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  #1  
Old 10-03-2010, 09:47 AM
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Location: Oregon, Illinois (about 100 miles due west of Chicago)
Posts: 354
W126 Headlight Adjuster Broke

1989 300SE.

I was trying to correct the aim of the left headlight using the height adjuster. I had previously adjusted it a little too high. As I was turning the knob it got very stiff then it felt like something snapped and the headlight aim suddenly dropped so it was pointing at the ground very close to the front of the car. The adjustment knob now turns very freely, and no longer does anything. Is there anything I can do temporarily to bring it up until I can get the parts to fix it right?

What broke exactly and what part do I need to fix it?

Also, I've had a very hard time trying to aim the headlights on this car. It seems like the adjusters, especially the one that controls the left/right movement does little or nothing and I'm afraid it will snap if I keep trying. Does anyone know which way I should turn each knob to make the function go in the right direction. The CD doesn't really say anything, nor does the owner's manual. I've done a search of the archives but there's little information on adjusting.

Should I lubricate the adjusters so I don't break them again? If so with what and where should it be applied.

Both sides have new Bosch lenses and frames. Does anyone have a good bucket for sale at a decent price.

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1970 Triumph Spitfire

Last edited by bolomiester; 10-03-2010 at 09:58 AM.
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  #2  
Old 10-03-2010, 10:24 AM
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Location: Evansville WI
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Are you sure you aren't turning the foglight adjuster??
Not sure what broke, they are kind of fun to mess with, just remove the headlight assembly and figure it out. If you are lucky the adjuster just pulled off the bucket.
Gilly
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  #3  
Old 10-03-2010, 11:08 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gilly View Post
Are you sure you aren't turning the foglight adjuster??
Not sure what broke, they are kind of fun to mess with, just remove the headlight assembly and figure it out. If you are lucky the adjuster just pulled off the bucket.
Gilly
Hopefully you're right that the adjuster just pulled off the bucket. I'll find out when I take it apart. It wasn't the foglight adjuster though. That's further to the right. Plus, when I felt the "snap" the headlight's aim instantly dropped so that it's pointing at ground not far from the front of the car, and the adjuster fells loose and turns very freely like it's not connected to anything.
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Old 10-03-2010, 11:52 AM
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A ball and socket joint inside came apart. Remove the headlamp from the car, take it apart, and pop the ball back on the socket.


-Jason
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  #5  
Old 10-05-2010, 04:00 PM
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Same thing happened to me on my W124. I could see inside the bucket, and the socket on the reflector mount for the link to the adjuster knob was fractured. Age-weakened plastic, I guess.

The adjuster seems bizarre in the first place. It isn't threaded at all, I don't see how it can adjust anything. It seems to be a bayonet fitting with no travel at all: it's either locked or unlocked. ???
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  #6  
Old 10-11-2010, 06:03 PM
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Location: Oregon, Illinois (about 100 miles due west of Chicago)
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Nothing broke, threads stripped out of plastic adjuster knobs.

I removed the headlight, took it apart, and found the problem. Nothing broke and the second generation w126 adjusters don't use a ball and socket. The threads in the plastic adjuster knobs (see photo below) stripped out allowing the springs that hold the steel bucket in the plastic housing to pull the headlight's aim to the lowest and furthest right position.

The "T" shaped ends fit into slots on the steel headlight bucket and are held down when the lens unit is in place, then thread into the plastic adjustment knobs. Apparently what happens is that steel "bolts" corrode and in turning the adjusters in and out the threads get stripped. Fortunately I had another headlight. It was in bad shape and for the right side but the adjusters are the same. I took the other unit apart so I could remove the adjusters without unscrewing them then soaked them in penetrating oil overnight and the next day I was able to unscrew them without damaging the threads.

The other thing that can cause problems is that the steel bucket is resting on four protrusions in the back unit. They were originally lubed with white grease, but it was long ago dried up and the steel bucket was corroded. I cleaned the surfaces applied new white grease and now everything works very smoothly.

In case you're wondering, you turn the knobs to the right (clockwise) the raise the aim and to the left to lower it. It also helps to apply a little pressure to the top of the glass lens unit when you're turning the knob to ease the strain on the threads in the adjuster.

Adjusting laterally, turn the right side adjuster to the right (clockwise) the move the aim to the right, or to the left (counter clockwise) to move the aim to the left. On the left side turn to the right (clockwise) to move the aim to the left or right (counter clockwise) to move the aim to the right. When doing this adjustment applying a little pressure to the outside edge of the glass headlight unit helps ease the strain. There are springs holding the steel bucket into the plastic housing and they are pulling the aim down and toward the center of the car.

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  #7  
Old 08-06-2017, 10:41 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Chicago, IL
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Bumping this back up. Anyone know where I can find a couple of these for a W123 1980 300CD?

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