Hatzenbach

Hi,

i have quite an unusual problem:
My passenger's headlight (2009 bi-Xenon) is dipping very low.

I first did the usual troubleshooting:
a) Do the headlights auto-level - YES
b) is the headlight control sensor on the left lower control arm working - YES

OK, in the manual it says that there are two adjuster screws in the headlights.
Tried those and the lower one (the one you're supposed to use does nothing).
Tried the same on my driver's headlight and works great.
So it's definitely a problem with this adjuster screw

I opened the headlights and saw that the adjuster screws operate two spindles inside the headlights that tilt the carrier on which the lights assembly is mounted up or down. (it marked it with an arrow it's hard to see)
The upper one works, the one does nothing.

So I guess I have to dissemble the headlight to figure out what's broke.

Here's where I am stuck.
I am hoping that someone else has the same problem and can give me pointers on how to proceed.

semicycler

I have no experience here but my troubleshooting steps would be exactly what you have done. The driver's side works as expected, the passenger side does not. Opening up the passenger side would be the next step. The two adjusters and their internal parts are not sold separately from the headlight housing unfortunately. So even if you see something wrong it's either McGyver a solution, source a used headlight for parts, or replace the whole assembly.

Be sure to post your findings. Good luck!

Hatzenbach

I did both, just bought a pair of new headlights from a fellow rennlister and found a scrap light housing on eBay, so I can practice the repair

Hatzenbach

quick update on my endeavor:

I received the broken headlight from eBay and am now practicing the fix on the junk headlight before working on a headlight, which is probably still worth around $500 ;-)

The only way to get to the broken part is to take the front lens off (yeah) and now it looks like this is an essential part of the housing (see pictures below). But looks like I am lucky: It looks like the junk cluster has all the parts I need to turn two bad lights into one good one. Well this is a nice weekend project for the next couple of weekends.

To be continued....

andy92782

What's the procedure for removing the headlights? My car just developed a similar issue - drooping headlight, although mine has the dynamic lighting option (PDLS).

Petza914

It's in the manual and the tool you need to release the retainer bar is in your factory toolkit.