Joe01S4

2001 S4

While getting my car inspected at a gas station, the mechanic said my headlights were pointed too high. So, he adjusted them by sticking an electric screw driver with a hex bit into the white adjusting *****.

That night, I turned my headlights on and they would not stop shaking when the car was moving.

I brought my car to my regular Audi tech, and he said there's something loose inside the headlight fixtures, and he'll need at least two hours to take them apart and figure out what is wrong.

Has anyone had this happen to them? Is there an easy fix? Can the headlights become loose just by adjusting them?

BlackS4tt (Josh)

He must have turned that screw way too much. If the autolevelers come loose, there is nothing to secure the internal housing from going up and down, so when you hit a bump the lights bounce up and down.

You need to remove the headlight, re-secure the autolevelers, and never let that idiot touch your lights again.

There is a procedure to this, and it involves VAG-COM + proper use of those adjustment screws.<ul><li><a href="https://forums.audiworld.com/s4/msgs/630760.phtml">Proper headlight aiming procedure.</a></li></ul>

djillusion

but the shaking is due to the fact that auto adjusting white piece is not locked onto the lighting housing itself.

so when you hit bumps, etc, the lights shake.

iirc, you do need to actually remove the housing to get this piece locked in.

Joe01S4

Or can I drive with the headlights loose for a while without damaging them?

NYImola::NYMisano

Question is why did he use an electric screwgun on plastic easy-turn screws?

BlackS4tt (Josh)

With things bouncing around in there, its hard to say whether or not damage will be done. The fix isnt too hard, i would just try to get em fixed ASAP.

Here are pics of the autolevel motor:

It the thing with the red arrow on it...rotating it like that will remove it.
<img src="https://www.audiworld.com/tech/pix/s4hid7.jpg">

<img src="https://www.audiworld.com/tech/pix/s4hid8.jpg">


This is what it looks like out of the housing.
<img src="https://www.audiworld.com/tech/pix/s4hid9.jpg">

ZephyrS4

Mine do this if I adjust them too low and the inside of the housing is touching the shell of the headlight, and thus getting all the vibration from the motor. My headlight also has a busted adjusting ****, but I don't know if that has anything to do with it shaking as well. I just can't adjust them sideways

If you had the leveling motor out of it's slot the light won't just shake, but bounce all the way up and all the way down going over any kind of bump in the road and be obvious.

Try adjusting them up with a hex key while the car is running and see if you can raise it just enough so that it doesn't shake.

Hope that helps, and I really hope the guy at the shop didn't over rotate the **** and break it like mine is.

edit....Although it could be possible that because I have one adjuster that's broken, it's causing the shake by the loss of structural support that it gave when it was intact. In which case the guy probably did cause this by turning the **** too much. This makes me want to get my headlight out to look at it again. It might be as simple as supergluing the **** back together where it broke, so it's one solid piece again.

Joe01S4

P.S. Your car looks sick

Joe01S4

<img src="http://lh3.google.com/josephsamuels/RxYLiwE9KXI/AAAAAAAABPc/zJ30u9W0jwo/s800/IMG_0865.jpg" />

<img src="http://lh5.google.com/josephsamuels/RxYLiQE9KWI/AAAAAAAABPU/4-QJqvh-5ow/s800/IMG_0864.jpg" />

ZephyrS4

Seriously sorry you gotta deal with this, but hey, look at the brightside. Now insurance will get you new, non-shaking lights!