European headlights

[Whistler]

Hey everyone!Two years ago I bought a '03 Vibe (base) and used it without problems. Now I must receive permission of national TUV (the government agency, that inspects the cars), which follows the standards of The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE or ECE).European directive requires that headlights must be approved to an ECE Regulation and marked uppercase "E" in a circle. It means that device (headlights) ECE low beams are characterized by a distinct horizontal "cutoff" line at the top of the beam. Below the line is bright, and above is dark. On the side of the beam facing away from oncoming traffic (right in right-traffic countries, left in left-traffic countries), this cutoff sweeps or steps upward to direct light to road signs and pedestrians (look to attachment). Under US SAE directives (as I understand) low beams may have or may not have a cutoff, and if a cutoff is present, it may be of two different general types: VOR and VOL, which is conceptually similar to the ECE beam in that the cutoff is located at the top of the left side of the beam and aimed slightly below horizontal.Headlights of my Vibe has devices, that marked as SAE HRA15PP2 00. Glasses is denoted STANLEY 01-13 R (L on left) DOT HB2 VOL.Left headlamp of my Vibe produces beam “__/” (with an “elbow”) but right headlamp beam has no “elbow”: “___” .Why beam of headlights of my Vibe are different? How to aim (refit) right headlight?Thank you.

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[lovemyraffe]

Wow, umm...Yep, but welcome.

[ColonelPanic]

Welcome! Another member in Europe was in the same situation a couple years ago, they did not have E-code headlights... But I do not recall the outcome. You may search for it and see if you can find it...Does Pontiac have a sales presence where you are? I would contact them and see if they have any suggestions on obtaining the proper headlights for your area.About all I know of US vs European headlights would be that the US spec ones really aren't worth anything compared to the European ones... and of course our government allows it to be that way. That's about all the suggestions I can provide. Welcome though!

[Whistler]

Hey,In Lithuania only “Cadillac”, “Corvette”, “Saab”, “Opel” and “Chevrolet” auto brands represent GM. Accordingly, “Pontiac” hasn’t sales agency and all Pontiac cars ( “Vibe’s” too ) are imported by private persons. Official GM distributors haven’t headlights for Vibe with E-stamp.However, what form of cut-off produce headlights of your Vibe (in USA or Canada) on low beam?__/ and __/___ and ___ or another form ?Thank you.

[ramenboy...]

hey whistler, welcome to the family! read through this thread. jscampbell tells how he dealt withhis vibe headlight issue in germany.good luck!http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=30076

[Edvardas]

About TUV documents for USA car certification to Europehttp://www.us.tuv.com/industri....aspx

[Raivis]

this is probably a dumb idea but what about tinting the top??? if you were to tint the top 1/4 ___/ might not work but thought i would put in my $0.2