Head Light Centering in modern cars and Important
What Is Head Light Centering?
A headlamp tester, also known as headlamp aligner or beam setter, is an instrument to check both the orientation and intensity of a vehicle headlamp beam to ensure that it meets a minimum standard for the country of use of the vehicle. In the United Kingdom, a headlamp beam tester is used to assess the headlight during a MOT test but in order to be used it must be approved as suitable for use in the scheme. A list of acceptable headlight testers for use within the MOT test scheme is listed on the Department of Transport website. A headlight tester comprises a fully adjustable single optical collimated light lens assembly which is typically mounted on a vertical column or rail. The assembly is adjusted vertically to the actual height of the headlamp, which is typically around 500mm for passenger vehicles, but can be significantly higher for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs).
The optical lens itself is designed to focus the headlamp pattern on a screen. At the top of the lens mounting column is typically a mirror or laser which allows the headlight tester to be aligned with the longitudinal axis of the presented vehicle.During a headlamp inspection with headlight beam aligner, the vehicle headlamp is aimed through the lens, projecting the headlamp pattern at an aiming screen target which has lines showing the desired headlamp pattern. For low beam, this pattern is symmetric for the United States, asymmetric for the rest of the world. The screen will either be adjusted for, or directly show, the percentage of downwards aim of the headlights.
The aim will be as low as 1% for passenger cars, and can be as high as 4% for HGVs. The aim, horizontally and sideways, can be adjusted by adjustment screws on the headlamp mounting assembly.A feature often included as part of such a tester is a method by which the intensity of the beam can be measured. This is achieved with a light meter or Lux meter which is incorporated within the assembly itself. This can be used to not only measure the intensity of the dipped beams but also to measure and compare the full beam intensity.
The Importance of Head Light Centering:
Facing a poor light vision during the night while travelling is as much dangerous as like to drive any vehicle blind folded. For your information if the headlights are too much to the ground level can reduce the driver’s visibility on road likewise, even if the head lights are too high above the driver’s eye vision it will be useless, as the direction of the light is not to the needed convenience of the driver.
Moreover, if the headlights are extensively at a lower ground level at the road it will affect the driver’s vision in seeing far off the distance on the road by making things difficult for the driver to understand as where the obstacles or blind turns may occur.
Technically, design engineers say that a properly aimed headlights are pretty hard to specify as per how the driver wills to keep the beams while driving that is whether straight or downwards. If the beams are not measured the right way the way it has to be, then there can be chances that they are not at the precise in aiming correctly & so are out off the alignment.
When we focus on driving, especially where night travelling is concerned our sources have revealed that as how difficult it can be as to keep the headlights aimed right manner that can guide the driver’s vision well.
Under certain technical aspects of the system engineers state that they have calculated & researched a survey data which proves at about 10% of proximity in which any vehicle on road headlights are misaimed that causes at about 3% to 30% excess brightness to that as what is needed for the accurate aiming regulations & guidelines when riding any vehicle. Astonishingly, most of the time the misaims of the lights have been responsible due to physical in-correction adjustments on the vehicle a per which most of the problems arise due to the following reasons as:
- Luggage’s with excess weight causes the battery power of the vehicle to diminish when power starting the vehicle the batteries power gets divided on both ends under which the power consumed by the headlights pull energy likewise the electro mechanical fore of the engine too pulls the energy from the batteries in excess as to keep up the margin of pushing the vehicle forward.
- Heat caused by the headlight lens from the light that is being on.
- In all this even the gas tank fuel level weight plays its role
- Issues when riding on uneven surfaces of the road & steep climbing’s.
- Tire pressures on surface of the road when driving on extreme hot surface or excess cold or icy roads which include even watery surfaces.
To keep you informed even a little misaimed calculation of 0.2 to around 0.6 degrees of beam aim headlight can become a misaimed pattern. So thus, something of that can cause like this may be due to excess of luggage weights in the back or even due to installation of replaced light bulbs with varying voltage powers. At least of about 25 to 30 feet from the vehicle’s frontend must be necessary for any driver to margin the distance of vision while travelling down the road.