Headlight Adjustment

[AZ Desert Spyder]

:helpsmilie:I need some advice from all the wizards out there. I installed HIDs in my headlights a few months ago, and it seemed that the headlights were aiming a bit lower than before. But it wasn't that bad so I never bothered to mess with them. But recently, I finally got annoyed enough that I got out a screwdriver to adjust them. I checked the manual to make sure I didn't mess anything up, and it seemed real straight-forward. Unfortunately, the manual doesn't say which direction (clockwise/counterclockwise) is up or down, so the headlights at first went down even more. So I turned in the opposite direction, but the headlights wouldn't go back up. Since I was getting ready to take the bike in for service anyway, I asked them to adjust the headlights. Now they tell me the plastic where the screws go in are stripped out and the entire unit has to be replaced! The cost with parts and labor comes to over $700.00!:yikes: I asked if my extended warranty would cover it and they said they would check. But today they called and said it's not covered because I live in Arizona and the heat will cause plastic to get brittle and break. Well, no sh$%^ Sherlock!!! :gaah: So if they know that, why didn't they make it with a metal insert? And I wonder...if I lived in a colder climate, does that mean they would cover it??? I'm obviously very disappointed with BRP right now, and I need some advice. The headlights are aimed so low now that it's not even safe to ride after dark, so I need to do something soon. Does anyone know how I might be able to repair this and avoid a $700 repair bill? I'm also curious if anyone else has had this issue.

Thanks for letting me get this off my chest and any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Firefly]

:helpsmilie:I need some advice from all the wizards out there. I installed HIDs in my headlights a few months ago, and it seemed that the headlights were aiming a bit lower than before. But it wasn't that bad so I never bothered to mess with them. But recently, I finally got annoyed enough that I got out a screwdriver to adjust them. I checked the manual to make sure I didn't mess anything up, and it seemed real straight-forward. Unfortunately, the manual doesn't say which direction (clockwise/counterclockwise) is up or down, so the headlights at first went down even more. So I turned in the opposite direction, but the headlights wouldn't go back up. Since I was getting ready to take the bike in for service anyway, I asked them to adjust the headlights. Now they tell me the plastic where the screws go in are stripped out and the entire unit has to be replaced! The cost with parts and labor comes to over $700.00!:yikes: I asked if my extended warranty would cover it and they said they would check. But today they called and said it's not covered because I live in Arizona and the heat will cause plastic to get brittle and break. Well, no sh$%^ Sherlock!!! :gaah: So if they know that, why didn't they make it with a metal insert? And I wonder...if I lived in a colder climate, does that mean they would cover it??? I'm obviously very disappointed with BRP right now, and I need some advice. The headlights are aimed so low now that it's not even safe to ride after dark, so I need to do something soon. Does anyone know how I might be able to repair this and avoid a $700 repair bill? I'm also curious if anyone else has had this issue.

Thanks for letting me get this off my chest and any suggestions would be appreciated.

Sorry for your problems.....

They should mention in the manual which way to turn to adjust them.

Clockwise raises them.
Counter-clockwise lowers them.

Are you sure the plastic is what is stripped out or broken? Could be just the screw is stripped....

It's a bit of a pain to get to - but you could adjust these from the rear.

If you can't get something decent worked out -- I have a couple options for you.....

1. I have a brand new BRP HID Xenon headlight kit - never used--- will sell them for $400.
2. I have a set of used headlamp fixtures -- a left and a right. I'd gladly let you have whichever side you need.

 

[AZ Desert Spyder]

Unfortunately, both of them are bad. I don't honestly know if I did it or if someone did it some time ago and just hoped nobody would realize it. I know I didn't put much pressure on them, so it's strange. And I am the original owner. Anyway,the dealer says it's the plastic that's stripped, but I'm not sure if they really know or if they're guessing because I really don't think they took it apart. I guess I'll try pulling it apart and seeing what's really wrong. And if I can't get them fixed, I'll probably take you up on your offer for your HID headlights for $400. It's about 113 degrees here today, so I'll probably wait until it gets a bit cooler (like 102 or 103). I don't actually ride too often when it's this hot anyway.

Thanks for the reponse. I'll let you know what happens. In the meantime though, if you can give me a little more information about how I might be able to adjust them from the rear, I'd appreciate it. I know it was a real tight area to work in when I put the HIDs in, so I can't imagine how I might be able to do that.

 

[mowin]

The more i read, the more I think my BEST warrenty is usless. Sounds like BRP will use any lame excuse not to
honor there warrentys.:gaah:

 

[Firefly]

Unfortunately, both of them are bad. I don't honestly know if I did it or if someone did it some time ago and just hoped nobody would realize it. I know I didn't put much pressure on them, so it's strange. And I am the original owner. Anyway,the dealer says it's the plastic that's stripped, but I'm not sure if they really know or if they're guessing because I really don't think they took it apart. I guess I'll try pulling it apart and seeing what's really wrong. And if I can't get them fixed, I'll probably take you up on your offer for your HID headlights for $400. It's about 113 degrees here today, so I'll probably wait until it gets a bit cooler (like 102 or 103). I don't actually ride too often when it's this hot anyway.

Thanks for the reponse. I'll let you know what happens. In the meantime though, if you can give me a little more information about how I might be able to adjust them from the rear, I'd appreciate it. I know it was a real tight area to work in when I put the HIDs in, so I can't imagine how I might be able to do that.

Let me take some pics of the units on my bench-- that will help you see what's going on. I might be able to just remove the screws and plastic parts that are 'stripped' and send you those.

Either way you're going to have to tear into it --- which the tech would have had to do in order to know what was wrong for sure.

Do you have a service manual by chance?

 

[Firefly]

The more i read, the more I think my BEST warrenty is usless. Sounds like BRP will use any lame excuse not to
honor there warrentys.:gaah:

Every situation is unique---- I've yet to see much they didn't cover -- but you certainly cannot expect them to cover something that an end user broke (not that we're sure that is what transpired here).

 

[bjt]

The more i read, the more I think my BEST warrenty is usless. Sounds like BRP will use any lame excuse not to
honor there warrentys.:gaah:

The Best warranty was some of the best money we spent on our Spyders. We've had items that I thought wouldn't be covered end up being covered. I would buy it again on any new Spyder I bought. nojoke

 

[mowin]

Every situation is unique---- I've yet to see much they didn't cover -- but you certainly cannot expect them to cover something that an end user broke (not that we're sure that is what transpired here).

But thats not the reason BRP gave for not covering the repair.
BRP saying they wont cover it because its in a hot part of the country and the heat made it brittle is a BS reason.

 

[Firefly]

Unfortunately, both of them are bad. I don't honestly know if I did it or if someone did it some time ago and just hoped nobody would realize it. I know I didn't put much pressure on them, so it's strange. And I am the original owner. Anyway,the dealer says it's the plastic that's stripped, but I'm not sure if they really know or if they're guessing because I really don't think they took it apart. I guess I'll try pulling it apart and seeing what's really wrong. And if I can't get them fixed, I'll probably take you up on your offer for your HID headlights for $400. It's about 113 degrees here today, so I'll probably wait until it gets a bit cooler (like 102 or 103). I don't actually ride too often when it's this hot anyway.

Thanks for the reponse. I'll let you know what happens. In the meantime though, if you can give me a little more information about how I might be able to adjust them from the rear, I'd appreciate it. I know it was a real tight area to work in when I put the HIDs in, so I can't imagine how I might be able to do that.

Here's what one looks like out of the Spyder....

The blue arrow is pointing to the threaded plastic part that would have to be stripped out in order to no longer adjust --- if I'm properly understanding what your tech is saying happened.

The red arrows point to the rear adjustment that you can turn with a 5/16 or 8mm socket - preferably a deep-well so it grabs a longer area - and remember the clockwise and counterclockwise will be reverse from how you adjust the front.

Ignore the hose you see--- that is part of my intake -- and I don't have the airbox.

If you remove the 2 upper side panels and then the Y center panel you should be able to access them pretty well.

The plastic part (blue arrows) that allows the screw to move through could be replaced with a pair of nuts - one on each side of the metal plate - or I could remove mine and send them to you.

I'm really curious as to what is going on with yours.


.

 

[NancysToy]

Although there is not a lot of meat in those plastic parts, they might be hefty enough to remove, then drill, tap, and install Helicoils.

I agree that having the Spyder ridden in a hot climate is not a valid reason to fail to cover the adjusters on warranty. The Spyder is sold in these climates, and is for outdoor use, with no warnings to the customer to avoid hot situations. I'm sure the Magnuson-Moss Act would uphold the fact that the customer could reasonably expect the adjusters to work in the hotter climates. It should therefore be warrantied. I would argue the point, but proceeding to the point of a lawsuit, even in small-claims court, would probably be more trouble than it was worth. This is a safety issue, though, and the response is not not comforting. A report of the problem to the NHTSA might be in order...after running the situation past the dealer one more time.

 

[AZ Desert Spyder]

I hadn't been checking responses lately because it's been too hot to work on the Spyder. Thanks for all of the comments and expecially to Firefly for the pics. I'm tearing it down now, but it's 113 degrees today so I don't know how much I can take in one sitting. Unfortunately, I don't have a service manual, but hopefully I'll be able to get it torn down enough to see what I'm doing. I'll post again when I have more information. Thanks again!

Update - It was really easy to get to the back of the screws thanks to the great help from Firefly. I can't really adjust them properly until tonight when it's dark out, but I wanted to see if they were adjusting, so I closed the garage door and watched the lights shining on the door (only about 3 feet away). I could see the left light go up as I adjusted it, but when I tried the right one, I couldn't see any movement! I turned it at least 5 full turns and no change. It appears that the bolt just moves through the plastic pieces without adjusting anything. And as I turned it, I could see the head of the bolt coming away from the black plastic (see arrow in picture). Can anyone tell me what's wrong with it?
View attachment 31417

 

[Firefly]

Regular locktite will melt plastic. Might need to secure it using some nuts putting pressure against the plastic rear adjustment

 

[AZ Desert Spyder]

After posting the last message, I found out the bolt is actually turning. Please see my edits to my message and let me know if you have any suggestions. And thanks again for the help! I'm trying to figure out exactly which part needs to move in order to make the adjustment and which part remains stationary in order to move the adjusted part.

 

[NancysToy]

If the screw is backing out instead of moving the headlight assembly either the headlight assembly is frozen in place and/or the locking tab of the front plastic piece (around the head of the screw) is broken, allowing the screw to move instead of the headlight assembly. Gonna be a tough fix with out parts if it is the latter.

 

[AMTJIM]

I have eliminated that function from my spyder's head lights and have the sub-frame and components that the main lamp assembly rides on. It's definitely a matter of whether you think you are/aren't wanting to tinker.

 

[AZ Desert Spyder]

The saga continues....

Ok. It's finally cooled off enough here so I could work on this again. But I'm still confused. I was able to adjust the left side ok from the back side thanks to Firefly's help, but the right headlight has pulled apart where the ball on the end of the adjustment screw is supposed to be captured in the plastic hole. I'm trying to find another way to move the headlight assembly, but that's where I'm having issues. If I'm supposed to normally turn the adjustment screw clockwise (from the front of the bike), that would appear to be pulling the assemble toward the BACK of the bike. And since it's on the bottom of the headlight assembly, wouldn't that tip the headlight further DOWN? I need to figure out how to RAISE the headlight. In any case, I can't seem to move the headlight at all when pushing on it from the front or from the rear! So maybe it is in fact frozen up (as NancysToy suggested)? And even if that's the case, wouldn't you think a solid tap on it might loosen it up? I'm also curious about the bolt behind the adjustment screw which appears to be holding the assembly in place. Is that bolt actually just part of the headlight assembly and the whole section moves? I need to figure out what I can do to get that assembly to move. Here's a photo of what I'm working with and again, any suggestions would really be appreciated!

 

[ARtraveler]

RE: its to hot in AZ to cover the warranty for things that get brittle.

That sounds like horse pucky coming from the dealer--Is that REALLY what BRP told them--or are they trying to blame BRP for something they don't want to deal with.

Just my curiosity kicking in again. opcorn:opcorn:

 

[billybovine]

Part missing

There appears to be a part missing. If you compare your part to the picture Firefly provided the plastic insert that holds the head of the screw is not there.

 

[AZ Desert Spyder]

part missing...

There appears to be a part missing. If you compare your part to the picture Firefly provided the plastic insert that holds the head of the screw is not there.

Yeah, I was wondering about that myself. But my left side is working and it doesn't have that white part either. I think that's just a slightly different design. It's not unusual for replacement parts to look a bit different than the original. I popped the black insert from the hole in the right side and it appears the ball on the end of the adjustment screw was originally in a socket there and has popped out. But it won't go back in. Since my last post, I found that I was able to push hard just above the headlight and it seemed to move upward, so I'm going to take a test ride after dark and see how they look. It was difficult to move, so I don't think it will drop back down by itself. If it does, I'll probably just bite the bullet and get the whole assembly replaced.

 

[billybovine]

Maybe a simple fix!!

Maybe the insert is still there just can't see it because of picture view. Once apon a time. Long long ago I worked for a manufacturer of automotive headlights and this type of design of adjuster looks familiar to me. Take the tupperwear off so you can see the front of the headlight assembly. Back out the adjuster screw about an inch or more. If the insert is still there and not broken you should be able to pop the head of the scew (whicth is ball shaped) back into the insert and if it holds all you have to do is adjust it.