Are my headlights legal in bc

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ChrisinBc
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Are my headlights legal in bc

Post by ChrisinBc »

I recently bought a first generation L400 97 Delica from a dealer and it has DOT on inside of headlight. There is no E code on this headlight. Is this a illegal headlight for BC? I was informed by someone that it is not legal? That Delica never had dot headlights from Japan. Have I been scammed by the dealer?
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izack98
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Re: Are my headlights legal in bc

Post by izack98 »

ChrisinBc, have a look at this link. It has a ton of info on headlights and how to decipher the markings.
Its hard to see all the markings in your pic.
http://www.delica.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=12095
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FalcoColumbarius
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Re: Are my headlights legal in bc

Post by FalcoColumbarius »

E codes are recognised by Canada, so long as they are for the correct side of the road, i.e.; UK headlamps would not be good as they drive on the left side of the road; the Dutch, however are fine as they drive on the right side of the road, like in Canada. These headlamps flare out toward the side of the road. Point your Delica to a wall and turn your headlamps on. If they are fat on the right side and skinny on the left side then you are okay. If anyone tells you that E codes are illegal then tell them that all those people with Porches, BMWs, Mercedes, VWs &c., need to get rid of their cars cause they all have E codes.

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Re: Are my headlights legal in bc

Post by Growlerbearnz »

I think Chris' issue is that the headlamps *dont* have E-codes. I believe Canada recognises DOT (US-market) headlamps, though it's curious that Koito (A Japanese OEM manufacturer) would make DOT headlamps for a vehicle never sold in USA.

It's even more curious that DOT appears to be etched into the lens rather than cast into it- if I were the suspicious type, I might wonder if an importer had merely etched "DOT" on the lens to satisfy an inspection rather than actually changing the lamps.

Update: the esteemed Mr. Daniel Stern, who wrote the inspection and approval protocol for vehicle lighting in BC, believes that these are regular left-hand traffic Japanese spec headlamps that have had "DOT" etched into the glass by an unscrupulous miscreant, and are not legal in BC.

(Mitsubishi part numbers for genuine Koito RH traffic headlamps are MR162655 (left) and MR162656 (right))
Last edited by Growlerbearnz on Sat Nov 14, 2015 11:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: New information
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Re: Are my headlights legal in bc

Post by Daniel_Stern »

Someone pulled a fast one. There are no US-certified headlamps (so-called "DOT headlamps") for L400 Delicas. Those on your vehicle are JDM headlamps (Japanese-market lamps for left-hand traffic), not legal or safe to use in Canada because they are for the wrong side of the road. Legitimate US headlamp markings are virtually always moulded into the lens, occasionally screenprinted, never etched, and they consist of a lot more than just "DOT". On your lamps, some joker has used a stencil and readily available glass etchant (this stuff) to crudely place an inapposite "DOT" marking on the headlamp lenses.

Even if you manage/d to get the vehicle past its out-of-province imported vehicle inspection (and you might; stringency is inconsistent and there are a lot of imported-from-Japan vehicles in BC with lighting unsafe and/or inadequate in numerous ways for use in Canadian traffic) you really do need to replace those headlamps with ones for use on the correct/right side of the road. This isn't just a matter of what a lawbook says; wrong-side-of-road headlamps really are unsafe for everybody. More detail here (written mainly about wrong-side-of-road "E-code" headlamps, but equally applicable to these) and here.

Although there are no US-spec ("DOT") headlamps for the Delica, Canada accepts UN-spec ("E-code") headlamps equally, as long as they're for the right-hand side of the road. Try and get genuine Koito RH-traffic headlamps; the aftermarket units (Depo, etc) are of poor quality.
Last edited by Daniel_Stern on Sun Nov 15, 2015 11:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Are my headlights legal in bc

Post by ChrisinBc »

Thanks Flaco for all the info. Much appreciated. I do not see any markings of E code on these headlights just DOT.
I will try the wall test to see how the lights are truly directed. But I have been told if these lights are not correct and I get into accident that I will not be covered by our friends at ICBC :o
ChrisinBc
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Re: Are my headlights legal in bc

Post by ChrisinBc »

Thanks everyone for the all the information. One thing to mention about the etching. It Is inside of the glass lens not on the outside of lens. Wondering if that's possible?
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Re: Are my headlights legal in bc

Post by Daniel_Stern »

Yup, it is possible (as evidenced by the fact that someone did it ;-) )

As for our friends at ICBC: they're right in this case.
CanadaNZMum
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Re: Are my headlights legal in bc

Post by CanadaNZMum »

Hi there,
Did you resolve the issue? Looking to buy a Delica. What do we look for in the headlights then?

Thanks
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Re: Are my headlights legal in bc

Post by FalcoColumbarius »

CanadaNZMum wrote:Hi there,
Did you resolve the issue? Looking to buy a Delica. What do we look for in the headlights then?

Thanks
Hi Mum, If the headlamps look like the ones in the picture above, as GBNZ has pointed out, Canada recognises DOT. Canada also recognises "E Codes", so long as they are appropriated to the right side of the road. For instance, if you saw "E4" on the headlamps, that would mean the Netherlands and in Holland they drive on the same side of the road as Canada, so that is okay. Should they say "E43" (Japan) or "E11"(UK), then they would be applicable to countries that drive on the left side of the road, ergo not appropriate for Canada. There is a link posted above by izack98, click on that and you can see what codes are for what countries, then you can do the math, as it were. Hope this is useful for you :-)

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Re: Are my headlights legal in bc

Post by CanadaNZer »

Fantastic - thanks!
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Are my headlights legal in bc

Post by Daniel_Stern »

FalcoColumbarius wrote:Canada also recognises "E Codes", so long as they are appropriated to the right side of the road. For instance, if you saw "E4" on the headlamps, that would mean the Netherlands and in Holland they drive on the same side of the road as Canada, so that is okay. Should they say "E43" (Japan) or "E11"(UK), then they would be applicable to countries that drive on the left side of the road, ergo not appropriate for Canada.
That is not correct. The number after the E just indicates what country's type approval authority granted the approval for the headlamp—not whether they're for RH or LH traffic. Every country can and does test and approve headlamps for either side of the road. Just because a headlamp says "E2" (France), "E1" (Germany), "E4" (Netherlands), "E5" (Sweden), etc, does not mean it's a headlamp safe and legal for use on the RH side of the road. Likewise, just because a headlamp says "E11" (UK) or "E43" (Japan) does not mean it's a headlamp for use on the LH side of the road.

What you need to do is look at the other parts of the E-mark. Find the mark that looks like HCR or HC/R or HC or HCHR. If there's an arrow pointing to the right then the headlamp is for the wrong (left) side of the road. That's a little counterintuitive until you realise the arrow, as you face it, is pointing to the side of the road the headlamp is for use on.

If there is no arrow, then the headlamp is for the right side of the road.

If there is a double-headed arrow then the headlamp can be set to produce a left-traffic or a right-traffic beam. More common on European projector lamps and very old pre-halogen European reflector lamps, but seen once in awhile on Japanese projector lamps.

Don't get misled by other arrows that might be on the lens. If the headlamp also contains other functions (parking/position/"city" light, turn signal) it will usually have an arrow near the E-marks for those functions, signifying which side of the car those functions are for. A parking lamp for the left side of the vehicle, for example, will have a mark that looks something like this:

(E3) [A]

While the other-side lamp for the right side of the vehicle will have this:

(E3) [A]
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Are my headlights legal in bc

Post by Growlerbearnz »

Daniel_Stern wrote:...If there's an arrow pointing to the right then the headlamp is for the wrong (left) side of the road. That's a little counterintuitive until you realise the arrow, as you face it, is pointing to the side of the road the headlamp is for use on.
It took me a while to parse this, as I usually think of "left" and "right" on a vehicle as if I were sitting in the drivers seat. To me, that arrow would be pointing to the left, which isn't counterintuitive at all. :-)
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Are my headlights legal in bc

Post by jbourne »

Reviving an older thread, but I'm just beginning to look for an L400 to import. My father really wants one, and seems to want to drive half of the world in it (literally! He wants to ship it here and there and just keep driving in it!) and I want to help him do it.

I'm located in Japan, so I am likely able to look at the cars before buying them, so that'll hopefully help me get something that makes sense, but the headlight question is baffling me. I understand I will need to replace headlights before bringing the car over to Vancouver, but what are my aftermarket options? I saw some odd website selling them for $450 per side, but that seems nonsensical when I can get the OEM ones for $5 (yes, 5 bucks) on Yahoo Auctions Japan.

Of course, I realise that 99% of the parts available today are for RHD Delicas... so there's the whole concept of scarcity, but I suspect I'm also looking incorrectly.

Are there any part numbers that I could look up? I saw Koito mentioned upthread, but I'm not able to find any "right hand traffic" ones on their Japanese website.

I think Dongfeng in China also manufactured these cars, right? Maybe I should look in China for some headlights?

To complicate things, there was a facelift in 2002, but it was only in Japan? Which means a 2002+ car will not have aftermarket headlights that fit?

Any help welcome. Thanks a lot!
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