Jittery headlight beams

[Goldsax]

Both the beams are well aligned, however during driving, both the beams slightly jitter.
This becomes quite visible and irritating for both on coming drivers and me...
The units are well secured.
Is this an issue or another Italian quirk to live?
Thanks

 

[allandwf]

Both the beams are well aligned, however during driving, both the beams slightly jitter.
This becomes quite visible and irritating for both on coming drivers and me...
The units are well secured.
Is this an issue or another Italian quirk to live?
Thanks

Bulbs may not be fully home .

 

[Oneball]

Had a similar issue on a BMW and it was the plastic bit of the adjusters that attach to the mirror going brittle over time and breaking. So the body of the light was solid but if you went inside to where the bulb is you could move it around.

 

[mowlas]

I once had to repair a spare QP V headlight I was selling as part of the holding mechanism had dislodged. The mechanism was linked to the headlight elevation angle adjuster. It was a pain in the butt to fix as the fixing point needed pressure from the from lens area to push it back into place. I rigged some wire which I managed to loop around the back of the piece and pull. Popped it back into place. Took ages.

However, for that to happen, the headlight would need a serious knock. I hope and suspect it is something else in your case, but thought I should mention. In your case if both beams are jittering, it would be impossible for this to happen to both your headlights. However you can adjust the headlight elevation angle and I’d start by testing those first to see what happens.

You may need to remove the front plastic panels and inspect the fixings too.

 

[mowlas]

To add to the above, the headlights on the QP V are fixed by plastic tabs on the top and bottom.

I don’t know what your car is… if a GT then maybe slightly different set up.

 

[Zep]

To add to the above, the headlights on the QP V are fixed by plastic tabs on the top and bottom.

I don’t know what your car is… if a GT then maybe slightly different set up.

Yes, GT is bolted from the back of the headlight.

 

[mowlas]

One further thought is that the sensors or electrical part inside the headlight that does the self-levelling may be playing up….

 

[Goldsax]

Thanks for your guidance with this.
After reading the threads last night, and then rechecking the beams, it's only the left side that is affected...
Hopefully I'll get to the headlight next weekend and keep this up to date...
Thanks again

 

[Goldsax]

sorry as this is a basic question.
I have got to the headlight and all is tight.
I have previously adjusted beam lights, however I need some guidance with the QP.....I have tried to turn it gently with an Allen key but its not twisting..... is this a procedure that requires greater pressure? many thanks

 

[Goldsax]

the reason it would not move was because it was at it lowest level.
looking at the Allen plug, someone as already had this issue and attempted to tackle it.
the picture show what the difference is levels are.
on start up both the beams do their start up dance.
is this a beam high motor issue or could I fiddle with the headlight unit as a whole to correct this?
many thanks

 

[mowlas]

Have you checked the plastic mounting tabs on the headlight housing that bolt it to the car’s chassis are all intact and not broken? Also I’d check if the actual bulb is correctly engaged in its socket and whether the bulb itself is intact? If none of these things, my money would be on the mechanisms inside the headlamp unit.

 

[safrane]

It could be that the motorised beam adjusters are loose in the headlight unit, of the hinge of the beam cone.

The other issue could be your pitch/dive rods on the suspension units are loose or stiff.

 

[Goldsax]

thanks for your guidance.
unit is well bolted in, and bulb is also sure..so

1. where would the pitch rods be?
2. would the beam adjuster be a new unit or something I could play with?

are there any businesses that repair headlight units?
thanks again

 

[Oneball]

Take the back cover off the light in the way you can to change the bulb and see if you can move the reflector/bulb unit. If you can something has broken as per Safrane.

 

[safrane]

The pitch rods are connected to the front and rear suspension wish bones.

The light until is moved via a little motor with a push rod, which has a little ball and socket attachment to the reflector cone... if that has become dislocated it will bounce over bumps.

 

[mowlas]

The pitch rods are connected to the front and rear suspension wish bones.

The light until is moved via a little motor with a push rod, which has a little ball and socket attachment to the reflector cone... if that has become dislocated it will bounce over bumps.

View attachment 107148

That’s exactly what happened to me as I described in post #4 above. I fixed it but wasn’t easy, as described. Mine was a QP V headlight which may be slightly different to the GT.

 

[John Ed]

this is how I fixed my wobbly headlight:

https://www.sportsmaserati.com/index.php?threads/headlight-removal.30947/#post-776889