Bring your lights into line

Do people's headlights dazzle you? You know, the ones that seem to point straight into your eyes even when dipped? It's disconcerting and dangerous. But are you sure you're not guilty too?

If you are towing a caravan or a boat on a trailer, the extra weight on the rear of your car could well put your headlamps out of alignment. A rear-mounted cycle carrier loaded with bikes could do the same thing. Even a full complement of passengers and a boot full of luggage may result in your headlamps being set too high.

Take your car abroad and drive on the right and you face other problems. Your dipped headlamps will point to the left - straight at oncoming traffic.

Fortunately, these situations can be corrected - often quickly and easily. They are some of the many DIY tasks covered by Haynes Manuals. Haynes is the world's leading publisher of automotive repair manuals and renowned for teaching millions of car owners how to carry out routine maintenance and repairs. Haynes publishes manuals for more than 500 cars, as well as useful Haynes Glovebox Guides such as Your Car and Driving Abroad.

For more advice on model-specific procedures, please refer to the appropriate Haynes Service and Repair Manual. Haynes Manuals are available from this website and all good car accessory retailers and bookshops including: Halfords, Motor World and WH Smith. Please use our comprehensive Stockist Locator in the left margin of this page.

To adjust your headlamp beams, follow these simple steps.  

1. If you are driving abroad, you need to fit a set of headlamp converters. These self-adhesive masks blank out the part of the beam which could dazzle oncoming drivers.
2. Clean the headlamps with a soft cloth or tissue. If you start the engine and switch on the headlamps, the glass will get warm and help the masks to adhere.
3. On many headlamps, there is a sloping baseline, which you can use to align the bottom edge of the masks. Peel off the backing material and stick the masks to the headlamps.
4. If your car has twin headlamps, you need only mask the outer pair. Some cars built after 1994 have special clear lenses or projector lights, which will need the masks to be fitted in a particular way - refer to the headlamp converter instructions.
5. If your car has the latest high intensity discharge or xenon headlamps, converters will not work. Instead, you should be able to switch the beams to a left-hand drive setting. Refer to the vehicle handbook.
6. Don't forget to remove the converters or reset your headlamps as soon as you return to the UK.
7. If you are towing or carrying a heavy load in this country or abroad, your headlights may also need adjustment. On many modern cars, you can adjust the alignment of the headlamps from the dashboard. On other cars, you will need to turn adjustment screws on the actual headlight units. Refer to the Haynes manual for your car for details.
8. Shine the headlamps against a wall or garage door and note the position of the pattern they make. Now load the car or attach the trailer. Adjust the headlamps so that the light pattern returns to its original position and note the amount of adjustment you made - you will need to readjust the lights whenever you remove the trailer or unload the car.