Auto levelling headlights - what have I broken...

[islander79]

Hi folks, so I may have broken something related to headlight levelling.
My wife was in the car (2014 PFL S3) the other night and said the headlights were terrible, pointing straight down. After a bit of research I deemed it safe to turn the up/down adjustment screws on both headlights to lift the light beam and this helped a bit. The auto levelling function wasn't working so I wondered if a sensor at a wheel was broken.

The car was in a garage today and they have told me the lights just needed calibrating on the laptop. The driver's light is now self levelling as it should and the passenger one is doing nothing. They think I've broken something when I made the adjustment, they aren't sure what as they haven't done this before.

If I have is it likely to be the headlight motor? The ones I am looking at have an OEM number 5C5941295 so hopefully that is all that's needed.

Can anyone help?

 

[NHN]

Headlights are not adjusted on laptop, merely the laptop sets a position ready for manual adjustments on a flat MOT bay with lense.

Check the level senders on each axle to see if the arm has snapped, this is common & wouldn't necessarily show up as a fault as the arm would still be there according to the sender.

If the senders arms are both intact, then check the headlight, could be when you turned the adjuster, you've gone too far & it's now come of the attachment inside the light, this happens sometimes also, ideally you need the headlight of the car to check inside properly with a torch.

 

[islander79]

Headlights are not adjusted on laptop, merely the laptop sets a position ready for manual adjustments on a flat MOT bay with lense.

Check the level senders on each axle to see if the arm has snapped, this is common & wouldn't necessarily show up as a fault as the arm would still be there according to the sender.

If the senders arms are both intact, then check the headlight, could be when you turned the adjuster, you've gone too far & it's now come of the attachment inside the light, this happens sometimes also, ideally you need the headlight of the car to check inside properly with a torch.

Thanks very much. Is it easy enough to access the sensors on axles? Or wheels off?

 

[NHN]

Lift the car, usually passenger side, unless it has mag ride etc, which has all 4 corner sensors, you can check under, safely, to see if anything is damaged.

 

[islander79]

Lift the car, usually passenger side, unless it has mag ride etc, which has all 4 corner sensors, you can check under, safely, to see if anything is damaged.

So, I got the car home and had a look at the sensors. I can only see one which is rear nearside. I can't see any at either front corner which seems odd. If I've taken the adjuster off in the headlight is that a pain of a job to sort? Thanks again

 

[NHN]

Audi did decide for some cars to fit just a rear one, so maybe you only have 1, if it's intact & arm isn't snapped, then time to look in the headlight.

 

[AJB]

Headlights are not adjusted on laptop, merely the laptop sets a position ready for manual adjustments on a flat MOT bay with lense.

Check the level senders on each axle to see if the arm has snapped, this is common & wouldn't necessarily show up as a fault as the arm would still be there according to the sender.

If the senders arms are both intact, then check the headlight, could be when you turned the adjuster, you've gone too far & it's now come of the attachment inside the light, this happens sometimes also, ideally you need the headlight of the car to check inside properly with a torch.

Is there not a laptop setting (ie an Adaptation or Basic Settings or something) to recalibrate the sensors. As in to learn their neutral position if you fit a new sensor? I'd assumed that there must be, but maybe not. Either way it shouldn't need doing unless a sensor had been replaced, so weird that the garage did something with software that got at least one of them adjusting again...

 

[NHN]

You code the levelling controller & this lets it know which car it's fitted too, generally when you do the procedure to set the level correctly, the sensors are sitting at default position anyway as it assumes you're on a flat surface & it sets this as level then you adjust accordingly via the screws.

There is nothing in the process to set a level so to speak via laptop.

 

[AJB]

You code the levelling controller & this lets it know which car it's fitted too, generally when you do the procedure to set the level correctly, the sensors are sitting at default position anyway as it assumes you're on a flat surface & it sets this as level then you adjust accordingly via the screws.

There is nothing in the process to set a level so to speak via laptop.

So if a sensor breaks and needs replacing, there's nothing to do on the computer side? And the headlights are still at the right level because the sensors are all identical? Or you just adjust the manual adjustment screws to cancel out any difference in the new sensor?

Just asking so I know what I'm looking at if mine breaks one day!! Thanks.