March 19, 200818 yr 99 Legacy OBW Driving at night I notice that my headlights are not nearly as bright as my 06 Toyota RAV4. Even when switched to high-beams, people don't flash their lights at me for being too bright. I just replaced the bulbs with new ones (not those $300 blue ones, just the better white ones). Could they be out of alignment? Are there instructions somewhere here on how to align them? How else could I brighten things up at night? Thanks
March 19, 200818 yr Are your headlights clear? I know that on a lot of these cars, after a few years the headlights start clouding over, which really reduces the light output of them. If this is the case, a simple polishing job should probably bring them back to life. The next most important thing to consider is the alignment of the headlights. I'm not sure if the '99 has them, but on the headlights that came with my '97 outback, there were levels on the tops of the headlights that let you know when they were more or less aimed correctly. I might be wrong, but I believe that there are instructions in the car's manual about the proper procedure for aiming them. If not, I know there has to be information here on it. Good Luck
March 19, 200818 yr Also make sure that your other lights are not dim as well. If they are dull, check your ground wires to the engine block and body for good connections.
March 20, 200818 yr Author I bought one of those CrystalView headlight polishing kits at the Auto Store ($20). I followed the instructions (I actually polished a little more that they said to), and I must say the lenses do look brand new now. Then I went to try to adjust the beams. I found several sources on the internets that said to mark a cross on the garage door where the center of your lights are, then back up (exactly straight) 25 ft and adjust the vertical and horizontal until the hot spot is just below and to the right of the cross. Fumbling around in the dark, I was turning the white plastic screw and couldn't see any movement. Got back in the light and found that I had stripped the plastic part and was just moving it around the screw. How do I fix this? Can I rip the plastic part off and turn the screw some other way? Maybe with vise grips? I sprayed some WD40 on the threads to loosen them up. I probably should have done that first.
March 20, 200818 yr If all of that stuff doesnt work, Relay your lamps. Although I cant remember if they already are relayed in that or not.
March 20, 200818 yr I cleaned my lenses as well and they are much better but I am looking into getting these as well: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300206106283&ssPageName=ADME:B:WNA:MOTORS:1123 They might not be legal in all states but they could be easily sweapped out for standard bulbs for inspection.
March 20, 200818 yr What does that mean? "Relay your Lamps"Add relays to the system. Subaru wiring is typically under powered for the job. Adding relays helps to make the connections better and make your lighting better. I'm pretty sure that relays would fix your problem a good bit. Remember, your wiring is 10 years old - it's worn out. Putting in HID's is not the solution. It's illegal to do so.
March 21, 200818 yr How do I fix this? Can I rip the plastic part off and turn the screw some other way? Maybe with vise grips? I sprayed some WD40 on the threads to loosen them up. I probably should have done that first. Can't be replaced; I've tried a lot of places. Subaru just doesn't bother ordering spares when they buy whole headlight units from the supplier.
March 21, 200818 yr Author Add relays to the system. Subaru wiring is typically under powered for the job. Adding relays helps to make the connections better and make your lighting better. I'm pretty sure that relays would fix your problem a good bit. Remember, your wiring is 10 years old - it's worn out. Putting in HID's is not the solution. It's illegal to do so. Are there instructions here (or somewhere else) on how to do such a thing. It doesn't sound all that expensive. I'm willing to give it a shot. But how?
March 21, 200818 yr http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/relays/relays.html http://www.danielsternlighting.com/products/products.html Scroll down looks like it's $49 for a kit I think I will go this route as well.
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