Mmm. Turns out these headlights are really simple inside. The reflectors are attached to the body at 3 points. 2 at either side at the top of the reflector and 1 at the bottom. The 2 at the top are where the manual adjusters are - the 2 white cogs. The one at the bottom is adjusted by the stepper motor for the xenon height and is directly below one of the manual cogs.
So the cog on its own (not above the motor) is used to adjust left to right. I'm not touching that one. The other manual cog is used to push / pull the top of the reflector and the motor is used to push / pull the bottom of the reflector.
There is no feedback on the level of the light - it is a completely open loop.
The motors are activated directly by the car level sensors. I pulled the motor out and as you push or pull on the suspension, the stalk goes in or out to pull or push (respectively) the bottom of the reflector and thus adjust the aim.
So now I'm thinking I have a problem with the motor. I can't for the life of me see why the aim would drop on its own.
Headlight repairs
Re: Headlight repairs
Daytona RS6 C5 Avant. Viper'd, Billies, Waggers, MTM box brain, C6 stoppers, xcarlink, R8 coolant cap (woohoo)
///M3 E46 | XC90 (V8, natch) | Passat GTE | RR Classic V8 flapper
"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at and repair."
///M3 E46 | XC90 (V8, natch) | Passat GTE | RR Classic V8 flapper
"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at and repair."
Re: Headlight repairs
Some pics:
//replaced broken links. Fcuk imageshack.
//replaced broken links. Fcuk imageshack.
Last edited by Shoppinit on Thu Jan 30, 2020 9:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
Daytona RS6 C5 Avant. Viper'd, Billies, Waggers, MTM box brain, C6 stoppers, xcarlink, R8 coolant cap (woohoo)
///M3 E46 | XC90 (V8, natch) | Passat GTE | RR Classic V8 flapper
"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at and repair."
///M3 E46 | XC90 (V8, natch) | Passat GTE | RR Classic V8 flapper
"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at and repair."
Re: Headlight repairs
Surely you connected up a little jig to test the motor Shop?
SOLD - Avus RS6 Avant|KWV3|Hotchkis ARBs|RNSE|HighTech interior|Solar roof|Double glazed|Vreds|Non res Milltek|Phaeton brake ducts
VW T3|Avo 70mm drop|Subaru EJ25 motor|Audi 200 turbo trans|996 brakes|Peloquin LSD|RJES exhaust
VW T3|Avo 70mm drop|Subaru EJ25 motor|Audi 200 turbo trans|996 brakes|Peloquin LSD|RJES exhaust
Re: Headlight repairs
Nah, that would be far too sensible. What I actually did is plug it all in with its guts hanging out and held the little knob between my finger and thumb while heaving and pulling on the body to make the little knob thrust in and out of my sweaty fingers.mrmule wrote:Surely you connected up a little jig to test the motor shop?
Very satisfying all round, methinks. The risk of getting 50 thousand volts up the wazoo just adds to the excitement.
If bam hasn't exploded by now then I give up.
Last edited by Shoppinit on Sat Sep 17, 2011 8:29 am, edited 1 time in total.
Daytona RS6 C5 Avant. Viper'd, Billies, Waggers, MTM box brain, C6 stoppers, xcarlink, R8 coolant cap (woohoo)
///M3 E46 | XC90 (V8, natch) | Passat GTE | RR Classic V8 flapper
"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at and repair."
///M3 E46 | XC90 (V8, natch) | Passat GTE | RR Classic V8 flapper
"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at and repair."
Re: Headlight repairs
Forget bonk_bonk. I'm standing in a sweaty gig in Brixton and even I laughed out loud.
Good job Shop
Good job Shop
SOLD - Avus RS6 Avant|KWV3|Hotchkis ARBs|RNSE|HighTech interior|Solar roof|Double glazed|Vreds|Non res Milltek|Phaeton brake ducts
VW T3|Avo 70mm drop|Subaru EJ25 motor|Audi 200 turbo trans|996 brakes|Peloquin LSD|RJES exhaust
VW T3|Avo 70mm drop|Subaru EJ25 motor|Audi 200 turbo trans|996 brakes|Peloquin LSD|RJES exhaust
Re: Headlight repairs
Shoppinit wrote:Nah, that would be far too sensible. What I actually did is plug it all in with its guts hanging out and held the little knob between my finger and thumb while heaving and pulling on the body to make the little knob thrust in and out of my sweaty fingers.mrmule wrote:Surely you connected up a little jig to test the motor shop?
Very satisfying all round, methinks. The risk of getting 50 thousand volts up the wazoo just adds to the excitement.
If bam hasn't exploded by now then I give up.
No matter where you go, there you are.
Re: Headlight repairs
You're a lefty then Luke? 
SOLD - Avus RS6 Avant|KWV3|Hotchkis ARBs|RNSE|HighTech interior|Solar roof|Double glazed|Vreds|Non res Milltek|Phaeton brake ducts
VW T3|Avo 70mm drop|Subaru EJ25 motor|Audi 200 turbo trans|996 brakes|Peloquin LSD|RJES exhaust
VW T3|Avo 70mm drop|Subaru EJ25 motor|Audi 200 turbo trans|996 brakes|Peloquin LSD|RJES exhaust
Re: Headlight repairs
Only immediately after wanking. BTW pic related but not me.mrmule wrote:You're a lefty then Luke?
No matter where you go, there you are.
Re: Headlight repairs
Did you manage to bottom this out in the end JOOI?...Shoppinit wrote:So now I'm thinking I have a problem with the motor. I can't for the life of me see why the aim would drop on its own.
Al
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Emission-tax-dodging 2000 S6 Avant.
Bog-stock and boring silver, but with an interior blacker than the Earl of Hell's waistcoat. And RS 19s.
Re: Headlight repairs
Seems to be holding steady for the time being. I don't drive much at night though so I haven't checked properly for a while. I'll let you know. I am now thinking that vibration causes the cogs to slowly unwind. I've marked them up and will see if they have moved.
Daytona RS6 C5 Avant. Viper'd, Billies, Waggers, MTM box brain, C6 stoppers, xcarlink, R8 coolant cap (woohoo)
///M3 E46 | XC90 (V8, natch) | Passat GTE | RR Classic V8 flapper
"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at and repair."
///M3 E46 | XC90 (V8, natch) | Passat GTE | RR Classic V8 flapper
"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at and repair."
Re: Headlight repairs
Mmkay.
Think my car's gone the same way. Ho hum. Tear into it at the weekend - see what's gone on...
Al
Think my car's gone the same way. Ho hum. Tear into it at the weekend - see what's gone on...
Al
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Emission-tax-dodging 2000 S6 Avant.
Bog-stock and boring silver, but with an interior blacker than the Earl of Hell's waistcoat. And RS 19s.
Re: Headlight repairs
Aim is off again! The cogs haven't moved. I might have to look into the level senders to see if there is a problem there!
RS!
This is really weird. I took the car out for a blast earlier and hit a dip at 100+ kleptons and the headlight came back into aim. I actually saw the beam slam back into position. There is definitely something very strange going on.
And then popped back on when I hit a bump. Would explain the aim coming back to the right position...
RS!
This is really weird. I took the car out for a blast earlier and hit a dip at 100+ kleptons and the headlight came back into aim. I actually saw the beam slam back into position. There is definitely something very strange going on.
I like the way you think. That makes sense if the reflector popped off the end of this at some point previously:Maximo wrote:That does sound like the stepper motor doing silly things. When you took the headlight apart last time did you see how the stepper motor connected? Could it be that hitting the dip forced the connection back into place?
If you turn the lights on and then start the engine do both dip and re-align? Maybe we've something less well engineered than the TC in the Gearbox.
And then popped back on when I hit a bump. Would explain the aim coming back to the right position...
Daytona RS6 C5 Avant. Viper'd, Billies, Waggers, MTM box brain, C6 stoppers, xcarlink, R8 coolant cap (woohoo)
///M3 E46 | XC90 (V8, natch) | Passat GTE | RR Classic V8 flapper
"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at and repair."
///M3 E46 | XC90 (V8, natch) | Passat GTE | RR Classic V8 flapper
"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at and repair."
Re: Headlight repairs
So I'm going to guess the stepper motor just turns and that either pulls or pushes the reflector? Could the reflector be getting caught on something loose inside the unit and that's made it pop off?
R18 GTX Estate > Saphire 2.0i Ghia > R19 16v > Vectra V6 SRi > M3 > RS6 Avant
Re: Headlight repairs
It's a linear stepper motor, so it doesn't turn, it just moved in and out. I'd love to take it apart to see how it works.
I don't think there's anything in there that can get caught, but it's worth a look. The reflector basically swings about the the 2 other fixing points and the motor adjusts the aim up and down.
I don't think there's anything in there that can get caught, but it's worth a look. The reflector basically swings about the the 2 other fixing points and the motor adjusts the aim up and down.
Daytona RS6 C5 Avant. Viper'd, Billies, Waggers, MTM box brain, C6 stoppers, xcarlink, R8 coolant cap (woohoo)
///M3 E46 | XC90 (V8, natch) | Passat GTE | RR Classic V8 flapper
"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at and repair."
///M3 E46 | XC90 (V8, natch) | Passat GTE | RR Classic V8 flapper
"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at and repair."
Re: Headlight repairs
It'll be really simple inside, just a motor around a corkscrew at a guess, well that's how I'd do it anyway. To be honest I'd ahve put the corkscrew attached to the reflector and rotating motor, that way it would be a fixed connection rather than a pop-on pop-off type. Must have been a YTS boy designing the headlights for VAG at the time. So with the light unit apart is the reflector unit easy to move, does it have a pivot point?
Thinking about it, could the stepper motor be out of sync? Maybe it's forogotten where it should default to.
Thinking about it, could the stepper motor be out of sync? Maybe it's forogotten where it should default to.
R18 GTX Estate > Saphire 2.0i Ghia > R19 16v > Vectra V6 SRi > M3 > RS6 Avant