Does anyone have a link to the Audi workshop manual procedure for headlamp adjustment? I had a BMW 540i and the headlamp had an indicator in the light beam for adjustment and very specific instructions on the height and spacing for that indicator. When I shine these against a wall the beam is very vague. Not the original headlights and car was in a front end collision so I know they are out of adjustment. Not sure where they are pointed but on a dark road it's definitely not the road ahead. High beams don't seem to help much.

 

First you need to assess the headlights you got in the car as you mention they are not the original light housings. So it's possible you could have dual halogens, xenon projector/halogen combos, Bi-xenon projectors, or the adaptive 'tri-xenon' housings.

Here's a link to the main page for Ross-Tech Wiki on the Q7...scroll down it and you'll see several options depending on what headlight housings are in your car currently. It should have the bi-xenon or adaptive lighting housings based on year model. Look up the part # on them if you don't know what they are:

http://wiki.ross-tech.com/wiki/index.php/Audi_Q7_(4L)

 

They are the right headlights. I checked the part numbers on the broken ones. Adaptive curve. 4L0 941 030 AL (right) and 4L0 941 029 AL (left).

 

Yes, the adaptive headlights became standard on the higher trim levels late in production years, but are those same housings on the car now (the replacement housings are exactly the same part #... made by VALEO), etc. Be sure you look at the production date codes on the ones in the car.

If so, then they probably reused the old HID bulbs and control modules, as when you buy replacement housings they do not include the HID ballast, HID bulbs, or the 'steerable' lighting control module...those all have to be transferred over or purchased, etc. Audi sells the fully loaded tri-zenon headlamp housing, ready to plug & play, for about $2K USD each side, just for example. The OEM (Valeo), bare tri-zenon replacement housings you can buy online for about $650 per side, or you can roll the dice buying used housings.

To be direct; the housings in your car are either used housings from a car recycler, or they are new, which you will discover by the production date code on them, as well as their relative condition/clarity. Either way somebody swapped over used components or they came with used components/bulbs/ballasts, etc. on them...thus the weak output. Hid bulbs go bad/get weak over time; ballasts (bulb power controllers) eventually go bad too. The housing have two clips holding them in place and the wiring connector at back...they slide out the front of car. You can verify the date codes on ballast/control module, which are attached to side and underside of each light housing, and verify what bulbs are in them too, so you know what you working with.

 

I'm not being clear. I have the correct headlights. Car was in a collision. I'm looking for any info on the procedure for adjusting them to point in the correct direction. They are off in the aim point. I'm aware of the adjustment up/down and side to side. What I'm looking for is info on the specs. How far away from the wall or aim cards I should be, how far the beam indicators should be from center line and how the high the beam indicator should be from the ground. These are all items that should be available somewhere in print or online and most times this info is make/model specific. For example my BMW 540i had a telltale indicator mark in the beam that was apparent at a specified distance from a solid object such as a wall with the car on level ground. You would then adjust each light to the proper distance from the ground and center line of the car. That's the info I'm in search of. Once I'm all adjusted I will worry about the bulbs. I reused all of the bulbs and modules from the headlight that was broken. The other was M.I.A. but the modules and housings all have the same part number. Both OE Audi Xenon option housings have the same part number except for the last two letters, housings that end with AK are the non curve and those that end with AL are curve. The Valeo OE housings for the adaptive curve headlights are $1300 a pop. The non adaptive housings are $650-700. Considering I bought the entire car for $2050, I went the used market. Just a few more little bugs to work out and she is mint. I don't care about salvage titles because I fixed it and I know it was done right. Cars are money pits and the cheaper you can get them the better. I also bought a super nice Mercedes CLS550 with 61k miles a couple years ago for $2400. When you do all your own work the only thing that matters is the car's service history. As long as you know it's been taken care of you can get a great car for cheap. The downside to the German cars is there is not a wealth of info on stuff like I'm looking for now. Most people that drive these cars don't service their own vehicles so info can be hard to come by without buying shop manuals or VCDS or STAR (Mercedes) or ISTA (BMW). Thanks for all your help so far. You seem to be the only one in this forum that replies.

 

Not being smart here but have you tried searching on YouTube? That's the first place I go to try and find any how-to type videos, might be one for this. Maybe not. Or try a search on here and see what pops up, I'm sure it's been asked before. I wouldn't mind finding out myself, mine seem to be aimed correctly but I think they could be raised up a tad. Let me know if you find anything.

 

You’ll need VCDS or comparable.

When it’s dark out, find a tall vertical wall with plenty of good flat level pavement. Measure 25 feet from the wall and mark the pavement with chalk. Driving in a straight line over your 25 foot mark, pull the vehicle up to that wall with the bumper touching it. Turn on the headlights to low beam. With chalk, mark an X on the wall where the light output is most focused. With projector beams, you’ll see a distinct light cutoff pattern. Get back into the car and back up in a straight line until the front edge of your bumper is now parallel with the 25 foot mark. Pop the hood and open it.

With VCDS, go to address 55 - Headlights. Go to Adaptation and select learn basic setting (or similar, going off memory here). VCDS will then indicate it’s ready for adjustment. Get out of the vehicle and observe where the main light focal point is now. It needs to be adjusted back to the X on the wall for each housing. Using the white colored hex adjusters (6mm if I recall correctly) in the housings, move them accordingly until properly focused back to the X. Go back to VCDS and save your work. Once out of the adaptation menu, verify the headlights remained properly focused. If so, you’re all done.

Don’t try it without VCDS, it won’t work right.

 

Great steps outline for sure, and +1 on needing VCDS or a similarly capable VAGCOM to do this.

My thoughts are if you got super weak bulb output currently from old bulbs xferred into the housings and the light pattern is dim garbage you self-described as a result...then the cart would seem to be placed before the horse perhaps, if the goal is to get them aligned properly? You need to be able to see the hotspots in the pattern clearly from a distance.

Also, and just to be clear, the typical asking/retail price for the new, bare headlamp housing is exactly what you listed. A thread by another forum member a while back shows where he bought new housings from, that sells the bare bixenon for approx $550 each, IIRC, and the bare tri-xenon housing are around $650 each. And you can buy Euro-code housings there as well, etc., ...all brand-new and made by Valeo. They carry off-brand aftermarkets too. They also will sell you the Audi part# if you just like overpaying for the OE part# versus buying the OEM (VALEO) part #.

Good luck!