projector alignment messed up after removing headlights?

[pac1085]

i took my headlights out today to mount the ballasts, and now the driver's side headlight seems messed up. the projection seems crooked and has two 'beams'.

this can't be fixed using the standard up/down and left/right alignment screws - it seems to be internal.

i did shake the headlight around a bit after i removed it, it appears that the previous owner had a bulb explode in there and i was trying to get all the glass out...i'm sure that had something to do with it.

look at the driver's side beam:





sorry for the shitty cell phone pics, it's all i got right now.

any ideas??

[Borden]

i don know the problem but i have the same issue, does it also bounce when you go over bumps

[pac1085]

no, it doesn't bounce. it had a nice clean focused beam like the right side before i took the housing out of the car.

i think i'm going to take the projector out today and see what I can figure out...

[Spykce]

I would guess your bouncing is from a broken mounting tab, probably a bottom one or two. If none are broken then I don't know.

As for the O.P. I have removed my housing many times and not had this happen. I have no idea, good luck.

[pac1085]

i think it's something with the projector. i just took the projector out, but broke it in the process go figure. guess i'm going to have to buy a new one.

[Mawhitey]

Bad fitment on the HID bulb, i had a simlar issue with our A3 when i stuck the 4300k bulbs in there, i bought a different set and it was fine

[pac1085]

Bad fitment on the HID bulb, i had a simlar issue with our A3 when i stuck the 4300k bulbs in there, i bought a different set and it was fine

thanks, looks like you were right!



i fixed the projector that i broke, and got it all cleaned up and back together. guess i'll have to buy another set of bulbs (4300 or 5000k this time)

[Borden]

I would guess your bouncing is from a broken mounting tab, probably a bottom one or two. If none are broken then I don't know.

As for the O.P. I have removed my housing many times and not had this happen. I have no idea, good luck.

i used a headlight repair kit but i could go back and double check....never thought about the bulb fittment..sorry to OP for a sort of thread jack

[jskinny]

mine are like that too, i havent taken it out yet because its been so cold but i was thinking the metal part that makes the line just rotated a little. are you sure its the bulb? i dont see how that would make the line rotated like that.

[pac1085]

it didn't make any sense to me either, but i took the entire projector out of the headlight and took it apart thinking just that, but that metal thing that makes the line CAN NOT move at all, it's got guide pins that hold the plate in place. as a matter of fact, nothing inside the projector can move, it's all bolted together and has guide pins lining it up.

[jskinny]

thanks for sharing that i was thinking of taking my headlights apart tomorrow. My other thoughts with mine were that i tried to take the projector out when i got it to see if they were glass or not and i may have not put it back in right but that seems unlikely now. Im gonna try a few things tomorrow if its warm enough, ill try moving the bulbs around too and see if that changes it at all. ill post a reply if i figure it out.

[pac1085]

tomorrow night i'll swap the halogen bulbs back in and see how it looks

vvme is sending me an entire new kit for $20

i told them I had 5000k bulbs, lol, we'll see what they send me... (i had 6000k, because the 5000k were $15 more)

[jskinny]

I have 5000k in mine they look really good, i had 6000k in my last car and they were a little to blue for me but 5 is perfect.

I just finished taking apart my headlights and trying a few things. all i managed to break was the adjuster that makes the lights go up and down which is pretty awesome. now i have a twist tie holding my housing the lights dont point straight down

anyways, for mine, the metal part that makes the line is separate so i think im just gonna try to make one of my own to replace it and try to get the lights even. i did try moving around the light in the housing and when i moved it up, the line curved a little kind of like a "v" and when i moved the light down it curved the opposite way (like "^") so the position of the light does make a difference but just in keeping the line straight or making curved a little.

[bmann]

Bad fitment on the HID bulb, i had a simlar issue with our A3 when i stuck the 4300k bulbs in there, i bought a different set and it was fine

I have the same problem with one light focusing lower than the other. I'll have to check the bulbs. Thanks.



Here is that same pic, adjusted to emphasize the problem:



I have the DDM 55w 5000k kit, FWIW.

[onemoremile]

My DS headlight is like that too. The cutoff is the same as the PS but there is a ball of light on the ground 40' in front of the car.