Whether you feel you can’t see as well at night, or you feel you’re lighting too low, or too high, in all these circumstances, there’s only one part of your vehicle to take responsibility – your headlights, as well known as high beams. Although this adjustment may seem easy thanks to the thumbwheel on your dashboard, a whole adjustment is much more technical than this simple manipulation, and in this article, we are going to find out how to adjust the headlights of your Audi A3? To do this, first we will find out why you need to adjust your high beams, and secondly how to adjust the headlights of your Audi A3.
Why adjust the headlights of your Audi A3?
So let’s start our content with the interest of adjusting the headlights of your Audi A3. For many of us, our headlights are adjusted sufficiently, and they seem to light up enough at night. Regrettably this is not constantly the circumstance and checking this setting, either because the headlights on your Audi A3 are not bright enough, or because you have the impression that they are too weak is a wise decision .
Adjusting the high beams of your Audi A3 for safety
First of all, the headlight adjustment of a Audi A3 must be conducted for a simple safety reason. Regardless it’s for you, or for the other users you come across during your night trips. Obviously, if you don’t see enough, the risk is to ignore an obstacle driving, or to anticipate a curve badly. However, if your headlights are too powerful, regardless if you are supposed to switch to low beam lights when you cross a car, the time needed to make this switch will generally expose the driver in front of you to the headlight beam of your Audi A3 . It is consequently essential for others as well as for you to have an optimal adjustment of your headlights.
Adjusting the headlights of a Audi A3 for legal reasons
In addition to safety, there is a law that regulates the power, the adjustment of motor vehicle headlights (articles R313-2 of the Highway Code), here is what it specifies: have between 2 and 4 headlights that illuminate at least 100 meters. Another legislation regulates their use, the European one (directive 76/756/EEC), which stipulates that there is no maximum height for the adjustment of the headlights, but that the maximum width of the beam must be identical to that of the dipped headlights and that the maximum luminosity must be 225, 000 cd.
How to adjust the headlights of a Audi A3?
We will now move on to the part that concerns you the most in this article, how to adjust the headlights of his Audi A3? This adjustment may seem a bit difficult, but by simply following the instructions you should have the ability to accomplish it without too much problem.
Preparations to adjust the headlights of a Audi A3
First of all, you’ll need to prepare your vehicle to adjust your high beams in good conditions, here are the preparations to executed:
- Place your vehicle on a surface in front of a white wall for example, about 4 or 5 meters from the wall.
- Verify your tire pressure cautiously.
- Verify that the height adjustment knob for the lights is set to 0
- Try doing that with half a full tank.
- Remove all unneeded weight from the vehicle, only one person should be in the driver’s seat.
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The headlight adjustment of his Audi A3
Once your car is in place, you will turn on your dipped beam and make a cross-shaped mark (one horizontal and one vertical section) in the middle of the beam that will be projected on the wall. Verify with a level that both parts of the cross are horizontal. Then back your vehicle up to a distance of between 7 and 10 metres. For the rest of the procedure here are the steps to stick to:
- Open your bonnet, locate the screws for horizontal and vertical modification of the headlights of your Audi A3 (they are in general marked, and those on top must adjust the verticality and the one on the side manages the horizontality of the adjustment).
- Use a cloth or another thing to hide the projector on which you are not making the modification.
- Using the screws to make the horizontal modification, you should have the most intense part of the beam which should be a little to the right of the vertical line marked on the wall
- With regard to vertical modification, you will have to use the screw to try to position the upper end of the beam at the level of the horizontal marking on the wall, or slightly below.
- Once finished, check that the headlights setting of your Audi A3 is coherent, do not think twice to check it after you have driven it, often it may move.
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If you want to adjust the fog lights on your Audi A3, please read our content on this subject matter.
If you need more guides on the Audi A3, go to our Audi A3 category.
