adjust xeonon auto-leveling mechanism?
10-11-2003, 12:15 PM
#1
just jd.
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adjust xenon auto-leveling mechanism?
NOTE: I origninally posted this message in
this thread, but it seems more appropriate in the tech forum. -jd.
Edit2: ugh! I hate it when I typo the title!
OK. this is long. To cut to the chase, does anyone know if there is any adjustment for the auto-leveling mechanism? I suspect that if there is, mine is adjusted to a range of zero (i.e., auto-leveling is effectively off.)
I've been concerned about my perceived lack of auto-leveling since I bought the car, and now I'm convinced there is an range-of-adjustment problem (no range) or it's off/not working. I've never seen any instrument panel warning lights for this -- no system fault indicated, that is.
I've never seen my headlights level-adjust: they just always point straight up or down with the car. Last night I went out, fired up the car & turned on the headlights. Observing the top-of-beam cutoff location, I pushed and held down on the trunk. I watched the cutoff point correspondingly rise to a higher position, and holding to a count of ten saw no leveling whatsoever. I released and saw the cutoff point drop back to the original position.
Now, my neighbor fires up his BMW 5 series. Headlights on, I actually see the xenons do the self-adjust up against the garage door: they tilted up (high!) then back down. Then I watch as he backs out the driveway and pause for traffic: while tilted thus, again I could easitly see the xenons auto-level. And finally, as the BMW moved onto the level road surface I saw the headlights adjusting all the time. It was really obvious that the auto-leveling was working.
So I go and repeat the same procedure with my car in his driveway, even to the point of shutting off and restarting the engine. No self-test auto-leveling at headlights on, no adjust backing down driveway or pausing on the incline, no adjust while moving onto the level road surface. It's pretty clear the auto-adjust is simply not working.
Thus far the shop manual is unavailable, so again, does anyone know how to adjust the auto-leveling mechanism for the xenons? (And thanks for reading this far!)
Cheers,
-jd.
this thread, but it seems more appropriate in the tech forum. -jd.
Edit2: ugh! I hate it when I typo the title!
Originally posted by eccles
They go through a self-test and levelling cycle when you first turn them on. Try it yourself - park facing a wall and put a few heavy items in the trunk. Turn on the lights, and let them stabilise. Make a mark on the wall at the cutoff point of the beam. Now turn them off again, remove the trunk ballast, and turn them on again. You should see the cutoff below your mark for a moment, then it should automatically adjust back up to the mark. If they're not doing this, then you have a system fault and should be getting a yellow warning light on the dash.
(BTW, you may need to have the ignition turned on when you do this - I'm not sure if the system is enabled with the ignition off.)
They go through a self-test and levelling cycle when you first turn them on. Try it yourself - park facing a wall and put a few heavy items in the trunk. Turn on the lights, and let them stabilise. Make a mark on the wall at the cutoff point of the beam. Now turn them off again, remove the trunk ballast, and turn them on again. You should see the cutoff below your mark for a moment, then it should automatically adjust back up to the mark. If they're not doing this, then you have a system fault and should be getting a yellow warning light on the dash.
(BTW, you may need to have the ignition turned on when you do this - I'm not sure if the system is enabled with the ignition off.)
I've been concerned about my perceived lack of auto-leveling since I bought the car, and now I'm convinced there is an range-of-adjustment problem (no range) or it's off/not working. I've never seen any instrument panel warning lights for this -- no system fault indicated, that is.
I've never seen my headlights level-adjust: they just always point straight up or down with the car. Last night I went out, fired up the car & turned on the headlights. Observing the top-of-beam cutoff location, I pushed and held down on the trunk. I watched the cutoff point correspondingly rise to a higher position, and holding to a count of ten saw no leveling whatsoever. I released and saw the cutoff point drop back to the original position.
Now, my neighbor fires up his BMW 5 series. Headlights on, I actually see the xenons do the self-adjust up against the garage door: they tilted up (high!) then back down. Then I watch as he backs out the driveway and pause for traffic: while tilted thus, again I could easitly see the xenons auto-level. And finally, as the BMW moved onto the level road surface I saw the headlights adjusting all the time. It was really obvious that the auto-leveling was working.
So I go and repeat the same procedure with my car in his driveway, even to the point of shutting off and restarting the engine. No self-test auto-leveling at headlights on, no adjust backing down driveway or pausing on the incline, no adjust while moving onto the level road surface. It's pretty clear the auto-adjust is simply not working.
Thus far the shop manual is unavailable, so again, does anyone know how to adjust the auto-leveling mechanism for the xenons? (And thanks for reading this far!)
Cheers,
-jd.
Last edited by jdl; 10-11-2003 at 12:25 PM.
10-11-2003, 12:27 PM
#2
RainMan is Back
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This is my first car with this feature but after casual observation, I haven't noticed it making any difference. Should it be fairly obvious, for example, if you are going up a steep grade?
10-11-2003, 12:28 PM
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Mine auto adjusts fine. There is a certain amount of threshold though. You have to really sink down the back for it to adjust.
It takes about 5 seconds after the back is pushed down. Not sure about the adjustment when it is first turned on. I will have to try it out to see.
It doesnt adjust for grades, etc. It adjusts if you have alot of weight in the back-end that basically would cause the headlights to blind oncoming traffic.
It takes about 5 seconds after the back is pushed down. Not sure about the adjustment when it is first turned on. I will have to try it out to see.
It doesnt adjust for grades, etc. It adjusts if you have alot of weight in the back-end that basically would cause the headlights to blind oncoming traffic.
10-11-2003, 12:41 PM
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just jd.
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I'm convinced mine is not working. I think you should see it respond quickly. I reviewed the tech highlights cd, which demonstrates the leveling feature "working" primarily to counter the "high beams on" effect due to acceleration causing the rear end to momentarily settle down. While this supports the idea that the leveling feature isn't meant to adjust for driving on a steady incline, you should notice it in general.
And, per my initial post, you can really see it working on other cars that have the feature. It's *very* noticable.
And, per my initial post, you can really see it working on other cars that have the feature. It's *very* noticable.
10-11-2003, 02:02 PM
#5
Prodigal Wankler
Re: adjust xenon auto-leveling mechanism?
Originally posted by jdl
[BI've never seen any instrument panel warning lights for this -- no system fault indicated, that is.[/B]
[BI've never seen any instrument panel warning lights for this -- no system fault indicated, that is.[/B]
10-11-2003, 02:13 PM
#6
Prodigal Wankler
Originally posted by jdl
I think you should see it respond quickly. I reviewed the tech highlights cd, which demonstrates the leveling feature "working" primarily to counter the "high beams on" effect due to acceleration causing the rear end to momentarily settle down. While this supports the idea that the leveling feature isn't meant to adjust for driving on a steady incline, you should notice it in general.
I think you should see it respond quickly. I reviewed the tech highlights cd, which demonstrates the leveling feature "working" primarily to counter the "high beams on" effect due to acceleration causing the rear end to momentarily settle down. While this supports the idea that the leveling feature isn't meant to adjust for driving on a steady incline, you should notice it in general.
There's obviously some hysteresis built in to the system, to prevent the lights jiggling up and down on rough roads, etc. The system is also totally unaffected by road grades, since it simply measure the height difference detween the front and rear suspensions - it doesn't measure the actual angle of the car from horizontal (which would made no sense at all).
10-11-2003, 06:54 PM
#9
Registered User
Originally posted by eccles
There's obviously some hysteresis built in to the system, to prevent the lights jiggling up and down on rough roads, etc. The system is also totally unaffected by road grades, since it simply measure the height difference detween the front and rear suspensions - it doesn't measure the actual angle of the car from horizontal (which would made no sense at all).
There's obviously some hysteresis built in to the system, to prevent the lights jiggling up and down on rough roads, etc. The system is also totally unaffected by road grades, since it simply measure the height difference detween the front and rear suspensions - it doesn't measure the actual angle of the car from horizontal (which would made no sense at all).
I thought another feature of auto-leveling was to lower the beam when climbing up a hill. That way on-coming traffic at the crest of the hill wouldn't be blinded.
Eitherway it is a neat device.
-Mr. Wigggles
10-11-2003, 07:29 PM
#10
Prodigal Wankler
Originally posted by MrWigggles
So you are saying that the leveling system doesn't do anything unless you have a bunch of weight in the trunk?
I thought another feature of auto-leveling was to lower the beam when climbing up a hill. That way on-coming traffic at the crest of the hill wouldn't be blinded.
So you are saying that the leveling system doesn't do anything unless you have a bunch of weight in the trunk?
I thought another feature of auto-leveling was to lower the beam when climbing up a hill. That way on-coming traffic at the crest of the hill wouldn't be blinded.
They do not compensate for the gradient of the road, nor do they anticipate changes in the road curvature ahead. If you think about it, doing so would be quite unsafe - when climbing a hill, lowering the beams in anticipation of a crest somewhere up ahead would leave you without sufficient illumination until you got there.
10-11-2003, 09:20 PM
#11
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There are rocker arm position sensors on the front and rear rocker arms.
The leveling system compensates when the two are out of the center position.
See the Mazda highlight CD for more details. It is under "Body" chapter.
The leveling system compensates when the two are out of the center position.
See the Mazda highlight CD for more details. It is under "Body" chapter.
10-11-2003, 10:54 PM
#12
just jd.
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Originally posted by eccles
They take a couple of seconds to react. I just tested mine by turning on the ignition and the headlights, then opening the trunk and putting all my weight on the rear by kneeling on the trunk lip. The cutoff on the garage wall moved up about a half-inch, then automatically adjusted back down a couple of seconds later. When I climbed back off the lip, the beam dropped before automatically adjusting back up again after a couple of seconds.[...]
They take a couple of seconds to react. I just tested mine by turning on the ignition and the headlights, then opening the trunk and putting all my weight on the rear by kneeling on the trunk lip. The cutoff on the garage wall moved up about a half-inch, then automatically adjusted back down a couple of seconds later. When I climbed back off the lip, the beam dropped before automatically adjusting back up again after a couple of seconds.[...]
Oh well, I think it could stand to be a *lot* more responsive. I'm still holding out hope there *some* adjustment that can be made.
10-12-2003, 03:13 AM
#13
Forum Vendor
Re: adjust xenon auto-leveling mechanism?
Originally posted by jdl
[I]NOTE:Thus far the shop manual is unavailable, so again, does anyone know how to adjust the auto-leveling mechanism for the xenons? (And thanks for reading this far!)
Cheers,
-jd.
[I]NOTE:Thus far the shop manual is unavailable, so again, does anyone know how to adjust the auto-leveling mechanism for the xenons? (And thanks for reading this far!)
Cheers,
-jd.
There is no adjustment in the control module.
One can adjust the overall headlight height setting, but unless it is noticeably wrong I would not recommend this.
Also, if you feel inclined to touch these lights, the active circuit is at 25,000 volts, so be VERY careful!
The leveling system is only to adjust for differences caused by suspension loading. If you stick 400 lbs in the trunk it compensates, so you do not blind oncoming traffic.
It is not quick to respond.
10-12-2003, 09:29 AM
#14
just jd.
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no adjustment after all.
Originally posted by canzoomer
I have the shop manual.
There is no adjustment in the control module.
One can adjust the overall headlight height setting, but unless it is noticeably wrong I would not recommend this.
I have the shop manual.
There is no adjustment in the control module.
One can adjust the overall headlight height setting, but unless it is noticeably wrong I would not recommend this.
I'll take this as the definitive answer. Too bad it's not what I wanted to hear. One of my (few!) suggestions for improving future models is to make the auto-leveling system "more active", and simply observe other manufactures' systems to see what I mean by that.By the way, this whole issue started the night I brought the car home, and my wife was driving in front of me on highway and side streets...when we got home she said she'd *never* drive in front of rx8 again, as the lights were just constantly blinding/annoying. So since the first drive I've become accutely aware of just where the headlight beams are striking those in front of me. They appear to be positioned perfectly. It's just the road bumps, acceleration, etc., that may (probably) annoy the folks in front...
Now if only I could afford one of canzoomer's ecu remaps... :D
Last edited by jdl; 10-12-2003 at 09:33 AM.
10-12-2003, 10:38 AM
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canzoomer......how does it say to adjust the headlights up or down in the shop manual?
I think mine are WAY too low also. I hate how the beam has that definitive "edge" at the top. It makes seeing things, like deer that might be in the distance, impossible. I feel like there is about 70 feet in front of my car that is lit up at night. That is fine if I am only driving about 35 mph, but not far enough at higher speeds.
I popped the hood and looked all around the headlight assembly area and cannot find anything that looks like an adjustment screw. Seems like my driver's side beam is lower than my passenger side.
I think mine are WAY too low also. I hate how the beam has that definitive "edge" at the top. It makes seeing things, like deer that might be in the distance, impossible. I feel like there is about 70 feet in front of my car that is lit up at night. That is fine if I am only driving about 35 mph, but not far enough at higher speeds.
I popped the hood and looked all around the headlight assembly area and cannot find anything that looks like an adjustment screw. Seems like my driver's side beam is lower than my passenger side.
10-12-2003, 11:05 AM
#16
Forum Vendor
Things to consider about headlight alignment:
When set properly, the low beams actually should "cross over" each other. In other words the one on the drivers side should be aimed a bit to the right, pointing towards the curb a bit.
The one on the passenger side is aimed slightly to the left, but not by as much. That way the oncoming cars are blinded less.
As to the aiming height it is a bit difficult to describe the entry in the shop manual. I will try and scan and post it later today.
When set properly, the low beams actually should "cross over" each other. In other words the one on the drivers side should be aimed a bit to the right, pointing towards the curb a bit.
The one on the passenger side is aimed slightly to the left, but not by as much. That way the oncoming cars are blinded less.
As to the aiming height it is a bit difficult to describe the entry in the shop manual. I will try and scan and post it later today.
10-12-2003, 04:27 PM
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Originally posted by 91vert
I think mine are WAY too low also. I hate how the beam has that definitive "edge" at the top. It makes seeing things, like deer that might be in the distance, impossible.
I think mine are WAY too low also. I hate how the beam has that definitive "edge" at the top. It makes seeing things, like deer that might be in the distance, impossible.
my thought exactly... its getting to be prime deer killing season and I don't have a lot of confidence I'll see a dear jumping across the road with my low beams set at where they are at
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