Adjusting Kia high beam headlights. Adjusting Kia Sid headlights with your own hands. Design of headlights and used lighting systems

The importance of automotive optics cannot be denied. Thanks to the headlights, the road surface is illuminated at night, which is why optics largely influence the safety of movement. How to properly disassemble and adjust the headlights of a Kia Cerato 2007, what nuances need to be taken into account - read more about this below.

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Optics device

The Kia Cerato can use not only low and high beam headlights, but also fog lights.

Regardless of the modification of the car and its year of manufacture, the headlight design will always be the same:

  1. Light source, that is, a light bulb. Depending on the model, lamps of different powers and types can be used in optics. Therefore, if you are replacing a low beam or high beam lamp, you should always take into account the manufacturer’s recommendations regarding the use of one or another type of device.
  2. Reflector. This element is used to collect the light flux into one beam and further direct it to the required location on the road.
  3. Diffuser. This component is characterized by a rather complex device, which ensures the direction of the light flux to the required area. Unlike a reflector, a diffuser also allows you to provide the required quality of light.

Photo gallery “Tuning Ideas”

Dismantling and disassembling optics

To remove and disassemble the headlight, do the following:

  1. To begin with, you should remove everything unnecessary from the optics, that is, lighting sources, plugs, and, if any, ignition units. There are also three small bolts on the headlight housing, you may not notice them at first - these bolts should be unscrewed.
  2. Next, you should go along the contour of the lantern with a stationery or other sharp knife, this will allow you to cut the layer of sealant. You will also need to disconnect the latches on the case. Using a regular household hair dryer with a flat-blade screwdriver, you need to disconnect the glass from the body. Please note that there is no need to warm up the case around the perimeter, since this will cause the sealant to stick together again, so you need to work in sections - each 5-10 cm section is treated with a hairdryer, then the glass is detached.
  3. When the glass is dismantled, you will need to remove the so-called flashlight mask; it is fixed with small screws, in total there can be about 10-15 pieces. After unscrewing the screws, the headlight glass is dismantled.
  4. Now you will work with the flashlight device. If you plan to change the wiring, repair or replace the lens, then these components, as you might guess, should be removed. First, the high beam reflector is removed; to do this, you need to remove it from the hinges and unscrew the adjusting bolt.
  5. The lens is dismantled in the same way; to do this, disconnect the clamps and unscrew the tilt angle adjustment bolt.
  6. Before removing the electrical corrector, disconnect the power cord from it. The element is dismantled after disabling the clamps; you also need to remove the turning light section; it is fixed with two bolts on the frame.
  7. To remove the lens, you need to unscrew three bolts on the reflective component housing. The reflector itself is fixed on the frame.
  8. The last step will be to remove the wiring - to do this, you need to unscrew the two bolts that secure the base of the rotary light bulb. Having done this, the block with the wires is rotated, after which the so-called braid is dismantled; to do this, three clips should be disconnected (the author of the video is Eduar Davydov).

Features of optics adjustment

The Kia Sid or Cerato headlights are adjusted using a special corrector:

  1. First of all, you need to check the condition of the lights and make sure that the tire pressure is normal, and the pressure in all wheels should be the same. In addition, for proper adjustment you will need a flat surface with no slopes on it. Moreover, a fence or wall must be located on this flat surface, and its surface must also be flat.
  2. After this, two points should be marked on the fence or wall, and the distance between them, as well as from them to the surface of the earth, should correspond to the location of the optics in the car. A horizontal line should be drawn between the points, and another one should be drawn below it, at a distance of about 12 cm. Another one is drawn under the second line, and all three segments must be drawn in parallel.
  3. Having done this, the vehicle should be driven away from the wall approximately 13 meters. It is at this distance that adjustment will be most effective.
  4. When the driver turns on the low beam, the upper limit of the light spots should be located on the second line. If this is so, then the lighting flux from the lights will not blind other drivers. If the car is equipped with anti-fog optics, then when turned on, the upper boundary of the light beam should be located along the lower, third line. Despite the misconception of many car enthusiasts, fog lights can also blind drivers, so their adjustment is also important.
  5. As for the intersection points of the horizontal and inclined planes of the lighting beams, they must be located in certain places. The best option would be if they are located at a distance of about 12 and 22 cm, respectively, from the marks that were placed on the fence or wall.
  6. The adjustment procedure is carried out until the main parameters correspond to the normalized ones described above. Separately, it is necessary to say about xenon. As a result of the fact that xenon shines much brighter, adjusting such optics is an even more responsible and important procedure.

Incorrectly adjusted xenon will not only cause inconvenience to other motorists, but can also cause a conflict, since not all motorists like being blinded.

Our article will be entirely devoted to the headlights of the Kia Sid, a very popular hatchback in our country. From this publication you will learn how to adjust the headlights on a Kia Sid with your own hands.

To accurately determine the angle of adjustment of the light flow, independent adjustment work is always carried out in the evening or at night. In addition, we need a flat wall, along which we will adjust the angle of the headlight lamps of our hatchback.

Before moving directly to the adjustment process algorithm, we present important information that every motorist should be familiar with.

What does this element consist of?.

The headlight is always constructed from basic components, regardless of its type. The main elements in any headlight are a lamp and a reflector, also called a reflector.

A regular lamp has a special tungsten filament with a melting point above 2700 degrees. If the lamps are xenon, then they do not imply a tungsten filament in their design at all.

The purpose of the reflector is to collect part of the light from the lamp and direct it onto the road. In other words, the reflector reflects the light flux in the desired direction. The reflector itself cannot fully illuminate the road, and therefore the following element, called a diffuser, was invented.

Diffuser

Advice. Diffusers must be polished periodically, as over time they become scratched, become cloudy and, in a word, cannot provide a normal and correct flow of light.

The diffuser is glass with a special corrugated pattern. Headlights must always be kept clean, as dirt contributes to overheating, which often causes the lens to crack or even melt.

Note!
There are polycarbonate diffusers that are not recommended to be wiped dry after washing.

Some modern headlights do not have a lens at all. They can be made with a more complex shape, and the required distribution of light is taken over by the reflector, which is slightly flattened in its vertical cavity. Such a reflector is no longer a paraboloid, but rather an ellipsoid or even a combination of these two figures.

American and European systems

As you know, today there are two headlight systems, which essentially have different light distributions:

  • The American one has its own special lighting principle: to shine as best as possible and further illuminate the road when switching from high to low beam. In the American system there is no sharp boundary between light and shadow, and as for the edge of the light beam, it is blurred.
  • The European headlight system, on the contrary, involves significantly reducing the strength of the beam of light that enters the eyes of drivers of oncoming cars. These types of headlights are characterized by a sharp cut-off line created in the lamp under the low beam filament.

Differences in headlight adjustment between American and European

  • Adjusting American headlights involves adjusting both low and high beam.
  • In European headlights, the manufacturer sets the high beam beam at the factory, through geometric adjustments of all structural elements.

Algorithm for adjusting headlights

Let's start with the fact that the wall where the headlights are adjusted must be perfectly vertical, and its surface is not smooth, as many people think, but rough.

Beginning the headlight adjustment process

The operating instructions will be as follows:

  • We park our car in such a way that it stands on a perfectly flat horizontal platform. This is extremely important and the longitudinal axis of the machine must be perpendicular to the wall.

Advice. When adjusting the Kia Sid headlights, we must remember that only if the above requirements are met, the process can be considered completed efficiently.
Don't forget that each headlight is checked individually.

  • Turn on the low beam. We take a thick sheet of cardboard and cover with it the headlight that is not yet being checked. The headlight should be bright and provide good illumination of the forward view. The headlight should shine well ahead.
  • Open the hood of the car and carefully inspect the headlight mounting area. There are a couple of screws here that are responsible for adjusting the lighting. Look at the photo below, where everything is shown.

Note!
Note that adjustments are made both vertically and horizontally.

  • We begin the adjustment, but first we need to carry out preparatory work.
  • We make sure that the tire pressure is correct.
  • We check the light bulbs in the headlights, their glass, etc.
  • If faults are found in any lighting element, the headlights must be disassembled.

Preparatory work

Note!
You need to check all elements, including light bulbs, glass, etc.

Removing the headlight


Advice. Again, some experts advise removing the bumper and fender liner to gain access to this area.
But this option is considered to be the longest.

  • The headlight latch can be easily removed by pressing on the headlight from the engine compartment. (See also article.)
  • Problems may arise when removing the left headlight, where there is little free space on the engine compartment side. In this case, you should try to move the air duct sleeve to the side, which creates interference.
  • Now let's move on to adjusting the headlights. Special markings must be made on the wall, representing two points that would accurately copy the distance between the headlights. They should be the same distance from each other as from the floor.
  • A line is drawn between the points, then parallel to another one at a distance of 12 cm, and then a third, which will be 22 cm lower than the first.
  • Let's return to adjusting the headlights.

Adjusting headlights on the wall

The upper limit of the light spots on the wall from the main headlights should coincide with the drawn second line. The car should be at a distance of 13 meters from the wall. The upper limit of the light of the fog lights should correspond to the third line.

As for the intersection points of the horizontal and inclined planes of the light spots, they should be located at a distance of 12 and 22 cm from the points corresponding to the Kia Sid headlights.

  • We adjust the headlights until the readings coincide with the values ​​​​given above. Only after this can the work be considered completed.

Note!
If xenon lighting is installed on the Kia Sid, then its light is much brighter than a stream of conventional light bulbs.
In this case, adjustment is required.

Let us note once again that safety on the road depends to a large extent on the adjustment of the headlights. If it is carried out correctly, as described above, according to the instructions, then it will be possible to better assess the situation on the road in the dark and the risks of losing control of the car are minimized.

In conclusion of the article, I would like to write about such a process as making stickers for headlights. This will help to modify the appearance of the car to some extent. Again, this process is considered as tuning and modification of headlights, although in principle, they look good on the Kia Sid.

One way to make stickers for Kia Sid headlights is with eyelashes. Many motorists perceive this hobby as nothing more than self-indulgence.

But there are still fans of this process, and eyelashes provide some benefits, which are listed below.

  • The headlight unit visually looks wider after this.
  • The line of the car's hood is visually aligned with the headlights.
  • The headlights give the car a more formal appearance and are perceived as being visually directed forward.

Conclusion

It is not difficult to make the adjustment yourself. It is enough to use the above information and be able to remove the headlights correctly if you need to check their operation.

During the work process, it is imperative to use visual materials that will help consolidate all the information and provide practical understanding, and the video in this article will clearly show you how to remove the headlights correctly.

Today, the price for services of this kind in service stations from professionals is quite high, so learning to do everything yourself will be very useful. We hope that this article helped you and gave you a lot of useful information.

If you notice that the quality of lighting in your car has begun to deteriorate, then you should immediately solve this problem, and it is worth noting that too bright light is just as undesirable as too dim light. In the first case, you will blind oncoming drivers, and in the second, you will have difficulty seeing the roadway. We will look at how to adjust the headlights on a Kia Sid with your own hands, this will save quite a lot of money.

Design of headlights and used lighting systems

Regardless of what modification of the car you are using, the structure of the front lighting fixtures is always the same:

  • A light bulb of a certain power that produces light. You should use those options that are recommended by the manufacturer, this will save you from the risk of structural damage due to structures that heat up too much.
  • The reflector allows you to collect the light flux into a beam and direct it to the right place on the road. But it is worth remembering that the reflector itself cannot provide the necessary quality of light; a third element is intended for this.
  • The diffuser has a complex structure, which ensures the direction of light in the desired area. Modern models may not have a diffuser, but the system there is much more complex, and we will not disassemble it.

Important! Remember that for proper and high-quality lighting it is necessary to maintain the diffuser in perfect condition. If you notice scratches on the surface, then you need to polish them.