People often recount how the xenon self leveling feature works in a noticeable way. I can't say I have noticed them budge whilst on the road. I did a test. Whilst parked and aimed at a wall, I let the clutch out slowly so that the nose of the car rose upwards. I expected the xenons to level downwards, but nothing happened, the beams just aimed higher up the wall.

I also tried pushing the front of the car down, but nothing happened again.

Has the system got a fault? How can you tell its working correctly?:confused:

I suppose you could try using a jack to raise the front? Do they adjust up and down when you switch the car on? I think the pattern is "up - down - level".

of course this touches on that age-old question:
If a xenon levels itself in a forest..... :p

When I turn mine on they go up-down-level. I don't think that they move while driving but I have noticed some twitching whiling driving around; may have just been the road. I couldn't imagine that they are supposed to move while driving as they would rarely ever be pointing in the right direction. Does anyone know why they 'self-level'?

Does anyone know why they 'self-level'?

More weight in the car, specifically the boot or back seats would cause the backend to be lower therefore causing the aim to be too high. In the US inorder to have Xenon lights it is mandatory to have self levelers to reduce the chance of blinding oncoming traffic.

Mine are always twitching up and down. It's very noticeable, especially when parked behind someone at traffic lights-- they'll level up after around 3 seconds.

When i turn mine on, they light when down, then level up. That's it.

Auto self-leveling on Xenon's is mandatory in UK as well.

I should also add (as posted elsewhere) that I believe my xenon's to be aimed a bit too low. So maybe this is why mine are more active than usual? :confused:

Agreed. Upon start-up they automatically level while backing out of the garage (really sooner, almost instantaneously) and you can see it on the back wall, the up and down motion.

When in motion you should also be able to see them moving, as stated above, although sometimes it's harder to spot than others.


:)

When in motion you should also be able to see them moving, as stated above, although sometimes it's harder to spot than others.


:)

So if you do my test it will not show you? Releasing the clutch gradually with the handbrake on causes the bonnet to rise and the boot to dip. The xenons should correct this upward tilt and keep the aim at the same spot on the wall, right? :confused:

More weight in the car, specifically the boot or back seats would cause the backend to be lower therefore causing the aim to be too high. In the US inorder to have Xenon lights it is mandatory to have self levelers to reduce the chance of blinding oncoming traffic.

Not sure about the "mandatory" in the US statement. My wife's CL Type S has xenons and I've never seen them self level like in the Mini. Come to think of it my friend's RX-8 doesn't either. The Mini ones, however, are quite "busy" and noticeable even while driving.

I've also seen statements that headlight washers were also required for xenon's but again, the previous two cars mentioned don't have them. Not looking to start an argument and I am quite open to being corrected.

While driving, the headlights will self-level periodically (every 30 seconds or so?), as well as whenever there's a rapid speed change (quick braking, quick accelerating). I often see mine shift up or down when braking at or leaving a stop light.

IF you dont see them move when you turn them on, then I would guess that they are defective. You can't miss the adjustment when you turn them on

IF you dont see them move when you turn them on, then I would guess that they are defective. You can't miss the adjustment when you turn them on
They do adjust when switched on, they aim down then move back up again. And thats where they stay put!

You will not see them move if you let the clutch out gradually. They react to sudden speed changes, not gradual ones. If you brake quickly at a stoplight behind another car, you should see the reflection of your lights shift once you stop. (do it carefully though!)

Mine twitch up and down when I'm pulled up behind someone in traffic... To go to the original question of HOW they work, there is some kind of sensor in the slotted area in the headlight unit (where it says Xenon) that 'reads' the patten on the road. I think it gets fooled when sitting in traffic by the highly reflective surface of the car in front's paint or number plate. Don't know if the test described will cause them to level... Try moving a white piece of card or something like that in front of a headlight and see if you can fool it into moving.

I would have thought that the light would have some form of internal system that works on the same principal as a spirit level, only it's set to an off level level...if you see what I mean. Any reliance upon external input would probably give it the wrong information quite often. Just thinking out loud...

My thoughts about the self leveling is that it is only going to be correct on a perfectly flat road. If there is a downward incline, the lights are going to be shining too high in the air and if you are going up a hill, the lights are going to be shining too low, i.e. not projecting far enough onto the road. Unless of course the lights are as smart as the DSC (and all of the other acronyms) and account for the changes in incline and adjust accordingly.

There is a road at work that when I leave at night really bothers me. I drive down a hill towards the valley of a short upward hill. The Xenons only project light up about 1/2 of the upward hill, so when I hit the valley quickly, there isn't any light at the top and it makes the curve at the top seem to be invisible. I remedy this by using the brights and they illuminate the top of the hill and the curve. Great story, huh!?!

I stand corrected... I should have looked first.
The self level system works off two potentiometers, one at the front axle, one at the rear. They feed signals to a control module that drives the stepper motors that adjust the lights. I'm sure if the sensors aren't working, the OBDC download would report it. Get it checked at the dealer if you think it's not working. The slotted area must just be for show - it is different to a non-Xenon car though...

I didn't know about the front sensors, but I know for sure the sensors work of a lever/potentiometer linked to the rear suspension. I found this out when my Xenons stopped moving and I asked for them to be checked.

When the car is accelerating, the sensor reacts at the back of the car drops and sends the signal to the stepper motor.

Both the self-levelling and the headlight washers are required by law (I think in Germany) to stop the glare for oncoming traffic.

I stand corrected... I should have looked first.
The self level system works off two potentiometers, one at the front axle, one at the rear. They feed signals to a control module that drives the stepper motors that adjust the lights. I'm sure if the sensors aren't working, the OBDC download would report it. Get it checked at the dealer if you think it's not working. The slotted area must just be for show - it is different to a non-Xenon car though...
The "Xenon" logo thing is purely packaging. Their wasn't enough room in the unit with the extra wiring needed on the xenons to leave that open like it is on the halogens.

Oooo there I go again thinking out loud... only to be shot down in flames "eject eject eject"

What a clever lot we are... :D

I took the car in to Astles grimsby. I was told that the levelers don't adjust when you drive along in a dynamic way. They only reset themselves when you start up.:confused:


:mad: :mad: They then checked the lights and said that they were just a small fraction too high and readjusted them. Now they only shine 20 feet!!!!:mad: :mad:

I give up.

I took the car in to Astles grimsby. I was told that the levelers don't adjust when you drive along in a dynamic way. They only reset themselves when you start up.:confused:


Noticed your MCS is an '04, as is ours. While our MCS definitely goes thru a self-leveling routine at start up, I've yet to notice any leveling while driving, and have been unable to effect any leveling activity by, for example, loading the rear suspension, etc., while the car is running. Maybe the dynamic leveling behavior has been eliminated on the newer builds?

The Xenons require self leveling to help prevent dazzling oncoming vehicles, otherwise if you parked on an incline and then start up again/switch your lights on, you could end up with your light pointing to the heavens as you went along. ;)

The service desk tell me the lights level at star up, the sales desk tell me that their demo cars level dynamically.:confused:

I have tried to make mine relevel by loading the rear suspension but the lights just aim higher. :mad:

This evening I'm going to load up my double axle trailer and see if that will blind everyone. :eek:

The Xenons require self leveling to help prevent dazzling oncoming vehicles, otherwise if you parked on an incline and then start up again/switch your lights on, you could end up with your light pointing to the heavens as you went along. ;)

Well, actually, the lights would search the heavens if you started on a decline. It's not that I don't grasp the intended function of the self-leveling feature, it's just that my headlights do not re-level dynamically (that is, after initial start up). Maybe my MCS is malfunctioning as well...

Is the self levelling supposed to happen everytime the lights are turned on?
Mine seems to only do it intermittently... don't know if anything is wrong with them.

I don't know about MINIs made for other countries, but the USA xenons absolutely self level while driving (mine do anyway). I see it happen all the time. Others in my car have noticed ti too, so I'm not imagining things!

Mine definitely level while driving. Say you are going 10 mph, and accelerate hard, you should see the light pattern adjust for sure. When you then decellerate, they adjust again. Same thing with braking. They take about a second to react, so a bump is typically not going to cause adjustment. Also, if the car is on an incline, they will not adjust, as the car is level with respect to the road. Like was mentioned above, you need to change the bodies relationship to the wheels. It is not detecting level with respect to gravity.

Well, actually, the lights would search the heavens if you started on a decline. It's not that I don't grasp the intended function of the self-leveling feature, it's just that my headlights do not re-level dynamically (that is, after initial start up). Maybe my MCS is malfunctioning as well...

Here's the deal: The only difference in headlight angle that would be caused by starting on a slope would come from the different weight distribution between the front and rear axles. What the hall sensors (that's what the sensors are really, not potentiometers) measure is the difference in compression of the front and rear suspension arms, which parking on a slope wouldn't affect too much.

The levelling is fairly cleverly filtered - it's not as simple as 'front goes down, lights go up' - and is quite counter-intuitive. The levelling actually cuts out if the road surface is too rough, so is most likely to be inactive when you're most likely to be looking for it.

Oh, and unless you've got US halogens, the lights should *always* level when you turn the ignition on.