Do the OEM LED Projector lights self level?

[catskills837]

The motorized ones on the 502A+, have a fancy little up down/right left dance they do on start up, is this just for show or do they actually level themselves each time?

My truck is on 2” pucks to level it, I haven’t noticed any issues with my lights shining people or being too high, so I’m curious if the lights actually adjust themselves or not.

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[fordhouston]

self level automatically

 

[catskills837]

self level automatically

interesting, I wonder how they do this exactly, what if the truck is started on an incline? Just curious, I suppose it doesn’t matter

 

[fordhouston]

interesting, I wonder how they do this exactly, what if the truck is started on an incline? Just curious, I suppose it doesn’t matter

the leveling sensors are located within the wheel well area. i can't remember where exactly though.

 

[dolsen]

The front level sensor is on the inside of the from left upper control arm and the adjacent frame and the rear level sensor IIRC is attached to the frame in the left rear wheel well and the leaf springs between the U-bolts. This is on non-CCD trucks. CCD trucks have the height sensors built into the shock

 

[Snakebitten]

Edit: previous post beat me to it.

It has nothing to do with the truck being on level ground, but rather the height sensors transmitting the front/rear suspension comparison.

Front sensors are connected to upper control arm. (Has yellow tape on the lever arm)

Rear height sensor is incased in the shock cover if you have CCD.
If traditional shocks, there are lever type height sensors similar to the front.

 

[catskills837]

Very interesting! Thank you!

 

[Blueshound]

Such a complex and advanced system. Amazing. Just read another thread about someone ripping them out for a "different look" and wondering why they don't work right, smh.

 

[vidwiz]

Is the level set at startup or is it continuous?

 

[dolsen]

Is the level set at startup or is it continuous?

I believe it only levels based on payload, but not necessarily on incline. So really, unless you throwing sand bags out of your bed while moving down the road, I think it only adjusts when loading or unloading

 

[Snakebitten]

I believe it only levels based on payload, but not necessarily on incline. So really, unless you throwing sand bags out of your bed while moving down the road, I think it only adjusts when loading or unloading

I believe you are right.

Logic is ran against the front/rear height sensors. It has nothing to do with topography or the ground under the truck.

Now my 2022 truck does exactly the same light-dance against the wall of the barn as my 7 year old Mazdarati (Miata) and 17 year old Porsche 987 do when they start. Lol

Took Ford a while.
And it's remarkable how similar the height sensor are across all 3 vehicles.

 

[dolsen]

I believe you are right.

Logic is ran against the front/rear height sensors. It has nothing to do with topography or the ground under the truck.

Now my 2022 truck does exactly the same light-dance against the wall of the barn as my 7 year old Mazdarati (Miata) and 17 year old Porsche 987 do when they start. Lol

Took Ford a while.
And it's remarkable how similar the height sensor are across all 3 vehicles.

I could be wrong but I would think if it was based off topography the headlamp leveling could easily use the pitch sensor. So I could be speaking out of my ass, but this is largely what makes me believe it is based off payload. But hopefully someone will come along and correct me if I’m wrong

 

[Snakebitten]

I think it's simply looking for Payload squat. Same with the cars, which both mention in their documentation IS the purpose for their auto-leveling.

A steeply inclined parking spot wouldn't be a factor or the headlights would be way off once you reached level ground.

 

[dolsen]

Turns out we were mostly correct, apparently it also does it based off vehicle pitch from acceleration or braking as well.

From the manual:

"Automatic Headlamp Leveling
The headlamp beam height is automatically adjusted according to vehicle load, speed, acceleration and braking data received from the ABS module and PCM. The front lighting uses a HCM to command the up/down aiming of the headlamp adaptive lighting LED through the LIN to the headlamp assemblies. The headlamp assemblies contain a module that receives the messages through the LIN from the HCM.
Depending on the inputs received (steering wheel angle and vehicle speed for example), the HCM can command the height at which the headlamp LED is aimed (up or down) to improve nighttime visibility. Automatic headlamp leveling is activated when the headlamp switch is in the HEADLAMPS or AUTOLAMPS position.
When the LED control module first receives voltage when the ignition is on the and LED control
module commands the headlamps up and down to initialize the system. During the initialization, the HCM runs diagnostics on the system and set Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) for applicable system faults."

All the more reason for me to get these ride height sensors installed.

 

[Snakebitten]

We were discussing the pre-start sweep though. It's a single event.

The fact that these amazing lights are also "active" in motion is a very different thing. And there's far more going on than what the height sensors provided pre-startup.

I poked fun at Ford for being late to the party. But once they did arrive, they brought the whole package. There's so much technology in that headlight and on a dark night driving around if you are watching for what they are doing it's amazing.

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