Often
thought of as just another part to change out, modern lighting systems are a
major safety item requiring proper installation and aiming.Lights serve two purposes on vehicles: The
first is to illuminate the road for the driver to see where he or she is going.
The second is to make sure other drivers can see your vehicle. Today’s cars
and trucks are required to have several lights, including tail lights; markers;
stop and turn signals; a third brake light located high and centered; side
marker lights in the front and rear; and marker and turn signal lights at the
front. Headlights must alert other drivers without shining in their eyes. This
is why all vehicles have low beams, which have a sharply defined pattern of
light. High beams have more of a flood pattern.
Development of lighting systems started with slow-moving carriages, which needed little more than a lantern, taken right off of their horse-drawn predecessors. Carbide and, later, incandescent lamps followed. In the 1920s, the “Duplo” lamp was developed, featuring two filaments. Thirty years later the “Duplo-d” lamp was introduced. This lamp had an asymmetrical light beam, allowing a low beam with a cut-off pattern. This was an important safety development because the driver needed to see the road and be seen by other drivers, but avoid blinding the drivers of oncoming cars. It was the mid-1960s that halogen bulbs were first used in Europe. Halogen lamps produce about twice the amount of light as incandescent sealed beams.
Development of lighting systems started with slow-moving carriages, which needed little more than a lantern, taken right off of their horse-drawn predecessors. Carbide and, later, incandescent lamps followed. In the 1920s, the “Duplo” lamp was developed, featuring two filaments. Thirty years later the “Duplo-d” lamp was introduced. This lamp had an asymmetrical light beam, allowing a low beam with a cut-off pattern. This was an important safety development because the driver needed to see the road and be seen by other drivers, but avoid blinding the drivers of oncoming cars. It was the mid-1960s that halogen bulbs were first used in Europe. Halogen lamps produce about twice the amount of light as incandescent sealed beams.
Viewed from the front, all that is seen of this fog light and marker lamp is the lens and reflectors. From behind, the housing is seen to extend behind the bumper cover. Discovering damage to this part of the lamps may be difficult during initial inspections.Replacement
and repair issues
Of course, lighting systems are some of the first parts to be damaged during collisions. Marker and signal lamps are located near the four corners of the vehicle, often mounted in the bumper systems or exterior body panels. Replacing these items is routine for most technicians, although the plastic housings can be overlooked at the time of the initial estimating process.
Of course, lighting systems are some of the first parts to be damaged during collisions. Marker and signal lamps are located near the four corners of the vehicle, often mounted in the bumper systems or exterior body panels. Replacing these items is routine for most technicians, although the plastic housings can be overlooked at the time of the initial estimating process.
Park the car on a level floor facing a wall or screen 25 ft. away. Measure the distance from the ground to the geometric center of the headlights. On some lights, there is a little molded mark to indicate this center. Transfer this measurement to the wall. Measure the distance between the lights. Transfer this and the centerline of the vehicle to the wall. Now mark a line 2.1 in. below the horizontal you marked on the wall. Turn on the lights and set the low beams to intersect the lower line and the vertical lines where the angle in the beam starts to slope upward. W ith some lights, the pattern of light on the wall is hard to judge precisely.
An overlooked repair technique is sanding and
polishing the lenses. Often only minor scratches are present. Many of the
plastics in use today are easily sanded and polished. The materials you need are
located in the refinish department. Just as when sanding clearcoat, start with
the finest paper that will eliminate the scratch, work up to 2,000-grit paper
and machine polish. This will take out those minor scuffs and scratches. It will
not fix hazed or yellowed lenses on older headlights, although it may improve
the appearance.
Aiming headlights is a critical part of vehicle repair. This is probably one of the most overlooked details in the collision repair industry. Too few shops have the proper equipment to properly aim headlights. There are several choices, starting with a manual process involving taking measurements and aiming the light against a wall or screen. During this process, park the car on a level floor facing a wall or screen 25 ft. away. Measure the vertical distance to the geometric center of the headlights. This is the hard part—what is the geometric center? On some lights, there is a little molded mark to indicate this center. On others, it will be necessary to look into the lens and judge where the center of the bulb is. Transfer this measurement to the wall. Measure the distance between the lights. Transfer this and the centerline of the vehicle to the wall. Now mark a line 2.1 in. below the horizontal you marked on the wall.
Beyond the normal damage to components as part of a collision, include a lighting system check in your estimating and final quality control procedure. Lighting system components, particularly bulbs, may become damage away from the point of impact due to the physical forces involved in the collision. With lighting system basics under your belt, coupled with a thorough system check, you can assure the safety and customer satisfaction of your lighting system repairs.
Aiming headlights is a critical part of vehicle repair. This is probably one of the most overlooked details in the collision repair industry. Too few shops have the proper equipment to properly aim headlights. There are several choices, starting with a manual process involving taking measurements and aiming the light against a wall or screen. During this process, park the car on a level floor facing a wall or screen 25 ft. away. Measure the vertical distance to the geometric center of the headlights. This is the hard part—what is the geometric center? On some lights, there is a little molded mark to indicate this center. On others, it will be necessary to look into the lens and judge where the center of the bulb is. Transfer this measurement to the wall. Measure the distance between the lights. Transfer this and the centerline of the vehicle to the wall. Now mark a line 2.1 in. below the horizontal you marked on the wall.
Beyond the normal damage to components as part of a collision, include a lighting system check in your estimating and final quality control procedure. Lighting system components, particularly bulbs, may become damage away from the point of impact due to the physical forces involved in the collision. With lighting system basics under your belt, coupled with a thorough system check, you can assure the safety and customer satisfaction of your lighting system repairs.
About the Author
Charles Wilhite
Charles Wilhite, owner of Gamut Services, provides training and consulting to the automotive colli-sion industry. He is an active I-CAR instructor, I-CAR Advantage contributor and an ASE-certified Master Collision Repair/Refinish Technician with more than 25 years in the trade. He also teaches composite construction and repair in the aviation industry.
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