Headlight Aim and brightness
03-19-15, 07:42 AM
#31
Black - you will have more brightness on the road if you lower them.. I do also notice your pic is in rain, correct? that wont show your brightness clearly, if you get a chance aim them lower and take pic in dry so we can compare... if changing bulbs doesnt work out for you maybe led might be a good option 
Here are a few pics like i promised
1) My SC lights (sensor busted, aiming WAY to high, but in a bright area you can see they are still pretty bright)
2) 09 Odyssey with LED headlights - 4500 lm (non projector headlights) - also aiming slightly high but you can see how bright they are still.. and light is pure white (not blue-ish) you can imagine how nice they would be behind projector lenses!
3) Gx460 - mounted LED 5600 lm in fog lights (fog light housing is small so its obviously not suppose to project light like a headlight, but even in fog lights you can see how bright they are, I wil try them on headlights in another vehicle) Keep in mind the ground is wet so your not seeing how bright they really are! in dry there crazy
I have also bought these as fogs for my SC but the housing will need a little bit of mod to get them in... Unless I find longer ones.. will explain later
Here are a few pics like i promised
1) My SC lights (sensor busted, aiming WAY to high, but in a bright area you can see they are still pretty bright)
2) 09 Odyssey with LED headlights - 4500 lm (non projector headlights) - also aiming slightly high but you can see how bright they are still.. and light is pure white (not blue-ish) you can imagine how nice they would be behind projector lenses!
3) Gx460 - mounted LED 5600 lm in fog lights (fog light housing is small so its obviously not suppose to project light like a headlight, but even in fog lights you can see how bright they are, I wil try them on headlights in another vehicle) Keep in mind the ground is wet so your not seeing how bright they really are! in dry there crazy
I have also bought these as fogs for my SC but the housing will need a little bit of mod to get them in... Unless I find longer ones.. will explain later
Last edited by 416tt; 03-19-15 at 07:47 AM.
03-20-15, 07:30 AM
#32
Driver School Candidate
I just did the same headlight conversion to my 2003, i even made a thread about it.
see: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc-...ed-pics-2.html
The only way to determine if the bulbs you got are "real" is to examine the black 'base' of each bulb. There would be markings on it, like 85122, etc depending on which model of bulb it is.
The OEM bulbs for the '06-'10 SC430 headlights are Philips D4S, which are different than those used on the '02-'05 SC430 which use D2S. D4S bulbs are LESS bright than D2S. The intensity difference you're noticing is most likely due to the fact that you're used to your old D2S bulbs.
I can also see that you need to manually adjust the vertical aim of the headlights. There are TWO adjustment screws per headlight that need to be turned the SAME amount of turns (NOT by a factor of 3 like on the '02-'05 type). These adjustment screws are accessable from the top of the headlight if you have the hood open. There are two 'holes' that you can send a very long philips head screwdriver down into.
As for the AFS (the system that turns the projectors left and right around corners as you turn) there is NO way to get that working. There's a complicated system of sensors, switches and a computer that is only integrated into the '06-'10 SC. It CANNOT be integrated into the '02-'05. Believe me, i tried! Your only option is to leave the aim directly forward.
see: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc-...ed-pics-2.html
The only way to determine if the bulbs you got are "real" is to examine the black 'base' of each bulb. There would be markings on it, like 85122, etc depending on which model of bulb it is.
The OEM bulbs for the '06-'10 SC430 headlights are Philips D4S, which are different than those used on the '02-'05 SC430 which use D2S. D4S bulbs are LESS bright than D2S. The intensity difference you're noticing is most likely due to the fact that you're used to your old D2S bulbs.
I can also see that you need to manually adjust the vertical aim of the headlights. There are TWO adjustment screws per headlight that need to be turned the SAME amount of turns (NOT by a factor of 3 like on the '02-'05 type). These adjustment screws are accessable from the top of the headlight if you have the hood open. There are two 'holes' that you can send a very long philips head screwdriver down into.
As for the AFS (the system that turns the projectors left and right around corners as you turn) there is NO way to get that working. There's a complicated system of sensors, switches and a computer that is only integrated into the '06-'10 SC. It CANNOT be integrated into the '02-'05. Believe me, i tried! Your only option is to leave the aim directly forward.
03-20-15, 05:57 PM
#33
Intermediate
Thread Starter
Black - you will have more brightness on the road if you lower them.. I do also notice your pic is in rain, correct? that wont show your brightness clearly, if you get a chance aim them lower and take pic in dry so we can compare... if changing bulbs doesnt work out for you maybe led might be a good option
Here are a few pics like i promised
1) My SC lights (sensor busted, aiming WAY to high, but in a bright area you can see they are still pretty bright)
Attachment 357765
2) 09 Odyssey with LED headlights - 4500 lm (non projector headlights) - also aiming slightly high but you can see how bright they are still.. and light is pure white (not blue-ish) you can imagine how nice they would be behind projector lenses!
Attachment 357766
3) Gx460 - mounted LED 5600 lm in fog lights (fog light housing is small so its obviously not suppose to project light like a headlight, but even in fog lights you can see how bright they are, I wil try them on headlights in another vehicle) Keep in mind the ground is wet so your not seeing how bright they really are! in dry there crazy
Attachment 357767
Attachment 357768
Attachment 357769
I have also bought these as fogs for my SC but the housing will need a little bit of mod to get them in... Unless I find longer ones.. will explain later
Here are a few pics like i promised
1) My SC lights (sensor busted, aiming WAY to high, but in a bright area you can see they are still pretty bright)
Attachment 357765
2) 09 Odyssey with LED headlights - 4500 lm (non projector headlights) - also aiming slightly high but you can see how bright they are still.. and light is pure white (not blue-ish) you can imagine how nice they would be behind projector lenses!
Attachment 357766
3) Gx460 - mounted LED 5600 lm in fog lights (fog light housing is small so its obviously not suppose to project light like a headlight, but even in fog lights you can see how bright they are, I wil try them on headlights in another vehicle) Keep in mind the ground is wet so your not seeing how bright they really are! in dry there crazy
Attachment 357767
Attachment 357768
Attachment 357769
I have also bought these as fogs for my SC but the housing will need a little bit of mod to get them in... Unless I find longer ones.. will explain later
03-23-15, 07:03 AM
#34
Driver School Candidate
To answer the question as to why you MUST, yes, MUST adjust BOTH adjustment screws on each headlight...
One screw adjusts the up/down while the second screw adjusts the 'tilt' side to side (like a boat rocking side to side). You might say to yourself, "well i only need to adjust the up and down, not the tilt"... but if you only adjust the up/down screw and not the other, the beam will inadvertently 'tilt' left or right (like a boat rocking side to side), so you must also adjust the other screw to "un-tilt" the beam.
ie: adjusting the up/down screw messes up the tilt. Similarly, adjusting the tilt screw messes up the up/down. So, you must adjust both screws. For the '06-'10 headlights, adjust both screws the SAME number of turns.
For the '02-'05 headlights, from memory, i believe you need to adjust one screw 3x as many turns as the other... or some factor like that (see owners manual as it's in there).
One screw adjusts the up/down while the second screw adjusts the 'tilt' side to side (like a boat rocking side to side). You might say to yourself, "well i only need to adjust the up and down, not the tilt"... but if you only adjust the up/down screw and not the other, the beam will inadvertently 'tilt' left or right (like a boat rocking side to side), so you must also adjust the other screw to "un-tilt" the beam.
ie: adjusting the up/down screw messes up the tilt. Similarly, adjusting the tilt screw messes up the up/down. So, you must adjust both screws. For the '06-'10 headlights, adjust both screws the SAME number of turns.
For the '02-'05 headlights, from memory, i believe you need to adjust one screw 3x as many turns as the other... or some factor like that (see owners manual as it's in there).
03-23-15, 10:08 AM
#35
But yeah Led should work really well behind a projector lens so yeah they should work great with the SC. you can get even brighter ones now btw
Yes those are OEM lights on GX, I cant really say if they are brighter or not because the oem headlight is behind a lens and it focuses light at a specific angle (which is not aiming toward camera in the pic)... I could compare the brightness if they were in same type of housing.. you know what I mean?
Ill get some pics in dry..
03-28-15, 07:52 PM
#36
So I sat outside and twisted those screws for about 45 minutes and the headlight didn't raise or lower at all. I spent a good part of the night trying to figure it out. As I mentioned previously, my Front Ride Height Sensor is out. Would that make a difference. The whole reason I want to raise them is due to the sensor malfunction. So my question: Does the ride height sensor have to be functional for the manual adjustment to take effect?
03-30-15, 03:45 PM
#37
Driver School Candidate
So I sat outside and twisted those screws for about 45 minutes and the headlight didn't raise or lower at all. I spent a good part of the night trying to figure it out. As I mentioned previously, my Front Ride Height Sensor is out. Would that make a difference. The whole reason I want to raise them is due to the sensor malfunction. So my question: Does the ride height sensor have to be functional for the manual adjustment to take effect?
Ught oh.. It might be the case that the adjustment screw came out of the acme nut attached to the projector.
Does the beam jiggle if you go over a bump?
03-30-15, 11:26 PM
#39
Intermediate
Thread Starter
Yes they are really bright.. I will be testing the 5600lm in headlights of a car soon just waiting for it to get a little warm.. I don't know how much the oem bulbs cost but if you can fix that then I would just stick with oem system... if brightness is still an issue then go for LED, I just don't know how aftermarket conversion kits will work with the whole headlight system of the car as I have never messed with oem xenon headlights, well never really had to..
But yeah Led should work really well behind a projector lens so yeah they should work great with the SC. you can get even brighter ones now btw
Yes those are OEM lights on GX, I cant really say if they are brighter or not because the oem headlight is behind a lens and it focuses light at a specific angle (which is not aiming toward camera in the pic)... I could compare the brightness if they were in same type of housing.. you know what I mean?
Ill get some pics in dry..
But yeah Led should work really well behind a projector lens so yeah they should work great with the SC. you can get even brighter ones now btw
Yes those are OEM lights on GX, I cant really say if they are brighter or not because the oem headlight is behind a lens and it focuses light at a specific angle (which is not aiming toward camera in the pic)... I could compare the brightness if they were in same type of housing.. you know what I mean?
Ill get some pics in dry..
I like the Led lights, my only concern is that the bulb might not fit in the housing
04-05-15, 05:16 PM
#40
I think I may have solved the headlight level error problem for now before I purchase a new sensor... mine were aiming way to high and becoming very annoying..
I unplugged the headlight level fuse (FUSE 21, 5A) from passenger side foot well.. its the 2nd column, fuse 2 from top (well first should be empty, so its 2nd row)... there is a diagram on this thread posted by VVTIBob (post 6):
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc-...t-working.html
There seems to be no more dash error, no headlight movement and I actually think there stuck at the perfect level... I will have to check again at night.. second thing I noticed was that I don't think the auto headlight on feature is working... meaning youll have to just manually turn them on.. but Ill check again and confirm on that too!
I unplugged the headlight level fuse (FUSE 21, 5A) from passenger side foot well.. its the 2nd column, fuse 2 from top (well first should be empty, so its 2nd row)... there is a diagram on this thread posted by VVTIBob (post 6):
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc-...t-working.html
There seems to be no more dash error, no headlight movement and I actually think there stuck at the perfect level... I will have to check again at night.. second thing I noticed was that I don't think the auto headlight on feature is working... meaning youll have to just manually turn them on.. but Ill check again and confirm on that too!
04-08-15, 03:53 PM
#43
Ok, PLEASE HELP!!!! I have never encounter such a difficult headlights to adjust and would really love to have the correct procedures on how to have this done.
I really need to raise my headlights to go further 15 to 20 feet if possible and I read about the 3 to 1 turn of the adjusting screws on my 02. My questions are : which direction do I need to turn the adjuster screws? Clockwise or counter clockwise for up? Which screw is 3 turns and do I need to turn to right or left to corresponding to raise up the headlights? I assume 3 turns on up and 1 turn on side, correct?
PLEASE HELP!!! Thank you all.
I really need to raise my headlights to go further 15 to 20 feet if possible and I read about the 3 to 1 turn of the adjusting screws on my 02. My questions are : which direction do I need to turn the adjuster screws? Clockwise or counter clockwise for up? Which screw is 3 turns and do I need to turn to right or left to corresponding to raise up the headlights? I assume 3 turns on up and 1 turn on side, correct?
PLEASE HELP!!! Thank you all.
04-19-15, 01:27 PM
#44
So I'm having a horrible day. Completely frustrated now and don't know what to do. I replaced my ride height sensor with a used sensor from a 2002. The part was certified as functional. Easy enough to install. Two 10mm bolts and a third for the fulcrum arm that attached to the cross axle. I started the car up and it seemed to be working fine. No dash error lights. I left the car overnight and returned to it today and tried to pop the trunk via the fob. No response. I tried to unlock via the fob. No response. I tried the lock button and only got a single beep. I manually unlocked the car using the key. Tried the unlock button on the arm rest. No response. Started the car, and the steering wheel didn't tilt down but does work manually. I tried the windows. Only driver side would respond. Passenger window wouldn't work. Tried the trunk and gas cap release. No response. Mirror adjustments. No response. I'm freaking out! Can anyone help, please!