Aiming auxiliary lights: How to make nice to oncoming traffic
Adding auxiliary fog and driving lights to pickups is more common among ProPickup readers than tool boxes or bedliners.
And, for good reason: Auxiliary lights add a significant level of safety to working after dark or driving at night on dark roads or in inclement weather conditions.
But one aspect many light installers overlook is aiming them after mounting.
Poorly aimed fog and driving lights either 1) don’t optimize their coverage, or 2) become an issue for oncoming drivers.
When the lights are aimed too low, they don’t illuminate the road as they are intended, significantly reducing overall performance.
The glare back into the driver’s eyes from lights aimed too high is equally annoying, as is the glare for drivers of oncoming vehicles, creating yet another set of safety issues.
Illustration courtesy of PIAA.
To maximize your pickup’s auxiliary lights’ overall performance and to keep those who share the road with you from being blinded, make the proper adjustments. It only takes a few minutes.
Aiming Driving lights
- Park truck on level ground 25 feet from a wall.
- Measure height from ground to center of the lamp.
- Mark the same height on the wall. This is the “level line.”
- Turn on driving lights and adjust the beam so the CENTER of the “hot spot” is 1.5 inches BELOW the level line.
- Driving lights should be aimed straight ahead and at (or just below) the height of the headlights to provide maximum illumination.
Illustration courtesy of PIAA.
Aiming Fog lights
- Park truck on level ground 25 feet from a wall.
- Measure height from ground to center of the lamp.
- Mark the same height on the wall. This is the “level line.”
- Turn on fog lights and adjust so the TOP of the beam is 4 inches BELOW the level line.
- Fog lights should be aimed straight ahead to best area coverage.
