A 2006 Dodge Ram 3500 needs a vertical headlight adjustment and how to do it.
Question: 2006 Dodge Ram 3500
Hello, I have a 2006 Dodge Ram 3500 4WD diesel truck. I have only owned this unit since March. I am having a pretty serious problem with it. The aerodynamic headlights on the unit; they look great, they are bright as hell to look at, they are stylish, compliment the vehicle nicely, but the frigging things don't throw light worth a darn!
On high beam, they do not throw light farther than approximately 200 to 250 feet out in front. Very unsafe. The only safe way to not overdrive your headlights is to be in park, quite literally! I have tried to get these lights aimed at my dealership. They tell me that there is only horizontal adjustment, that Chrysler opted to remove any kind of vertical adjustment. I was informed that if I wanted to have safe and proper headlight aim, I would have a few options.
Option # 1: Have them install a $1,000.00 dollar lift kit in the front suspension. This they said would lift the front end to aim the headlights (obviously).
Option # 2: Add a set of high powered driving or spotlights to illuminate the road. (This is illegal under the highway traffic act.)
Option # 3: The service department said they would remove my headlight enclosures, shim, the bottom edge with washers, and this would pivot the headlights up for better visibility.
Okay, now as you are probably aware, these aerodynamic headlight enclosures seal to the fender openings stamped in for their existence. Shimming would leave me with a gap in the lower region. These are the solutions proposed to myself by what is supposed to be a reputable representative of the manufacturer.
Imagine how angry I was, laying out $60,000.00 for a truck, that has no apparent ability to aim its headlights from a safety standpoint, and to have to pay further money to rectify the problem.
Well I called Chrysler Canada to get confirmation of this shortcoming and at first they told me that no, there was no vertical adjustment on the lights. Then they called me back (from their tech dept.) and informed me that yes there was indeed vertical adjustment. I kindly asked them to inform my dealership of this little tidbit. They assured me that they would. I go to pick my truck up from service, only to find out that they had in fact had a conversation with Chrysler Canada's tech group, and were in fact informed THAT the headlights can be aimed vertically, but that they DID NOT IN FACT TELL THEM HOW TO DO IT!
Okay I have purchased Sylvania Silver Star Ultima headlights to go in, but low and behold, Chrysler allowed no room for anyone other than Tom Thumb to access the socket. I pulled out the only bolts I could find that seemed to hold the headlight enclosure assembly, but alas, the frigging thing would not budge.
So here I sit, a dealership that says it can not be fixed the way it should be, fancy bulbs that are supposed to be brighter, that can not be installed by myself, and a truck that is not safe to drive in the dark. Bear in mind that I am mechanically inclined, have had lots of years of not only motoring under my belt, but also years of maintaining and servicing my own vehicles in my arsenal!
Please I am begging for some real world useable advice. Is there in fact adjustments or not?
How can one remove the headlight assembly without disassembling the fenders, lines and clip?
What legal recourse would one have against Chrysler if they in fact did install headlights with no vertical adjustments?
Please get back to me with diagrams and specifics? I will be forwarding on any replies to Transport Canada as well in this matter.
Thanks,
D'Arcy Fulks
Answer: Well D'Arcy, there is indeed a vertical headlight adjustment. Here is a diagram showing where the adjustment screw is. 2006 Dodge Ram Headlamp Vertical Adjustment Screw The adjustment screw is #2 in the photo. You can make the adjustment yourself by using this diagram to set up a headlight aiming template and making the adjustment as needed.
Park your car facing a wall so that the headlights are 25 feet from it. Now measure the distance between the centers of the headlamps and cut it in half. That's the cars centerline. Run that line to the wall and up the wall at least 5 feet.
Now, using the centerline on the wall, measure out the headlamps centers and make two vertical lines. With that done, measure from the floor to the headlamps centers and transfer that measurement to the wall.
Now you should have three vertical lines, the cars centerline and the centers of the headlamps. And one horizontal line for the headlamps centers. For the proper aiming of low beam headlamps, the high intensity portion on the light should be 2 inches below the horizontal headlamps center lines. The side to side should be 2 inches to the right of the vertical headlamps center lines.
