How to Adjust Headlights on a C5
by Steve Bradley
Corvettes have long been one of the most popular American-made sports cars. You can see these high-performance vehicles on roads all across the United States as well as countries beyond. In order to drive a C5, you must keep all of the safety features working properly, and that includes making sure the headlights are properly aligned. Luckily, this is a fairly straightforward job and any do-it-yourselfer ought to be able to get it done in an hour or so with the aid of a partner and a screwdriver.
Step 1
Fill your Corvette with the same amount of weight you would normally carry while night driving. Pay special attention to the trunk and fill the gas tank about half way. Have a friend sit in the driver's seat, as the weight your car carries can greatly affect the angle of the headlight beams over long distances.
Step 2
Park the Corvette about one foot from a large wall with about 30 feet of flat, level ground in front of it. Engage the parking break.
Step 3
Mark the wall with the masking tape along the headlight's axis points. First, take a 6-foot strip of tape and mark from the center point of the passenger's side light across to the middle of the driver's side light. Then take two smaller pieces of tape and put a vertical strip in front of each headlight, creating a cross shape that will act as a bull's eye to aim for.
Step 4
Back the Corvette up about 25 feet and turn on the headlights so they shine against the marked wall. Look at how the beams land in respect to the tape. Both headlights should land 2 inches below the long horizontal strip of tape. This will provide adequate light for driving without creating a blind spot right in front of you. Additionally, the passenger's side light should land directly on the shorter vertical strip of tape while the driver's side should land 2 inches to the right. This stops your headlights from blinding oncoming traffic.
Step 5
Open the hood and access the rear of the headlight assembly on the driver's side. Locate the screw on the top center of the headlight which controls the vertical axis. Use a screwdriver to adjust this screw until the light beam hits the desired spot. On the center of one of the sides, find the screw that controls the horizontal beam. Adjust this as well.
Step 6
Go to the rear of the passenger's side headlight and repeat Step 5. Close hood.
References
Things You'll Need
- Screwdriver set
- Masking tape
Writer Bio
Steve Bradley is an educator and writer with more than 12 years of experience in both fields. He maintains a career as an English teacher, also owning and operating a resume-writing business. Bradley has experience in retail, fashion, marketing, management and fitness. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and classics.
