Ford Kuga

 Service Manual

Exterior Lighting » Exterior Lighting (System Operation and Component Description)
System Operation

Headlamp levelling

Xenon headlamp

The following components are part of the automatic headlamp leveling system:

• Vehicle level sensors on the front and rear axles
• Control module
• Actuator motors for headlamp leveling

Accordingly, the system needs to be set up with the aid of WDS after any components are replaced or any other repairs are carried out.

The front and rear sensors are Hall sensors which send a digital signal to the control unit.

Conventional Headlamps

The manual headlamp levelling system operates with an electric motor which is controlled via a rotary control in the instrument cluster.

Combined rain sensor/light sensor

The ambient light sensor determines the general light intensity.

For this purpose, it detects the light over as wide an angle as possible, without taking the direction of incidence into account.

The front light sensor determines the light intensity directly in front of the vehicle.

If both the ambient light sensor and the front light sensor detect a sudden reduction in light intensity at the same time, then an algorithm-based calculation is used to determine the fact that the vehicle has entered a tunnel, a multi-storey car park or a long underpass.

In this case the request for switching on the external lighting and the indicator in the instrument cluster is transmitted to the GEM.

If the vehicle enters into the shade thrown by a large truck, the two sensors will register different light intensities.. In this case, the algorithm-based calculation will not result in the lights being switched on.

The GEM incorporates a stepped switch-off of the dipped beam headlamps, side lamps, license plate illumination and the instrument cluster and instrument panel illumination. If the ambient light changes from dark to bright, the GEM first switches off the low beams. The side lamps, license plate lamps as well as the instrument cluster and instrument panel illumination are switched off approx. 6 seconds after the low beams have been switched off.

System Diagram

System Operation

Component Description