How Do I Adjust a Headlight on an F-150?

by Thomas West

Ford uses the F150 nameplate to identify its half-ton pickup trucks. The F150 is available in several different cab and bed configurations with two- or four-wheel drive. Interiors can be ordered with optional accessories that rival some luxury cars. The standard halogen headlights on your F150 are adjustable to compensate for loaded and unloaded conditions. This insures that you can see the road at night without blinding oncoming traffic with ill-adjusted headlights.

Step 1

Park your truck at a perpendicular angle to a flat, vertical surface such as a garage door or wall. Use a measuring tape and make sure the front of your vehicle is 25 feet from the wall or door.

Step 2

Locate the centering indicator on one of your headlight lenses, which is a 3 mm circle. Measure from the indicator to the ground. Transfer this measurement to the wall or door by applying a piece of 8-foot-long masking tape horizontally to the surface of the wall or door directly in front of your truck.

Step 3

Turn on the headlights on the low-beam setting to illuminate the wall or door directly in front of your truck. Open the hood. Cover one of the headlights with a piece of cardboard and masking tape to make individual adjustments easier.

Step 4

Observe the pattern on the wall or door that the uncovered headlight is making. Note that if the bottom of the beam pattern is above or below the masking tape, follow subsequent steps for vertical adjustment of the headlight. Turn the adjustment nut on top of the headlight assembly with a 4 mm wrench in a clockwise direction to raise the beam pattern, or in a counterclockwise direction to lower the beam.

Step 5

Remove the cardboard from the opposite headlight and place it over the one you have already adjusted. Repeat Step 4. Remove the cardboard and masking tape, close the hood, and turn off the headlights.

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