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Where is the headlight auto-leveler sensor fitted ?


pathfinder123

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Hi,

Recently the beam of both my headlights has been getting higher. On low beam it sometimes attracts a flash from oncoming traffic.

 

I believe my 350z (08 UK model) has a self leveling headlight system.

 

My questions is:-

where is the leveling sensor fitted ?

 

If it is on the near rear side then that might account for the ocasional knocking noise from that quarter.

 

T.I.A.

 

Stewart

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You got it, near side rear.

 

I've recently had Eibach ARB's fitted and as a result my lights are now lower. There is a way to manually adjust, which I believe has been posted here before with a bit if searching.

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It only self-levels from when you start the car, i.e. to take into account any weight in the boot. Once you've started the engine, the height is then fixed for the remainder of your journey until you turn the engine off. I'd go to a decent local MOT station and just get them to check the heights and adjust as needed, can't be more than £20-£30.

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You got it, near side rear.

 

I've recently had Eibach ARB's fitted and as a result my lights are now lower. There is a way to manually adjust, which I believe has been posted here before with a bit if searching.

 

Ah , maybe something in the leveling sensor had been causing the knocking, and has finally broken/worked loose.

 

Anyone know if the sensor is visible from under the car, or is fitted inside under some cover ?

 

Photos of it's location would be of great help...

 

Thanks

Stewart

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It only self-levels from when you start the car, i.e. to take into account any weight in the boot. Once you've started the engine, the height is then fixed for the remainder of your journey until you turn the engine off. I'd go to a decent local MOT station and just get them to check the heights and adjust as needed, can't be more than £20-£30.

 

That's interesting to know. Nothing has changed on the car, so it is probably setting the wrong height from starting up.

 

I have and MOT coming up in March and will probably get a service done at the same time. This is with a good local garage, and if I can point them to the cause of the problem it will save me the time and money of having to go to a main Nissan dealer.

 

Cheers

Stewart

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The level sensor is attached to the N/S/R suspension arm and can be easily seen underneath. Basic adjustment possible at the lamps itself, but if there is any fault with the system or you replaced any parts on it, than it will need to initialize the sensor and you need Consult 3 for that (that's Nissan's OEM computer and only dealers and specialist like us got it). I hope this helps :)

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The level sensor is attached to the N/S/R suspension arm and can be easily seen underneath. Basic adjustment possible at the lamps itself, but if there is any fault with the system or you replaced any parts on it, than it will need to initialize the sensor and you need Consult 3 for that (that's Nissan's OEM computer and only dealers and specialist like us got it). I hope this helps :)

 

Thanks a lot.

 

Now I know where to look I will jack that side up, take the wheel off and have a look. It maybe some simple mechanic fault. However, your advice regarding the need to intialise the sensor if it is changed, is very useful.

 

Cheers

Stewart

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"However I am a bit confused. The underside of my car doesn't look as colourful as that. More of a S**t Brown !"

 

Nothing that a few hours (months in my case) cleaning and painting can't sort out :D

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It being a bright warm day for a change I decided to have a look at the leveling sensor, and further investigate the knocking from the N/S/R corner.

 

The sensor was pretty easy to spot even without the colour coding.

 

I removed it, and could see nothing obviously wrong. So I gave it a squirt of De-Oxit5 and greased the linkages.

 

How to test it ?

 

I started the car, put the headlights on low beam and made a mark on the garage wall where the top to the beam was.

 

I then needed to put something heavy in the boot. As 'er indoors was out shopping I settled for some paving slabs and a heavy toolbox.

 

I then switched the headlights on again and noted that the beam was now quite a bit above the mark I had made.

 

When I started the engine the beam slowly came down to the position I had previously marked.

 

So, now I have confirmed the auto-leveling is working if the beam is still high then some manual adjustment of the lights themselves will be needed.

 

S.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 5 months later...

Hi all,

 

Just to add to this I recently discovered a problem with the auto levelling sensor - namely that it was broken in half. I purchased one from zmanalex and attempted to fit it yesterday. I made a careful note of how it came off to aid fitting the new one but I couldn't help thinking something was amiss. Here's a photograph of the original part as discovered:

 

HeadlightSensorBracketFittingwithHighlights_zps192e6513.jpg

 

Take note of the way the bracket is fitted that the arrow points to and compare it to the way Keyser's is fitted:

 

AutoLevellingSensor350zForum_zpsaaac8b4d.jpg

 

The way mine is fitted is achievable by swivelling the bracket through 180 degrees but makes absolutely no sense as I think the right-angle pieces are there to keep the bracket in place and aligned. This looks like it may have been the cause of the breakage as it must put the linkage at an incorrect angle but I'm not sure why it was being replaced in the first place though.

 

Makes you wonder about a car's history in the absence of detailed receipts.

 

I'd ask someone to confirm that keyser's way of fitting the bracket is correct as opposed to the way I discovered mine but it seems fairly obvious that it is.

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