2017 Georgetown 329 Headlight Horizontal Adjustment

dgb · 02-09-2017, 09:25 PM

Took delivery of a 2017 Georgetown 329DSF a few months back. When driving it at night, it was hard to see on low beams. Had dealer check it and they said everything was "up to spec". In other words, they did not do anything.

The other night when pulling into the driveway, I noticed the horizontal plane of the headlights are way out of adjustment. Driver side light is about 15 degrees off level. Passenger side is about 5 degrees. This leaves a big dark area in the middle of the lane. The headlights are the new type with the flat line of light (so you don't blind on-coming drivers) .

When looking at the backside of the headlight bracket all I see are up/down and side to side adjustment screws. The headlight assembly bulb bracket is screwed into the front fiberglass cap with sheetmetal screws. Does anyone know if there is a way to twist the bulbs into a level position without having to drill and remount the whole headlight assembly?

I appreciate any ideas.

dgb · 02-10-2017, 04:54 PM

Here are some photos of the front end and the bracket behind the front cap holding the headlight mount.

Trempert · 02-12-2017, 05:09 PM

Looks to me that they were installed incorrectly. I'd take it right back to the dealer as I'm assuming it's still under warranty.

Secarider · 02-12-2017, 05:28 PM

I hope to hear some answers the first time I drove our 329DS at night with lo beems I said to my self what the heck. Same thing, especially going up a hill, was like the lights went into the ground 30 feet in front of me.

dgb · 02-12-2017, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trempert

Looks to me that they were installed incorrectly. I'd take it right back to the dealer as I'm assuming it's still under warranty.

They do appear to be installed incorrectly and I agree it should be a warranty item, however, when I took it back to the selling dealer he said they were installed and set correctly.

I tried another dealer, but they won't even look at it because they didn't sell it.

dgb · 02-12-2017, 07:46 PM

I told the dealer, it was like having the bottom of a "batman" image in the middle of my lane.

LaVern · 02-13-2017, 01:47 PM

I have the same issue with a 2015 Mirada 29DS, The Dealer said they adjusted them but they didn't so What I did was un screw the headlight bracket and put washers behind the screws to adjust the headlights.

Tbonz · 02-13-2017, 02:58 PM

Hard to get them to things right especially after you leave the lot. Just work a way to do it yourself

dgb · 02-13-2017, 03:18 PM

I actually have no problem trying to fix it myself as there is no guarantee the dealer would be able to do it, especially based on their previous comments. I was hoping to find someone was familiar with the "fix".

Trempert · 02-13-2017, 07:46 PM

Call the factory. Email them your picture. It says it all.

ScottBrownstein · 02-13-2017, 08:27 PM

i had a funny thought. My grille is the same as yours and I never check the headlight alignment, but the pattern that you are getting is pretty much what you would expect when you mount a unit designed for horizontal attachment at the angle that the grille is designed. Perhaps all of us have that and it is a design flaw of the Georgetown front cap assembly. From the looks of it the mounting plates are installed vertically and there is really no adjustment as you have found.

Not a solution, but maybe an explanation.

dgb · 02-13-2017, 08:49 PM

I emailed the photo to the Forest River Georgetown factory warranty guy today. I'll post what he says when he gets back to me.

Vince and Charlette · 02-13-2017, 10:34 PM

Had same problem on my 2015 GT 364. Both headlights pointing at side of road leaving blackout area in front of driver. Very dangerous. Had to fix myself. Here's how. At night, pull all way up to a wall and put an x on the wall directly in front of each headlight. (Use masking tape to make the x.) Back up about 50 feet. Turn on headlights and see where they shine compared to the x. Adjust with the thumb screws to attain desired results, which is normally straight ahead and slightly to the right. Of course, if they are installed wrong, I recommend calling your vehicle-specific FR rep direct and getting an authorization to go to a shop that specializes in this.

RVnut · 02-14-2017, 02:58 PM

Well I have learned on Motorhomes if you cant fix it yourself it will never get fixed right...

MMMH · 02-21-2017, 02:35 PM

X2 RVNUT! I have this problem with my 2015 Encounter but I don't usually drive at night. I have found that the driving lights do a good job of filling in the dark areas but a person shouldn't have to do that. If it would just stop raining I would go crawl under that thing and see if there is a way to adjust them up.

270S · 02-21-2017, 06:23 PM

And I thought I was the only one - LOL. Mine came even worse from the factory. I have no idea how the delivery person drove it at night - yeah like me with high beams. My low beams were turned 90 degrees.

Answer - There are 3 screws behind the light - too cheap to install 4. by turning them you should be able to get it right using your garage door for aiming.

Didn't check when I did it, but realized I need to do "fog" lights too.

dgb · 02-22-2017, 02:46 PM

Georgetown Rep got back to me:
His tech said the only way they adjust the horizontal line is with the screw provided. If that doesn't work, they recommend to loosen the mounting screw and place a wedge between the fiberglass and the mounting tab. Or unmount the bulb fixture and reinstall it with a wedge or shim to correct the horizontal line. If that doesn't work, they offered to send me new headlight units to try.
Now that it has stopped raining for a couple of days, I will go out and play with the adjustment screws.

dgb · 02-28-2017, 09:49 AM

I worked on the headlights this weekend. Here is my report.

The adjustment screws for the headlight do not adjust the horizontal plane of the light beam. These only adjust the "pointing" of the light (left/right, up/down).

I tried twisting the bulb in the headlight assembly. This did not work as the plate that horizontally blocks the light across the top of the beam is inside the headlight assembly.

The ultimate “fix” required removing and remounting the headlight assembly. You can tell from the photo, the factory installer drilled the hole way off level.

I cannot understand why FR only used 3 adjustment screws when the bulb assembly bracket is set up for 4. They saved a couple of pennies, but it results in a much harder process adjust the headlights (L/R, Up/Down).

Here are the before and after photos. Still have to do a minor up adjustment on the passenger side, but this will make night driving much less stressful!

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