Auto Leveling Suspenion for headlamp aim

[HIDGolf]

Im replacing the headlamps on a Mark VIII MY1998. I heard that there is a way to get the car to autolevel the suspension while parked prior to headlamp aim. This was done by a complicated sequence of opening and closing doors and pushing on the fenders, and the car would rise up on its own and balance its self so the headlamps can be aimed properly.

I have done a couple of searches on here and on google but without any results. I am new to these cars and need some help.

 

[American Air-1]

Nothing really complicated, have the car running, then just shut off the car and shut the door. After 5 minutes the car should have vented down to "curb height", which is the same height the car is at hwy. speeds.

 

[purelux]

So you'd have lights only aimed right on the highway? Just get in the car turn it on then close door and wait for the compressor to air up then finish and turn off. Then get out leave door open go to trunk turn off suspension. Then you can turn the car off. You can now shut the door and aim lights and the system won't vent the air back out. Doing what he said you might as well just walk up to the car open the door and pop the hood as it was already vented out which it won't be when driving at any speed.

 

[American Air-1]

"So you'd have lights only aimed right on the highway? Just get in the car turn it on then close door and wait for the compressor to air up then finish and turn off. Then get out leave door open go to trunk turn off suspension. Then you can turn the car off. You can now shut the door and aim lights and the system won't vent the air back out. Doing what he said you might as well just walk up to the car open the door and pop the hood as it was already vented out which it won't be when driving at any speed."

Hey bud, what I was TRYING to get across, is that if you aim the headlights at the lower level, the headlights will never be any lower than that. If you aim the headlights at the higher setting, when the car does lower at 65 mph+, the headlights will be slightly lower. At what speed do you want the best forward nightime vision?....at 35 mph(probably in the city anyway)?....or 65 mph+? THINK ABOUT IT!

 

[HIDGolf]

Easy guys...

I know a lot more about lighting than I do about these FN-10s, so I just wanted to make a point.

Headlamp aim for the North American market is not dependant on vehicle height from ground. Rather it is the same for all vehicles regardless of height, so though the highway idea is good, as long as the car has the same "trim" for slow and high speeds the vehicle's height is not an issue.

My source on the headlamp aim proceedure was in reference to the earlier cars with the uber short headlamps where HID was an option. Im guessing these didnt have this switch in the trunk.

 

[Jamler3]

Easy guys...
as long as the car has the same "trim" for slow and high speeds the vehicle's height is not an issue...

That is exactly the point American Air-1 was getting at...
The vehicles hight changes at speed... Not more than 2" but it does change!
:Beer

 

[American Air-1]

If the headlight aiming was done with a nice high tech machine at a dealership or something, vehicle height doesn't even come into play. If your going the "old-school" method of aiming the headlights on a wall or something, vehicle height is a major factor.

 

[HIDGolf]

From what I have seen, these cars use bubble aim for the headlamps, so the level of the car is used to aim the headlamps, not the height of the car. As long as the car's trim (i.e. the position in the cross-car axis or the height of the front vs the height of the rear) is correct, height is not an issue. Its just that the leveling suspension gives you this trim postion, so having the auto level in operation is very important.