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LED headlight adjustment


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First night time run, high beams are awesome with a long, wide clear throw but dipped beam seem too low, struggling to see far enough at 60mph on unlit A roads. 

 

I can see they raise/lower when switching between full and dipped, but there's no adjustment dial in the cabin. 

 

Any pointers or clues welcome, I was used to simple candle powered bulbs in previous cars and bikes :-)

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2 hours ago, MattChr said:

First night time run, high beams are awesome with a long, wide clear throw but dipped beam seem too low, struggling to see far enough at 60mph on unlit A roads. 

 

I can see they raise/lower when switching between full and dipped, but there's no adjustment dial in the cabin. 

 

Any pointers or clues welcome, I was used to simple candle powered bulbs in previous cars and bikes :-)

Are they not self levelling like Xenons are?

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I fully agree that they seem too low. I have the same problem with both my cars; had I had the option of adjusting manually like on the old car I would have set them higher. Yet both work as they are supposed to - I had them tested and this is the road legal beam height; it may be modified by the dealer but that could expose to MOT failure as the lights are considered dangerous and thus strictly regulated (as goes with the mandatory headlight washers on HID/LED vs halogen systems)

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On 10/07/2017 at 17:34, paulsoava said:

I fully agree that they seem too low. I have the same problem with both my cars; had I had the option of adjusting manually like on the old car I would have set them higher. Yet both work as they are supposed to - I had them tested and this is the road legal beam height; it may be modified by the dealer but that could expose to MOT failure as the lights are considered dangerous and thus strictly regulated (as goes with the mandatory headlight washers on HID/LED vs halogen systems)

 

I'd also read that washers and self levelling were mandatory on vehicles with Xenon/HID/LED headlights, but I'm currently driving a demo VW Amarok Highline V6 TDI and it has no washers, and a levelling switch on the dash!

 

rsz_20170711_202408.thumb.jpg.a8116e1c17642ebc76f70ae61da6afc9.jpg

 

rsz_20170709_205109.thumb.jpg.8bec074689bd9d911f868378ad2671f1.jpg

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11 minutes ago, pist0nbr0ke said:

 

I'd also read that washers and self levelling were mandatory on vehicles with Xenon/HID/LED headlights, but I'm currently driving a demo VW Amarok Highline V6 TDI and it has no washers, and a levelling switch on the dash!

 

rsz_20170711_202408.thumb.jpg.a8116e1c17642ebc76f70ae61da6afc9.jpg

 

rsz_20170709_205109.thumb.jpg.8bec074689bd9d911f868378ad2671f1.jpg

 

Could those by any chance be halogen headlights with a lense system? The high beam looks like a halogen one.

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39 minutes ago, pist0nbr0ke said:

 

I'd also read that washers and self levelling were mandatory on vehicles with Xenon/HID/LED headlights, but I'm currently driving a demo VW Amarok Highline V6 TDI and it has no washers, and a levelling switch on the dash!

 

rsz_20170711_202408.thumb.jpg.a8116e1c17642ebc76f70ae61da6afc9.jpg

 

rsz_20170709_205109.thumb.jpg.8bec074689bd9d911f868378ad2671f1.jpg

Lensed halogen mate.

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1 hour ago, pist0nbr0ke said:

 

I'd also read that washers and self levelling were mandatory on vehicles with Xenon/HID/LED headlights, but I'm currently driving a demo VW Amarok Highline V6 TDI and it has no washers, and a levelling switch on the dash!

 

rsz_20170711_202408.thumb.jpg.a8116e1c17642ebc76f70ae61da6afc9.jpg

 

rsz_20170709_205109.thumb.jpg.8bec074689bd9d911f868378ad2671f1.jpg

They are normal projector halogen lamps with a little side light on the inner ones with cornering lamps built in. You do not get headlight height adjusters on Xenon or LED's.

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By the law, until certain amount of Lumens washer and auto leveling are mandatory. It is not obligatory by the source type of the light, but the strength.

 

I am surprised the beam is low. Is it configured in the menus for driving on the left side of the road, as it is the case in the UK? We have now third Octavia with xenon, first was O2FL, now two O3s, both have absolutely magnificent headlights, perfectly adjusted. No use of high beam how nice they cover the road.

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There is an option for left/right hand side driving, I presume this would affect the direction of the tick (left or right side), rather than completely levelling it off.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Visited dealer to see if anything was faulty/misaligned. Technician was quite excited as it's his first Octy LED lights he's looked at. We determined:

- they are self-levelling, with all motors working as expected;

- they are positioned correctly for MoT pass;

- they are designed to adjust according to speed - so for town use they will be lower, at 70mph they will point higher for a longer reach. 

 

I suspect it's a software thing, where they're not adjusting high enough for faster speeds - I think they're far too low for 50mph+. Agreed to film it with a GoPro next night time drive, to show light pattern (not?) changing, and if an issue they can share with Skoda HQ for further analysis.

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  • 3 months later...
On 04/08/2017 at 10:57, MattChr said:

Visited dealer to see if anything was faulty/misaligned. Technician was quite excited as it's his first Octy LED lights he's looked at. We determined:

- they are self-levelling, with all motors working as expected;

- they are positioned correctly for MoT pass;

- they are designed to adjust according to speed - so for town use they will be lower, at 70mph they will point higher for a longer reach. 

 

I suspect it's a software thing, where they're not adjusting high enough for faster speeds - I think they're far too low for 50mph+. Agreed to film it with a GoPro next night time drive, to show light pattern (not?) changing, and if an issue they can share with Skoda HQ for further analysis.


Did this go any further? I've got LED headlights and the dynamic cornering lights don't appear to be doing anything, regardless of speed or driving mode selection.

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You might have checked this already, but is the light switch in the Auto position as opposed to you switching it to the dipped headlight position? This used to be a "thing" with the Xenons in the Pre-FL Mk3.

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7 hours ago, HeBeGeeBee said:

You might have checked this already, but is the light switch in the Auto position as opposed to you switching it to the dipped headlight position? This used to be a "thing" with the Xenons in the Pre-FL Mk3.

Yes, they're in auto.

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I don't think the FL MK3 with LED lighting gets dynamic corner lights, from the owners manual:

 

Quote

The LED headlights (hereinafter referred to as just system) use the journey data to automatically ensure the best possible light cone in front of the vehicle.

The system will automatically operate in the following modes: urban, extra-urban, highway and mist.

The static cornering light ensures illumination of the road in curves.

The system works as long as the light switch is in position AUTO.

 

Assuming the modes are similar to the previous system:

- Urban will probably spread the beam

- Extra-urban will be "normal"

- Highway will lift the beam but not until highway speeds (~120kph/70mph+)

- Mist should lower the beam to avoid glare

 

More about static/dynamic cornering lights.

- Dynamic cornering lights use an extra motor to move the entire xenon projector left/right.

- Static cornering lights use extra fixed bulbs to illuminate corners, typically at 50kph or below.

 

When you turn the car/headlights on at night, do the dipped beams move up/down left/right?

 

Anyway, the best way to confirm if you have dynamic cornering is to taking a drive, ideally while a passenger uses VCDS to monitor any motor position measuring blocks from the AFS/headlight range controller. You might find this has been replaced with Light Ctrl Left/Right at addresses D6/D7 and there are measuring blocks for the current "lighting mode".

 

I did this for my FL MK2 after I retrofitted xenons and you can see each mode very clearly in the graph below (original thread is here).

 

ahl.png

 

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On the pre-facelift with Xenons, certain AFS modes can be disabled. I guess this should be possible also with the facelift LEDs.

 

@langers2k it's on the configurator spec for the VRS that they are cornering. There are two entries listed that are relevant:

 

Dynamic headlight range control, with cornering light (AFS 1)

LED headlamps with cornering light (separate daytime running lamps with special class-A surface)

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1 hour ago, ahenners said:

It's on the configurator spec for the VRS that they are cornering. There are two entries listed that are relevant:

 

Dynamic headlight range control, with cornering light (AFS 1)

LED headlamps with cornering light (separate daytime running lamps with special class-A surface)

 

Yes, they are cornering but they are not dynamic cornering like on the pre-FL MK3 xenons.

 

Rather than the entire xenon/LED projector moving left/right, the cornering light is now done by separate, static/fixed lights that do not move.

 

Here is a video of a FL MK3, the dipped beams never move left/right but you can see static/fixed light turning on/off to provide corner lighting and driving modes:

 

edit:

Another good video showing the up/down motion and static cornering light in action:

 

Edited by langers2k
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15 minutes ago, langers2k said:

 

Yes, they are cornering but they are not dynamic cornering like on the pre-FL MK3 xenons.

 

Rather than the entire xenon/LED projector moving left/right, the cornering light is now done by separate, static/fixed lights that do not move.

 

Here is a video of a FL MK3, the dipped beams never move left/right but you can see static/fixed light turning on/off to provide corner lighting and driving modes:

 

edit:

Another good video showing the up/down motion and static cornering light in action:

 

 

I stand corrected, good videos to demonstrate them in action. Rubbish that the cornering function is a static light rather than the beam moving. Really like this function on my MK3!

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@ahenners If you allow me, as an Mk3 owner... By looking at these videos I now understand how clever new lights are designed. It is also quite clear that LED during turns covers wider area and has very sharp cut. It is additionally simplified, as you have less complex mechanical component with movement only over one dimension, therefore less prone to failure. Technology also stands behind LED in the terms of lifetime, but so far we can only assume they will last long. Only the time will prove if this is a successful technology or not.

 

Personally, I like it a lot. I have an open invitation from my dealers to test drive some nice new cars they have received recently. LED will be definitely worth to check with my own eyes, but these videos really look very promising.

 

 

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2 hours ago, nidza said:

@ahenners If you allow me, as an Mk3 owner... By looking at these videos I now understand how clever new lights are designed. It is also quite clear that LED during turns covers wider area and has very sharp cut. It is additionally simplified, as you have less complex mechanical component with movement only over one dimension, therefore less prone to failure. Technology also stands behind LED in the terms of lifetime, but so far we can only assume they will last long. Only the time will prove if this is a successful technology or not.

 

Personally, I like it a lot. I have an open invitation from my dealers to test drive some nice new cars they have received recently. LED will be definitely worth to check with my own eyes, but these videos really look very promising.

 

 

 

You make very good points about it being less complex, less moving parts etc. I'm all for simplicity if it provides the same functionality.

 

However as a function to provide light whilst cornering I'm not convinced it's anywhere near as good as the Xenon AFS. Look at the first video around 23 mins 15 secs and pause at 23 mins 25 secs to review the beam pattern and direction. The car is beginning to turn, however the headlight beam is still fully straight and now lighting up the area to the left of the road/the bend. The cornering function is almost useless as the driver is attempting to navigate the right hand corner in the dark. You can see the right hand headlight's additional led, but it only provides low and wide additional light which is very close to the car and lighting up an area to the side of the road rather than the road itself on the bend.

 

With Xenons AFS, the headlight beam moves so the whole beam, even at considerable distance from the car, has turned along with the angle of the steering wheel. The Xenon AFS on the Pre-facelift MK3 would have provided better usable light in lighting up the road on the bend as the driver navigates it.

Edited by ahenners
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@wg100 recorded some footage a couple of months ago with previous night time drive but family life kept me preoccupied. Now it’s dark heading home it’s bugging me and I’ll check it before sharing with garage. 

They have the potential to be great (full beam is), but dipped is too low - dark narrow country lanes I’m limited to 40mph (yes, I’ve tried above 69mph and makes little difference). Even 1 degree would help a lot. 

 

Some high spec motorcycles have additional LED lights for cornering/leaning light - they get very good feedback so I’m pretty sure the Octy fixed lights would be more advantageous than regular light fixtures. Theoretically, the trade off with fixtures that physically turn is higher chance of failure (motors and their adjustment) over accuracy of a few fixed LEDs?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Have ordered new Octavia with Sportline upgrade (Ireland only option??) which features, as part of the pack, “LED headlights with dynamic angle control” which sounds like they bend the beam much like the Xenons in my current 2011Octavia.

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On 08/11/2017 at 14:44, ahenners said:

 

I stand corrected, good videos to demonstrate them in action. Rubbish that the cornering function is a static light rather than the beam moving. Really like this function on my MK3!

 

Much better than the MK3 I have. It looks like they have made a decent improvement. 

Like it a lot

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