How to set headlight position?

[CustomClassics]

Hi,
Just finishing up restoration of a 914 and both headlights in closed position are to low at the front. Any advice on how these are adjusted?
thanks!

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

The pivots can be moved around. These are held in by two or three allen-head bolts. One pivot is on the inboard side of the bucket, visible from inside the trunk. The outboard pivot is accessed from inside the wheel well.

You can also, I believe, loosen the whole motor and headlight assembly and rotate it.

--DD

[SirAndy]

there is a tech article in the "classics" over at 914World.com ...

which is currently down for maintenance but should be up & running again in a few hours.


basically, you have to disconnect the little "arm" on the motors, let both motors rest in the off position, then move the headlights up to a point where they line up perfectly and hold them there while reattaching the "arm" to the motor.
you should have the "stopscrew" turned all the way *out* while doing this as it may interfere with the alignment otherwise.

once done, turn on the headlights and when they're in the full open position, adjust the stopscrew to just barely touch the stop on the headlight and fasten the retainer nut.

voila!
Andy

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Won't that just move the point in the open/close cycle that the lights stop? One of my headlights didn't go up as far as the other when open, except when you tried to close it--then it would go up the "rest" of the way, then close. When I repositioned the lifting arm on the motor, the complete cycle stayed the same, but the stopping point moved. (And now the closed light is a little too low.)

In at least some cases, I think you need to move the whole headlight assembly...

--DD

[SirAndy]

Originally Posted by Dave at Pelican Parts

Won't that just move the point in the open/close cycle that the lights stop? One of my headlights didn't go up as far as the other when open, except when you tried to close it--then it would go up the "rest" of the way, then close. When I repositioned the lifting arm on the motor, the complete cycle stayed the same, but the stopping point moved. (And now the closed light is a little too low.)

In at least some cases, I think you need to move the whole headlight assembly...

nope. there is no stopping point.

you move the complete assembly left/right and turn it to get it adjusted that way, but to adjust it in height flush with the hood etc., you have to do what i described above.

your one headlight didn't go "up" as far because it was hitting the "stopscrew" too early. that's why i said you need to completely back off the stopscrew before you do any adjusting.

you need to undo both "arms" first and let both motors settle in the off position completely detached from the assembly, then re-attach the arm while holding the headlight flush with the hood.
that will be the spot where the headlight will come to rest. then you need to let the headlights be raised by the motor and once up, you use the setscrew to prevent them from "wiggling" when open.
the setscrew is *not* supposed to act as a stop for the motor!!!

there really is no "stop" in the motor per se, they are more like on a endless loop between full up and full down. the motor always turns only one way!
you can test this by using the manual handle and just keep turning it the same way (clockwise when looking towards the front of the car), you'll continously raise and lower the headlight !!!

Andy

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Originally Posted by SirAndy

nope. there is no stopping point.

Yes, there is. There are two points in the range of motion of the light where microswitches interrupt the power to the motor (or rather, supply power to both sides of the motor, making it act as a brake) stopping it. That's what I mean by the "stopping point". Not that the motor runs backwards, but that it gets stopped at a certain point in its cycle.

your one headlight didn't go "up" as far because it was hitting the "stopscrew" too early. that's why i said you need to completely back off the stopscrew before you do any adjusting.

I confirmed that it did not contact the stop screw at all.

If I were to follow your instructions, I would be putting the light back to the way it was--it might line up with the hood when it was closed, but when I opened the light, it would drop down slightly, then go up only partway. When I closed the light, it would go up slightly, then drop down to level with the hood.

--DD

[jhora]

Leave the pivot Allen bolt alone...unless you have messed with them...
Turn the headlights on then off....
Take the black plastic relay/motor arm cover off....two screws on top....
Now unscrew the 10mm(or 8mm can't remember) nut holding the arm to the motor shaft...
Just pry a little with a flat screw driver...the arm off the shaft....the shaft is conical shaped....like the wiper arm shaft...sometimes getting to the nut is a little difficult but you can do it with a small wrench...
Move the arm up or down....the front of the head light will go up or down....move it to where it is flat with the eyebrow and put the nut back on and tighten..
You're done....unless you have taken the whole bucket apart...that is another story
Really to just do a line up it's not that hard....
Good Luck

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

As I recall, John has been doing this longer than I have, and having both he and Aaaahndy disagree with me definitely makes me re-examine my memory. But I still believe that following that procedure merely changes where in the up/down cycle the light will stop, not move the whole range of motion upward.

That may be what the OP wants to do, but it was not what I was trying to do. I probably should have mentioned that the one headlight I am referring to was on the corner of the car that had been replaced at some point before I bought it.

--DD

[jhora]

Dave...there is always more than one way to skin this cat....and I know you know these machines very well...thanks for the complement
If someone has adjusted the funny looking bolt at the back of the box then the light may not come all the way up....it is a stop.....
Sometimes what happens is the lifting arm...the part attached to the motor gets flipped around....you no how it has two pieces....that is way I said to just pry off and not remove it.....it may not look like it but it can attach to the motor at two angles.....if you have taken it off....take the light and move it through it's range and see which way works....be sure to remove the relay because if you turn the motor knob you can pinch fingers....when right it really covers the motor shaft...that is why it is so hard to get off an adjusted....take it slow and it will work...the little allen bolts just give a little adjustment on a left to right angle of the car's front to rear straight line...
here is a picture of one that is working fine...hope this helps

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Hmm, I think you may be right about the pivots. However, check the Allen-head bolts near the linkage you are showing. The holes are slotted. You may be able to move the whole motor and headlight assembly by loosening those. However, I can see that you may wind up doing unanticipated stuff to the alignment of the light and the linkage that way, so you may wind up having to muck with it for a long, long time before you get halfway-reasonable results.

I will look into this for my own car when I am no longer 5000 miles away from it.

--DD

[jhora]

Yep they are slotted Dave....and as noted move the whole assembly left to right of the car center line...not much but enought to correct the gaps between the fender and hood...if I remember correctly....see how the angle is down on the smaller pivot arm...if it is going up that is when you have the problem of the light not closing all the way and sticking up in front about an inch....try it.....