beam adjustment

[kikkthecat]

Can anyone tell me how to adjust the headlights on the Viano for driving in Europe ?
I can find nothing in the menu from the steering wheel and all the handbook tells me is the headlamps should be switched to symmetrical dipped beam, information available at a Mercedes service centre.

 

[whitenemesis]

Drop it in to your local MB dealer. They will make the adjustment, usually for free (but check first!)

 

[kikkthecat]

Drop it in to your local MB dealer. They will make the adjustment, usually for free (but check first!)

That would be all well and good but then I would be driving the length of this country twice with the beam adjusted for driving on the right. The planned journey does include some driving during the hours of darkness.

What I would like ideally is to be able to make the adjustment myself at the Eurotunnel terminal rather than have to go to the dealer, drive 300 miles with them adjusted, come home, drive another 300 miles before making another trip to the dealer to have them readjusted.

I appreciate your input but maybe the question should have read, "Can I do it myself and if so how" ?

 

[glojo]

It is possible that you could nip into the local dealership and have a technician actually show you how to do it because as you rightly say, your a long way from the coast and it would be crazy to drive such long distances with incorrectly adjusted headlights.

John

 

[MBManInKen]

What I would like ideally is to be able to make the adjustment myself at the Eurotunnel terminal rather than have to go to the dealer, drive 300 miles with them adjusted, come home, drive another 300 miles before making another trip to the dealer to have them readjusted

While I am based in London and therefore close enough to the crossing to be able to get the garage to perform the conversion, I often have thought along the same lines as you have.

It's rather silly that there is no simple way for the driver to move the shutters or adjust the beam.

Out of curiosity, does anyone on this forum knows why conversion stickers on the headlights supposedly do not work for xenon lamps?

 

[Dieselman]

Out of curiosity, does anyone on this forum knows why conversion stickers on the headlights supposedly do not work for xenon lamps?

Rather than not working it's probably more that they are unnecessary as there is facility to adjust the headlamp shield built in.

It could also be that due to the different reflector pattern the regular 'beam benders' don't work as well as they should, but I doubt that.

 

[GrahamC230K]

The beams won't be incorrectly adjusted while inthe UK, they just wont light up the kerb, just the centre of the road, as they will while you are abroad.

I agree best to identify how to do this yourself, but as an alternative, the dealer option need not be entirely dismissed.

 

[pammy]

mm - interesting this, I never gave it a thought as in my book it tells you where to blank of the lenses, but I have xenons Perhaps the book is just intended for the standard fit ones for the SLK. Not that I have immediate plans to drive her to the continent anyway (unlike Ray )

 

[Gollom]

Are they bi-xenons Ray? If so, this should cover it

2 notes of caution on this though - the lever I understand is quite fragile which is why I always got the dealer to do mine! (having said that I normally go from Hull or drive down during daylight) Also, if you do do it ensure that the auto lights setting is not on - I believe it can fry you quite easily!

Steve

 

[BTB 500]

When asking about my Sharan I was advised by a VW main dealer to simply use the headlight level adjustment to angle the beams down a bit when driving on the right.

The official answer is to buy and fit headlamp protectors, there are then beam deflectors that fit to the protectors. But as pointed out, this isn't something you'd want to do at the Eurotunnel each time ... whereas turning the level adjustment dial is simple. Anyway this is what I've done for each trip to Germany so far, without any problems.

This is with halogen lights - on the Sharan you couldn't have xenons with 4WD

As an aside, does the Viano have Xenons as standard? They weren't available as an option on the Vito ... so OEM xenons could be my first mod

 

[Dieselman]

Anyway this is what I've done for each trip to Germany so far, without any problems.

For whom? How many oncoming drivers have you stopped to ask?

Out of courtesy I always use beam benders when abroad.

 

[BTB 500]

For whom? How many oncoming drivers have you stopped to ask?

Well, I've never been flashed. I've checked the beam pattern with the lights angled down, and IMO it's not going to dazzle anyone.

Out of courtesy I always use beam benders when abroad.

I would use them too if they were a practical proposition.

 

[kikkthecat]

Thanks for the replies.
The lights are not xenons (not even an option on the Viano) and having looked behind the lights I cannot see anything to adjust so a trip to the dealer it is then. I just hope they can show me how to do it rather than do it for me as I still think 600 miles is a long way with what I feel would be wrongly adjusted lights.
The handbook states "symmetrical dipped beam" so Graham may well be correct, I'll find out on Tuesday.

 

[MBManInKen]

Rather than not working it's probably more that they are unnecessary as there is facility to adjust the headlamp shield built in.

Thanks, that's useful and perhaps someone can confirm for definite that stickers would indeed work, because if they do it's frankly less hassle for me to get them and fit them at the crossing, rather than having to go to the garage each time.

I do have xenons, but there is no lever or switch to be seen anywhere and my manual is completely silent on the topic .

simply use the headlight level adjustment

The problem is that xenons are self-levelling (and even if they weren't the car has airmatic so is self-levelling anyway), there is no manual control anymore...

Thanks for the replies.
The lights are not xenons

Can't you just use stickers then?

 

[Gollom]

I do have xenons, but there is no lever or switch to be seen anywhere and my manual is completely silent on the topic .

I believe it is only bi-xenons that have them. And the lever is actually inside the headlamp housing

 

[big x]

Are they bi-xenons Ray? If so, this should cover it

2 notes of caution on this though - the lever I understand is quite fragile which is why I always got the dealer to do mine! (having said that I normally go from Hull or drive down during daylight) Also, if you do do it ensure that the auto lights setting is not on - I believe it can fry you quite easily!

Steve

Your right the LH/RH lever adjusters found on many cars are somewhat fragile. I took the Hella made headlights apart on my BMW to clean them and the heat makes the parts brittle.The lever is metal but some of the internal plastic parts are just not suitable for frequent movement.
The impression I get is RHD to LHD adjustment is very much of an afterthought for the European car makers.

adam

 

[MBManInKen]

And the lever is actually inside the headlamp housing

Yeah, I had a look inside a few months ago, didn't see anything .

 

[kikkthecat]

Wel I finally got it sorted but not to my satisfaction by any means.
I went to the dealer today as I'm driving down to Golloms this weekend.

"Can you show me how to adjust these headlights for driving abroad please ?

"Certainly sir, I'll get a technician to look at it for you"

10 minutes later Jason came and looked under the bonnet, found nothing and said he had to take it into the workshop to plug it in.

Another 15 minutes and the girl from service reception came to me and said there is nothing to adjust and I would have to fit beam deflectors which I could get from the parts department. She then gave me a print out from the WIS showing the correct way to fit them.

Down in parts all they had were Eurolite universal beam deflectors at £4.69 +vat, not even close in size or shape to the ones I had in the diagram. They had a look on the EPC and no beam deflectors were even listed for the Viano (which I though was weird as WIS shows the correct way to fit them) so as I wasn't happy with the universal ones, they suggested I go to Halfords which I did.
And what did Halfords have ? Rows of Eurolite Universal deflectors at £8.49.

So I went to Northside trucks, Mercedes commercial dealer, thinking that surely enough Vito's were crossing the channel to make sure something simple was readily available. Err no. Nothing, they couldn't even offer me the universal ones.
So back to the dealer and made them open a pack to make sure instructions for fitting them to a Viano were actually in there. Vito 2003 onward was listed so I took them but I'm a long way from satisfied about it.

Too late now as I'm going this weekend but if anyone can offer me any advice or an alternative for next time I would appreciate it.

 

[BTB 500]

Too late now as I'm going this weekend but if anyone can offer me any advice or an alternative for next time I would appreciate it.

Only what I suggested before i.e. using the beam level adjustment to angle the lights down, so the left side doesn't dazzle. I just did 900 miles in the dark like that, with no problems ... honestly.

Have you got headlamp protectors? If not I wonder if there are beam deflectors that fit to them? I'll be using my Vito to go to Germany and back at least once a year (when I get it!), and like you I'd prefer to do the lights "properly" if at all possible.

 

[Dieselman]

I take it these are beam deflectors not just blanking tape.

The easiest way to fit them is to have the lights on facing a wall then just stick them on wherever they make the LH upwardly angled beam deflect to the right.

If the deflection isn't created by the actual frontal glazing then the pattern won't transfer properly it will be mirror image, but it will be deflecting to the right.