Hi, Since i had my front shocks and springs and rear springs changed recently, i can see headlight's beam is bit upward or may be it's just in my mind..but recently i noticed people r honking me and also giving me full beam while driving passing me on the very quiet road. When car is fully loaded i can see my headlight beam is focusing to the moon. Tthere is no labeler button inside for me to adjust as it is LED front and back. When i stop in the traffic, headlight beam gets slowly adjusted as i can see. Is my car not supposed to adjust the beam based on the load?So, why it is focusing to the sky when loaded. I ran the diagnose with the OBD11 but no error found. I checked the infoteinment system and driving style is set correctly..headlight expert plz advise me. thanks .

 

After suspension work I'd expect the normal suspension position would need relearning (basic settings) and the headlights adjusted with appropriate equipment.

 

It's also worth checking both level sensors are still correctly attached and undamaged

There won’t be any need for a calibration after suspension work for this - the tolerances in suspension components won’t make a massive difference to the basic level sensor system 

 

but… there is a chance the sensor is broken or has not been put back on correctly. I’d be asking the garage to double check the work and make sure the levelling sensor hasn’t been damaged.

where exactly laveling sensors are located? As i turn the engine on i can see the headlight throws the beam and slowly adjusts it. the guy didn't take any light panel off. it was just the shocks he took off. does anyone know exactly where these headlight's light range leveller located for this car?

1 minute ago, automass said:

where exactly laveling sensors are located? As i turn the engine on i can see the headlight throws the beam and slowly adjusts it. the guy didn't take any light panel off. it was just the shocks he took off. does anyone know exactly where these headlight's light range leveller located for this car?

On the front and rear suspension, offside on RHD cars IIRC.

I thought they were always on the left hand side regardless of LHD/RHD.

 

Front should look like this:

 

Rear depends on the suspension, a 1.4 TSI is probably a torsion beam:

 

Check the sender arm orientation matches the above. It's certainly not uncommon on multi-link systems to have the arm facing the wrong way which messes up the levelling.

Be sure its not in a "tourist-mode"... driving on the left or right side of the road.

Should be in your infotainment.

What I am wondering has the front shocks replacing got to do anything with this leveller? Can someone educate me here a little bit please.

41 minutes ago, automass said:

What I am wondering has the front shocks replacing got to do anything with this leveller? Can someone educate me here a little bit please.

 

They would have likely dropped the front wishbones to replace the shocks.

 

As you can see above, the level sender is attached to the wishbone so it may have been disconnected (mechanically, not electrically) or damaged during the shock replacement.

6 hours ago, PetrolDave said:

On the front and rear suspension, offside on RHD cars IIRC.

 

6 hours ago, langers2k said:

I thought they were always on the left hand side regardless of LHD/RHD.

You're right, my 66YO memory lets me down often now

8 hours ago, langers2k said:

 

They would have likely dropped the front wishbones to replace the shocks.

 

As you can see above, the level sender is attached to the wishbone so it may have been disconnected (mechanically, not electrically) or damaged during the shock replacement.

If it was the case (damaged sensor), then I shouldn't be seeing headlight auto adjusting during the first start of the car and also while stopping in the traffic,isn't it? But definitely headlight is no more adjusting based on the load in the rear of the car..tbh,i never paid attention before whether it was adjusting or not. Can i physically check the sensor and make the adjustment with obd11? Is it a simple job or i have to take it to the garage? Any idea, suggestion???

1 minute ago, automass said:

If it was the case (damaged sensor), then I shouldn't be seeing headlight auto adjusting during the first start of the car

 

If the link rod between the suspension and sensor is missing or broken, the startup sequence would work normally and no errors would show...

 

3 minutes ago, automass said:

Can i physically check the sensor and make the adjustment with obd11?

 

Assuming OBD11 can show measuring blocks then you should be able to find the front/rear level sensors and headlight aim - all of which should be changing during a normal drive.

 

4 minutes ago, automass said:

Is it a simple job or i have to take it to the garage? Any idea, suggestion???

 

Until you know what's causing the issue, it's impossible to know if it's a simple job. I'd probably take a look at the sensors first to check for obvious damage/misalignment then try logging the measuring blocks...

 

If everything looks fine and the data is changing as expected, then I'd get a garage to do the headlight alignment.

I've brought the car to the same garage and me himself looked under the car..there is no sensors at all.. so, how to adjust the headlight range level? The garage guy showed me screw on top of the headlight housing where the range can be adjusted by the headlight alignment people..

Edited 10 March, 20233 yr by automass

 

Well that's confusing, I'm pretty sure there should be both front and rear level sensors, I found what appears to be the rear level sensor in @automass's previous images:

 

@automass - it might be worth adding your VIN too,mostly as I think @varooom can decode them which might explain what's going on.

 

@ApertureS and @varooom have either of you come across a MK3 Octavia only having a rear level sensor?? If it is a valid config, it could certainly explain why the OP's lights are point skywards assuming the front end is now higher without a level sensor to correct it.

 

Just to make sure that I'm not going mad, I've just stuck my arm under my car and as expected, found this on the front passenger suspension:

 

 

25 minutes ago, langers2k said:

Well that's confusing, I'm pretty sure there should be both front and rear level sensors, I found what appears to be the rear level sensor in @automass's previous images:

 

@automass - it might be worth adding your VIN too,mostly as I think @varooom can decode them which might explain what's going on.

 

@ApertureS and @varooom have either of you come across a MK3 Octavia only having a rear level sensor?? If it is a valid config, it could certainly explain why the OP's lights are point skywards assuming the front end is now higher without a level sensor to correct it.

 

Just to make sure that I'm not going mad, I've just stuck my arm under my car and as expected, found this on the front passenger suspension:

 

 

Wow, that was nice of you checking my previous pics. I haven't had it in my mind about a rear sensors..i am regretting why did i not check when the car was put in ramp. He also replaced the rear coil springs of my car. What car is it yours? I seemed to find no sensors at all at the front side of the car..me and him both looked as far as we could without taking wheels and under tray off. But it sounds very strange as well, there is no button inside the car and if it meant to set the beam automatically then it needs sensors.

Is their anybody with similar car can confirm me whether they have front sensors or not plz. I am going mad here.

11 minutes ago, automass said:

What car is it yours?

 

From my profile:

 

25 minutes ago, langers2k said:

 

From my profile:

 

Thanks once again. I am from mobile, can't see much. Well, as i am driving now, i can see the beam range is way too upward. It comes

 downward (not enough) when stationary  though. So what can fix it! Shall i change rear two shocks to balance up the car height or get any garage for headlight alignment check..no idea who does this though.

The VIN would be helpful to know many things, on a 2017 MY which is a H in the 10th character of the VIN, there are no LED light choices.  2018 MY with a J can have LED headlights.

Your 2017 Plate car could be a H or a J, depending on when it was built.

 

You would usually have front and rear sensors, not ever seen just front or rear.

Headlight range control is something you should be able to read values from, seems odd that it aims your headlights to the sky when driving, and lowers down when stationary.

My car has LED cront and back, that for sure..no headlight range leveller inside the car.. VIN is TMBBC7NE9J0155483. The garage guy said he never saw many cars with level sensors except bmw and lexus. (Probably he didn't work with too many cars?

So yours is 2018 MY, so yes LED headlights are definitely available, and should have front and rear sensors.

 

Maybe you need to interrogate your car with scanner a little more, and physically look again for signs of sensor/cable.

I have the electrical workshop manual which suggests it is possible to only have a rear sensor. This is what it says. Unfortunately I don’t have the Chassis manual.
 

“1.18 Vehicle level sensor -G78- front left or -G76- rear left
The vehicle level senders are an integral part of the headlight range.
The assembly work is described in the Workshop Manual ⇒ Chassis.
Note
Depending on model year and country variant, the variant may also only have a vehicle level sender at rear.
♦ Sensor for vehicle level front left -G78- ⇒ Axles, steering; Rep. gr. 43; sensor for vehicle level
♦ Sensor for vehicle level rear left -G76- ⇒ Axles, steering; Rep. gr. 43; sensor for vehicle level “

Edited 10 March, 20233 yr by classic

28 minutes ago, varooom said:

So yours is 2018 MY, so yes LED headlights are definitely available, and should have front and rear sensors.

 

Maybe you need to interrogate your car with scanner a little more, and physically look again for signs of sensor/cable.

It's 2017.. that's impossible...if there is any, it could be built in with headlight housing, i am guessing..i have never seen any sensors in my car.

Edited 10 March, 20233 yr by automass

Just now, automass said:

It's 2017.. that's impossible...

 

It's not impossible, model years (MY) start around July/August so a car produced from about July/August 2017 to July/August 2018 would be a 2018 MY 

 

Anywho, relevant section of the wiring diagram is below.

 

I would expect your car to be covered under 'For models with no electric damping control' which implies both sensors should be present. If the OP is feeling handy, they could always check the BCM connector to see if those pins are populated.

 

I was somewhat surprised to discover the level sensors now connect to the BCM rather than the headlight range module though...

 

If you look at the link in my post earlier today, it mentions doing basic settings with vcd's or similar and then adjusting the headlights with the adjusters on the headlight housing.

 

Even if you can't see the sensors (if they exist) for whatever reason, the wiring should be visible.