poor headlights - low beam

[cottinr]

I have a 2016 Edge SEL AWD ecoboost. What is the deal with the poor headlight performance? I mean they dont project very far down the road and have that distinctive cut off line that does not show anything above it. On country roads with no other lighting around, the performance of these lights are terrible. I have upgraded to better Phillips bulbs but they are no better. Anyone else have the same issue? Are those headlights adjustable to raise the projection of the low beams? Thanks, Bob

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

Yes the headlamps are adjustable vertically. The owners manual should have a a howto section on that, should be pretty simple.

Online Manual
http://www.fordservicecontent.com/Ford_Content/vdirsnet/OwnerManual/Home/Index?bookcode=O31263&marketCode=US&languageCode=EN&VIN=&div=f

Adjusting headlamps
http://www.fordservicecontent.com/Ford_Content/vdirsnet/OwnerManual/Home/Content?bookCode=O31263&languageCode=en&marketCode=US&viewTech=IE&chapterTitleSelected=G1676250&subTitleSelected=G1676297&topicHRef=G1725559&div=f&vFilteringEnabled=True

ADJUSTING THE HEADLAMPS
Image 1
Vertical Aim Adjustment
The headlamps on your vehicle are properly aimed at the assembly plant. If your vehicle has been involved in a crash, have the aim of the headlamp beam checked by an authorized dealer.
Headlamp Aiming Target

A 8 feet (2.4 meters).
B Center height of lamp to ground.
C 25 feet (7.6 meters).
D Horizontal reference line.
Vertical Aim Adjustment Procedure
Park the vehicle directly in front of a wall or screen on a level surface, approximately 25 feet (7.6 meters) away.
Measure the height of the headlamp bulb center from the ground and mark an 8 foot (2.4 meter) horizontal reference line on the vertical wall or screen at this height.
Note: To see a clearer light pattern for adjusting, you may want to block the light from one headlamp while adjusting the other.
Turn on the low beam headlamps to illuminate the wall or screen and open the hood.
Image 2
On the wall or screen you will observe a flat zone of high intensity light located at the top of the right hand portion of the beam pattern. If the top edge of the high intensity light zone is not at the horizontal reference line, the headlamp will need to be adjusted.
Image 3
Locate the vertical adjuster on each headlamp. Using a Phillips #2 screwdriver, turn the adjuster either clockwise or counterclockwise in order to adjust the vertical aim of the headlamp. The horizontal edge of the brighter light should touch the horizontal reference line.
Close the hood and turn off the lamps

Edited October 17, 2016 by WWWPerfA_ZN0W

[foghelmut]

Mine are adjusted perfectly, they're just weak.

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

I found the halogen lights to not project very far as well. HIDs are much better in that respect, so people often switch to HID for low beam, leaving the high beam as halogen (when they are separate units). Not sure if there are compatible halogen units for your EDGE but Philips X-tremeVision and Osram NightBreakersUnlimited are two "high" output halogen bulbs I like. Maybe the H9 retrofit will work for you, not sure.

[gjb89]

Do the H9 retrofit you wont regret it! It's cheap, easy and better then using HIDs in a halogen projector.

[foghelmut]

I did the H9 in my Subaru, it was overkill. But the Subaru seems to have a better beam pattern than the Ford to begin with. Like I don't see my own shadow within my headlights when someone with HIDs is behind me in the Subaru like I do with the Ford. It's worth a shot.

[cottinr]

Thanks everyone. I will investigate few options.

[almun]

have adjusted my edge's low beam and replaced low beam with Sylvanya SilverrStar Ultra- ok now

Edited September 19, 2017 by almun

[Dogg]

Please note that the 2015 - 2018 Edge uses the H11 (not H9).

Can anyone speak to a LED conversion kit to replace the stock Low Beam lights (which rather poor)??

[lildisco]

You can use the H9 bulb, just need to modify 1 tab & the light output is much better than stock H11 output. Is it HID? No. Is the H9 conversion a good mod for under $30? Yes.

Edited October 28, 2018 by lildisco

[akirby]

The factory halogen headlamps are almost always aimed too low. Raising them slightly helps a lot.

[redden18]

Please note that the 2015 - 2018 Edge uses the H11 (not H9).

Can anyone speak to a LED conversion kit to replace the stock Low Beam lights (which rather poor)??

I just did LED conversion for both low and high beam. I went with these bulbs:

Low beam - https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B017M57NAU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

High beam - https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B017M57DJG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Paid $157 CAD for both sets.

 

Both packaging and build quality seem to be great.

 

Installation was easy for driver side since there is nothing in the way, passenger side was ok to replace high beam bulb, low beam was a bummer since there is coolant tank in the way, snapping bulb in is almost impossible without taking out the headlight. High beam bulbs had to turn connector 180deg. Fans are bit noisy and can be heard when engine is not running (outside only, not in the cabin)

 

As for LED low beam I dont see any big difference in how far I can see, since it doesnt depend on the bulb but on the projector (if we were dealing with reflector then it would be a difference). LED is slightly brighter and absolutely white colour. Halogen visibility on the wet road was extremely bad since I couldnt see pretty much anything and I yet have to test how LED do perform on a wet road.

 

As for LED high beam there is a HUGE difference in visibility, halogen wasnt doing much in there, but LED is just super bright and lighting road far away.

 

So far I have no any issues with them after installation, no flickering, no bulb errors on dash (both, low and high beam bulbs are 35W). They perfectly fit inside the headlight housing with dust caps back in its place. Will be keeping an eye on them in terms of heating issues.

Edited October 29, 2018 by redden18