1998 S70 Headlamp alignment gears

Mr. Detail · Post by **Mr. Detail** » 26 Sep 2014, 08:02

Can anyone please give me some detailed response for aligning my headlamps?
I have read elsewhere about how the individual owner of the car is not supposed to be able
to re-align the headlamps themselves and that Volvo epoxies the mechanism.
is there any easy step by step directions for this? My bubble level presently has the bubble at the extreme end of down. It is not equally spotted over the black line.

Post by **cn90** » 26 Sep 2014, 08:05

You can find generic info on the internet.
Things like park the car on level surface some 25 feet from a white wall.
Then aim the head light beams in such a way that it is a few inches down from the real height of the HL center (height from the ground).
The LEFT HL beam needs to be angles inward a little bit to avoid blinding opposite traffic.

Anyway, tons of info on the web.

Post by **jblackburn** » 26 Sep 2014, 08:53

If you find yourself turning the dial and nothing happening, open the clips to the headlight housing and push the reflector back onto the ball socket it pivots on. I don't know why, but they seem to pop off a lot (might be why the level is way off).

Mr. Detail · Post by **Mr. Detail** » 26 Sep 2014, 09:14

jblackburn;
Are those clips you spoke of easy to get off and on? I think I saw two or three around the outside edge of the glass part.
I still don't know how to adjust the up and down with those gears. There is a large gear with teeth and then a small one meshing with it. Plus so i have to release the whole dealio somehow just so they will be bale to turn?

Post by **jblackburn** » 26 Sep 2014, 09:21

Yeah, just pry in the middle with a small screwdriver and the clips will pop off.

The gears - you can put (I think) an allen wrench in the small gear. There's an adjustment behind the headlamp for height, a little white knob that you can again put a wrench into.

Post by **mikealder** » 26 Sep 2014, 09:52

You will have to take the headlight out to get at the clips securing the front lens on as there are three on the underside of the headlight which you cant get out when it is in the car. Make sure you don't touch the reflective surface or the silver will come off.
The adjuster highlighted in the last post can be removed with the headlight in situe, they simply rotate through about thirty degrees, within the headlight this adjuster is connected to the back of the reflector by a ball and socket, it is usually this that pops out leaving the reflector - Mike

Post by **jblackburn** » 26 Sep 2014, 09:55

I was able to just remove the clips up top and push the reflector back on to its pivot.

Mr. Detail · Post by **Mr. Detail** » 26 Sep 2014, 10:06

"There's an adjustment behind the headlamp for height, a little white knob that you can again put a wrench into."

So the white knob will help me get the bubble in the glass window to the black line?
I will assume that those gears on the top adjust from right to left.

Mr. Detail · Post by **Mr. Detail** » 30 Sep 2014, 10:11

Thank you everyone on helping me with this fix. I actually replaced both wire harnesses first and your help with removing the clips and such was great. I had the whole headlamp apart and was getting nervous about getting everything back together but I did it! New wires and new bulbs. Ready for "ole man winter.