Headlight (in cabin Adjuster)

D

d4v1d sm4rt

A2OC Donor
does anyone know how the thumb wheel motor system works that adjusts the headlights up and down and how to check it?

My headlights are now misaligned (o.s too high) and this side does not to want to adjust.

Worst case scenario, does anyone have a spare o/s headight or know a good cheap supply of some. how much are they new?
Thanks guys
 
Ah, A2 headlights - my specialist subject!!

The thumbwheel is a variable resistor with several presets. You turn it, it alters the voltage sent to (both) adjuster motors, which in turn shove the bottom of the inner headlamp assembly, so pivoting it.

Now the bad news: if one headlamp is moving and the other isn't, the chances are that the motor on that side has burnt out. You can't buy the motors separately either, which is a pain as a complete headlamp is around the £120 mark!

If you want to check for current at the headlamp, connect a meter across earth (any brown wire) and pin 6 of the headlamp connector, then vary the thumbwheel.

Cheers,

Mike
 
Mike,

If you shop around you can pay a lot less. Allparts have them for £84 at the moment. I bought some for my 1.2Tdi in December and they were even cheaper.

RAB
 
thank you all for your prompt and helpful suggestions...

I will swap the headlights over and plug them in and see if it a wiring problem or the motor. If it is a motor i may need the one offered please, failing that i have an account with allparts who are at the bottom of my road!
 
the good news is that all the parts are swappable from side to side so you can logic it out by trial and error. It is the motor that has seemed to wind itself all the way in and virtually sieze itself all the way out. wound it in by hand but no joy. the actual motor works but it must be a component on the board. The bit that winds in and out has an eye in it which attaches to a variable resister on the board which must tell the motor where it actually is dependant on resistance. Part of the board looked corroded near a 50v 22micro farad capacitor and i soldered across the joint just to make sure but no joy. I have sent a PM to Kivi for the spare motor. Thanks guys
 
Hi.
I bought new headlights last year and I took out the small motors just in case someone should need it/ them. They are made by Valeo and dated 2000 and 2001. I can send to you if they can solve your problem:)

Jossi
 
Hi Jossi
Thanks for the offer but i have one coming from Kivi
You Finnish, just sooo helpful!
Worth hanging onto though as i am sure this will be a common fault. I think it is something to do with the water ingress finding its way into the motor board and shorting the circuit board as the board had signs of water damage in the corner by the capacitor.

For the record Allparts quoted me £184 for a headlight today !!!

Nice
 
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