GTV and Spider 916 headlight alignment fix

[alanm]

GTV and Spider headlights suffer from a headlight alignment issue – the servo motor that controls their height adjustment fails for various reasons. In my case this resulted in headlights aimed at the road about 5 meters in front of the car – hopeless!

Common problems seem to be:
– The ball joint that fits into the back of the reflector pops out (as was the case with my driver side light)
– The metal shaft comes adrift from the motor itself (as was the case with my passenger side light)

It's no wonder that issues arise, the resistance from the rubber boots at the rear of the lights is significant, I wonder how the little servo motor coped – I guess they did when the cars were new!

Anyway, I have removed the motors and installed new metal shafts that fit into the socket in the rear of the reflector with a washer and a wing nut for adjustment. OMG I can see where I am going at night!!!

I bought M6 dynabolts for about $1 and hand filed the end to match the ball on the end of the factory unit (see pic).
Add the M6 wing nuts and a couple of washers and job done!

I hope this helps someone with a frustrating problem.
Cheers,
Al.

[alanm]

In adjusting the headlights to the correct height I have discovered that the reflectors need to be angled almost to their maximum upward tilt – this applies the most tension to the ball joint and socket at the back of the reflector. The resistance to this position from the rubber boots at the rear of the lights is very significant, explaining why the ball pops out of its socket!

The 'correct height' I refer to was judged by marking the centre point of the headlights on a wall then reversing the car to a distance of 7.5 meters.

Once again, I hope this helps!

Cheers,
Al.

[Colin Edwards]

Hi Alan,
Could the car be a bit low in the front / high in the rear - causing the need for maximum upward tilt?
Maybe the rubber boots have hardened with age a tad.

Colin

[alanm]

Hi Colin,

Re. the height of the car at the front – yes this could relate to my last posts about the front springs and shock absorbers and springs.
The front springs are new (factory spec) but the shock absorbers are still waiting to be changed. The rears I assume are factory spec but I don't know for sure.

I think that the rubber boots have hardened, and also deformed to match the previous angle of the lights. I expect that they will 'relax' into the desired shape with time.

Looking forward to testing them on the Hume Highway going up to Winton, I have a feeling they wouldn't create problems for oncoming traffic regardless of the angle because of the design of the front of the car – lights peeking through comparatively small apertures. Owners complained about the lights on the P1 and P2 cars when they were new, compelling Alfa to enlarge them on the P3 GTV and Spiders.

I will re-check the height after the new front shock absorbers go in.

Cheers,
Al