Have you lowered your ND? I have. At the time I didn’t think the headlights would require adjustment, now the darkness is here it’s apparent they do. Various people offer adjustable leveling rods to replace the default fixed length one.
There is however a software method of doing this by shorting two points on the OBD port as part of a specific procedure, the images below highlight this.
Try this entirely at your own risk as the consequences of shorting the wrong pins are likely to be unpleasant.
The Mazda 3 has the same system, the link below takes you to an on-line manual.
I looked into this for my Mazda3 because the dipped headlights were mostly too high, the top of the beam is dead level heading into the distance, just about OK on a flat road but at most other times too high. The car is standard, so as shown in the manual under ‘Headlight Aiming’, I just adjusted the headlight level position. It only has the one bulb for each side. Picture on page 6975 of the USA Mazda3 2014 service manual v1.3 is relevant.
I used a no2 cross-head screwdriver to wind the crown-wheel type gear around a tiny bit. I noticed that the gear can be accessed from a couple of different angles to suit the body of the car it is fitted to. I’ve add a picture showing how.
I don’t believe the crown wheel option is available on the ND with LED lights (I will check though), I think it’s all in the electronics which are fed by a position sensor linked to the relative position of suspension angle at the rear of the car which uses a fixed length rod to manage the motion.
The Mazda3 has a fixed length rod from the rear suspension to the levelling sensor.
I don’t know where the ND has the sensor, but would guess in a similar position because the biggest load changes are at the rear; if so, then lowering the car will tell the computer the back is down so the beam should be lowered, perhaps by too much because the car is actually level. In that case if the beam is actually too high, then maybe something is wrongly set or broken.
The mechanical adjustment of the beam aim is the very last part of the alignment procedure after all the electronics have been normalised. I would be very surprised if there was not a mechanical adjustment on the ND.
On either car the rod length might need to be altered if the car is lowered, or raised, but only so that the range of movement in the suspension matches the possible range of movement at the sensor, ie nothing gets bent or stretched at an extreme of travel. The sensor is then normalised when the car is normally loaded, using the software reset using M-MDS buttons or as shown in your extract from the manual.
The design figure is for the sensor output voltage to be about half the supply voltage applied across the ends of the sensor device when normally level.
Fortunately the normalising is intended to account for variations. So it is quite possible that no change in rod length is required, just the software adjustment. I would guess that it just needs a visual check to see if the linkage is stressed at any point in the suspension movement.
I really admire your bravery in doing something like that as the consequences if you get it wrong don’t bear thinking about.
This is one reason i will never buy a new car, MX5 or otherwise, they now have way too much electronics built in, i like to ‘play’ with my cars without fear of destroying them, a popped fuse i can handle but a blown ecu…no thanks.
I always make sure that what I‘m doing has been tested and independently verified by others before doing it so the risks are low. Fitting the reversing camera was potentially an exercise in fear if it had gone wrong, with the previous experience of others it was dead easy. They may be more modern in terms of systems, the ND is quite straightforward in terms of a bit of fettling.
I think we were the first to tear one apart and underseal it though, quite an experience and also not too difficult.
had my car lowered thought about the free mod using a paper clip then thought hang on you just paid £20 grand i went to bbr brought there link and they adjusted it for me easy fit £30 peace of mind
There is some talk of the cars from Mid 2018 being allowed to be produced without the self leveling sensors for the headlamps due to a dispensation in the Euro regs.
The dispensation is only for cars that have a small boot that is unlikley to have enough space to actualy get much into and therefore upsetting the headlamp aim.
Unless that is the driver is transporting lead bars.
That is a very good find for the ND community, many thanks. Absolutely everything you will ever need to know about the ND. May be it should be a ‘sticky’.
