Headlights

[Chasdad]

My newly purchased t reg ls400 has very good headlights for the year. They're very bright and adjust automatically when ignition is turned on. Are these standard on all 400,s

[Scribe]

I believe so. Mine do the same - you can hear the buzz from outside while the beams adjust. They're the brightest headlights I've ever had - brilliant.

[Chasdad]

I was told by previous owner that they were upgrades. So I didn't know if there were different types across the model range

[9690phil]

Maybe he's upgraded bulbs?? Pretty sure standard

[Chasdad]

Maybe. Got a faint bluey tint to them

[Cotswold Pete]

I recall that self levelling headlights came with the Mk4 and they had the HID lamps.

Previously Mk2 and Mk3 certainly had manual adjustment for headlights.

Just be aware that the the self levelling mechanism can corrode and fail, which happened to me after 1 year of owning Mk4. I did a DIY job which has held up so far.

It was only when I kept getting people flash me that I knew something was wrong.

[JIM PIKE]

Hi Chasdad

My headlights on dip beam are blueish but on main beam are normal yellowish, think mine may need adjustment as seem a little low. Does anyone know if they can be adjusted on the self leveling mechanism or rear suspension, and if so is it adjusted up or down?

Anyway Chasdad I thought your LS400 was up for sale, I think with all the questions you are asking of late you are thinking of keeping it.

Brian

[Titch LS]

Dip beams are HID (High Intensity Discharge) and are controlled by a ballast and an ECU. The bulbs act in the same way as an arc lamp,--- there is no filament just a gas and 20,000+ volts.(there's a warning label)! The bulbs are very expensive (you can buy cheap not-recommended Chinese ones) but they last a very very long time, like almost the life of the car. When you start your car, if you switch on your headlights facing a white garage door for instance, you should be able to see the headlight adjuster working to bring the beams up to the correct height. Hope this helps.

[Cotswold Pete]

Hi Chasdad

My headlights on dip beam are blueish but on main beam are normal yellowish, think mine may need adjustment as seem a little low. Does anyone know if they can be adjusted on the self leveling mechanism or rear suspension, and if so is it adjusted up or down?

Anyway Chasdad I thought your LS400 was up for sale, I think with all the questions you are asking of late you are thinking of keeping it.

Brian

There must be an adjustment at the lense end, because for the MOT after my DIY repair of the levelling linkage the headlights needed adjustment and they did not fiddle with the linkage.

It just said on the MOT - adjusted headlights.

So maybe some on the forum knows where that extra adjustment is - behind the headlamp unit I would have thought

[JIM PIKE]

Hi Pete

thanks for that, the only reason I thought they were adjusted from the bracket end was that I recall seeing pictures of the bracket, and the adjuster is mounted on a slot in the bracket and not just a bolt hole.

Brian

[Cotswold Pete]

Hi Pete

thanks for that, the only reason I thought they were adjusted from the bracket end was that I recall seeing pictures of the bracket, and the adjuster is mounted on a slot in the bracket and not just a bolt hole.

Brian

Brian,

Just found my old posting http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic/80163-self-levelling-headlights/page-2

As you can see it is real Heath Robinson job (just go to bottom of the post), and there appears to be no room for adjustment on this linkage anywhere, so this is why I assume my garage twiddled something else, not that I noticed when I was fitting replacement bulbs a bit later on.

[steve2006]

IIRC the series IV LS400 was fitted with either conventional halogen or HID headlights.

The HID lights have adjustors for both vertical and horizontal plane movement.

If anyone would like the adjustment section of the OEM manual please send me your email address by PM.

[JIM PIKE]

Hi Pete

thanks for that, the only reason I thought they were adjusted from the bracket end was that I recall seeing pictures of the bracket, and the adjuster is mounted on a slot in the bracket and not just a bolt hole.

Brian

Brian,

Just found my old posting http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic/80163-self-levelling-headlights/page-2

As you can see it is real Heath Robinson job (just go to bottom of the post), and there appears to be no room for adjustment on this linkage anywhere, so this is why I assume my garage twiddled something else, not that I noticed when I was fitting replacement bulbs a bit later on.

Thanks Pete

Looks good and saved you £70,

The bracket I have in my mind didn't look quite like that, it did have a slot in it for the bottom bolt. It must have been something else I had looked at but can't remember, (it's an age thing).

Brian

[steve2006]

The headlight height sensor links are a common fail on the series IV LS400, I do have a couple of replacements knocking around if anyone needs one.