adjusted as I needed a special tool to do it and so failed it, I came back about 10 mins later after removing the front grills and got them spot on the tester saw his backside.. the drivers side I havn't finished yet just just pushed it down until it was right he moved the test thing, I let go lol! I have cut the hydrolic adjustement off and replaced it with the screw type adjustment like the other screw works spot on. and very easy to do.

[Brianmoooore]

an MOT tester said they couldnt be adjusted as I needed a special tool to do it and so failed it, I came back about 10 mins later after removing the front grills and got them spot on the tester saw his backside.. the drivers side I havn't finished yet just just pushed it down until it was right he moved the test thing, I let go lol! I have cut the hydrolic adjustement off and replaced it with the screw type adjustment like the other screw works spot on. and very easy to do.

Only special tool needed to adjust E30 headlamps is a finger and opposing thumb, although the adjusters do tend to seize up UNLESS THE THREADS ARE COATED WITH COPPER GREASE.
The advantage of leaving the broken hydraulic adjuster in place is that they never seize up, and are easier to adjust.

[johnna]

Hoho hohohoho hahahahaha!

BrianMoooore wrote
"Only special tool needed to adjust E30 headlamps is a finger and opposing thumb"
Those MOT guys must be monkeys then!!!

Oh how I laughed!!!