Can changing a headlight alter the angle?

[Vortechtral]

Driver light died, got a new one from Ford, standard dual beam halogen. Put it in yesterday noticed this morning it's making a trident spread and it seems to be aiming rather low with that pattern as well.

 

Can changing a bulb alter angles, I thought to do that, you need to fiddle with a set screw and I never touched any screws. As far as I know the bulbs in solid, there's no vibrations or movement and the bulb can only go in one way.

[fishx65]

A new factory bulb should not change the beam pattern or aim of your headlight. Maybe swap the bulbs and see if anything changes on the passenger side. Either way, it's probably a good idea to spend a little time getting the vertical adjustment right.

[Vortechtral]

So I had an idea, and I don't know if its the cause, but the original bulb was clear from base to tip. The new one I got from Ford had a matte grey tip on the top, I guess that bit are meant for reflectors and not projectors? So could that tip cause the odd spread, and is there any way to safely remove that top "cover" without damaging the bulb?

 

Thanks.

[enigma-2]

I believe that the coating is there to prevent glare & is only present on low beams, fog lamps & dual filiment bulbs, (9004,6,7 H4,etc), never on high beams (9005, etc), as no need to block glare on high beams. You will ruin the bulb if you try to remove it.

Just checked on my 09 MKX, my low beams are H11 and have a black coating, whereas my high beams 9005 do not.

Edited September 23, 2015 by enigma-2

[omar302]

@Vortechtral

 

Can post the bulb numbers? old & new? You probable got a different bulb, even if they look the same (9006 vs. 9005 or H11 vs. H9) Also what year is your Edge/MKX? I don't recall any year the Edge/MKX had a dual beam headlight bulb.

[Vortechtral]

2013 edge. cant post the bulb # atm ill get to that tomorrow if I'm free. The parts guy wanted my last 8 digits of my VIN so get the "right" bulb. And they do look the same other then a different color ring around the plug housing.

 

I will update more tomorrow I hope

[omar302]

As per the owners manual, the headlight replacement bulb for the 2013 Edge is HIR2, also referred to as 9012. This should be without a cover at the tip of the bulb. (Example) It is a single filament bulb, but the projector in the Edge has a moving part/shield that allows high/low beam function from the same bulb.

 

My guess is that the replacement bulb you got is a 9006, which is very similar to the HIR2 with slight differences and can be installed in the same housing. The 9006 has a cover at the tip of the bulb is inferior to the HIR2 (less output).

[Vortechtral]

Then that is what I got. My mom took the bulb box to Walmart to see if they have bulbs, ill make sure to write down this info, and I will be making a trip down to ford this weekend and either getting my money back or exchanging it. Many thanks Omar.

 

Does Amazon's model selector not work proper? For the 9012s you listed it says it does not fit yet from that picture those look like the bulbs. And why are people in the comments calling them H9s as well?

 

So I see these Sylvania 9012s, are they just as good as the Phlips 9012? I mean every light is made different so one might last a lot longer, or be brighter then the next.

Edited September 25, 2015 by Vortechtral