I pulled these out of my car as I'm working on a flush mount setup, and I noticed these have a plug hole for what I believe would be a city light. (At least that's what they are for on my VW w/ ecodes) Is there any way to tell if they are ecodes? They are not marked "DOT approved" or anything, but they aren't marked hella either. The bulbs are hella H4's if it maters. Can someone help me out?

 

The term "E-code", in our usual context, means a headlight which has been submitted for regulatory approval and found to be in compliance with UNECE regulations (typically R98 / R112 / R113). Once this is done, the manufacturer is granted permission to place the ECE approval mark on the headlight.

What you have pictures appears to be a headlight which is designed to resemble an ECE-approved headlight, though whether it actually performs anything like one is questionable. In particular, that reflector looks to me like it was made out of a prison salad bowl.

 

no. an e-code tends to have a pattern on the lens that looks like a "flame" on a lighter.




you can also see the "E" stamped on it. but yours also doesn't have a DOT stamp...

 

Here is a Hella e-code.


http://www.quadratec.com/products/97052_9001.htm (Bigger image available here.)

 

My Hella ECEs have a lens pattern that actually looks very similar to the one in the first post. There's no one single lens pattern that defines an ECE-approved headlight, only a set of performance standards.

What Brainey's picture does very clearly illustrate, however, is the approval-making which is missing from the first picture. It's the E2 inside the circle, just below the flame to the right. Note that the number varies according to the country of origin, however the basic symbol (E and number inside circle) is the same for all of them. It is not required to be formed into the front glass (it can be on the back) however most manufacturers seem to put it up front.