Alberta Out of Province Inspection

[hotplate]

So today I went to Midas in Edmonton to have my out of province inspection done on my '91 L300. I didn't know whether to expect it to pass or not, and right off the bat it failed. The technician didn't go through the whole inspection and was nice enough not to charge me anything. Right away he wasn't going to pass it because it didn't have DOT lights and it also wasn't set up for daytime running lights.
The strange thing is that when this vehicle was imported registered and plated in Edmonton originally before being imported to BC, so either the tech today was wrong or another shop passed it unlawfully.
For those of you who have gone through this process, what have you done? I am trying to decide if I should go ahead and install all new lights or not.

[TardisDeli]

Hi,
The L300 (I presume you have L300 not L400) lights are NOT dot, they are E-Code (European Code), there is no DOT version that fits the van as this van was not sold in North America but was sold on the other continents...see many postings about this on the forum. The Depo brand are much better than the Souest brand for ability to aim the headlights. Beware the combination switch which is just under your steering wheel, and controls the wiper and lights, is EXPENSIVE to replace, so dont kill it with accidentally wrong wiring if you do the job yourself, and don't let some inexperienced mechanic do it, there is an art to L300 lights wiring.

As to DRL Daytime running lights, yes, you can get a DRL relay to install, make sure you cut into the correct wires. Sometimes people wire the DRL to have the how beams on all the time, but that causes the Combination Switch to wear out prematurely (see many posts about weird headlight problems). Mardy of Amazng Autos in Richmond BC has been installing LED strips along the bottom of the headlight lens, with a DRL relay, which works nicely. This is OK in BC, dunno about Alberta. Your signature says your location is Victoria, but you mention Alberta approvals.

Generally, it is best to find a Compliance Inspection place that has experience with japanese RHD imports, as they have learned about the headlight issues from others before you ie there is no DOT version. So a chain shop such as Cdn Tire or a muffler chain might not have the breadth of experience. The Calgary delica owners might know who is good, a few of them have imported their own vehicles; some very helpful calgary delica owners (they are not importers, just owners) are Erebus, White Mule, Jungle Jon, you could PM Private Message them.

Just curious, why do you need compliance, normally that is done before you buy a vehicle. Did the previous owner take out the DRL module to use on his next vehicle??? There are rumours about people who put good stuff on for the compliance exam, then remove them afterwards to put on the next vehicle (ie tires, headlights, batteries). Can you get money back from whomever you bought it from to cover the costs to make the vehicle legal on the highway?
Cheers, Christine.

[hotplate]

Hi,

Just curious, why do you need compliance, normally that is done before you buy a vehicle. Did the previous owner take out the DRL module to use on his next vehicle???

I am importing it from BC to AB so I'm required to do the out of province inspection. As far as I am aware, it was never set up with DRL, but who knows.

[hotplate]

the majority of the lights all have the E-Code (which i believe means it should be approved in Alberta) on them except the left headlight which looks like this



and the brake lights which look like this:




does that mean they are not approved since I can't find an E-code anywhere?

[FalcoColumbarius]

There are many E codes, some are good, some are not good as they are meant for the other side of the road and will blind on coming traffic. Here is a list. I see by the picture in your post that your headlamps are made in Japan, which would lead me to believe that they are E43 and design for the other side of the road. In which case they will fail the OOP inspection.

Falco.

P.S.: You want a number from a country that drives on the right side of the road like Canada does, not on the left side. My headlamps are marked E4, which is the Netherlands, who drive on the right hand side of the road like Canada. FC.

[hotplate]

It seems the whole debate about E code is whether or not you are blinding oncoming traffic, therefore shouldn't it just be the headlights that you have to worry about? or is it all the lights including taillights, side markers etc?

[FalcoColumbarius]

Regarding all the corner lights, I'm not sure what the "legal" status is. I would imagine it is not an issue. I understand you must have reflectors on the sides, amber in the front, red near the rear. If you haven't already I would recommend searching this forum for previously posted data.

BTW, you say the wagon was already inspected in Alberta? Then why are you doing it again?
In Canada, from my understanding, although we recognise DOT, we also recognise correct E codes. If we don't then BMW & Mercedes will be disappointed.

Be careful who you take it to, there are people out there that think these vehicles are the sole reason for the economic situation North America is in and the we should be good Canadians and buy American products.

I agree with TardisDeli contact some of the Alberta members, they will likely have good advice and/or contacts.

Falco.

[hotplate]

BTW, you say the wagon was already inspected in Alberta? Then why are you doing it again?

I bought it in BC when it was registered in BC, but it was originally imported from Japan to Alberta. I am the 3rd Canadian owner of the vehicle. Now I've moved to AB.

Thanks for all your suggestions.

[Big-Bird]

Drop Cregan a PM, he lives in Leduc and can help you a shop who can do a proper OOP inspection that understands JDM vehicles. I had my L400 done in Calgary and it passed but that required some prep work up front on my part.

Day time running light relay setup.
Corner reflectors from Canadian Tire
E11 or OTHER RIGHT HAND DRIVE COUNTRY E-Code headlights which your L300 should have already!
Windshield needs to be in good order.
Suspension and tires must be be good too.
See if a fellow L300 owner in Edmonton might help you do a preinspection at home before you pay someone to fail it for something stupid...like a mechanic who is unaware of E-Code headlights.

[CREGAN]

Hey- Just saw your post.

I had mine inspected at Atlas Auto on the south-ish side of Edmonton. Passed no problems. Mardy had installed the DRL light strip and it worked fine to pass the test. You can buy the DRL strip at Walmart for $30 and maybe Mardy can walk you through the set up.

The picture you have of the front lense is of the wrong numbers. On my L400 the coding is on the top outside corners of the lenses. Mine are E13. They were more worried at Atlas about the side glass being OK, and it was. Check all you glass panels for a stamp and if you see DOT on them they are good. Try there maybe. The tech/shop manager I know there just left to go teach at Nait though so it may be in someone elses hands.

If you need to replace the lights, Coombs sells the real deal lights (fully legal sealed from the factory units) as I know many other vendors sell them but they are usually just the glass lense part that you have to unseal the old lenses and re-seal the new glass on.

I would give William at JDMconnection an email or PM. He imports vehicles into Edmonton, so he must have a place that he gets his vehicles inspected. Very knowledgable and good guy because he has been doing this for a while.

Craig