More and more of this blatantly illegal, blatantly unsafe stuff comes onto the market in the US all the time. Meanwhile, things are different in Malaysia, it looks like. Interesting contrast, don't you think?
What I found on the shelf today in a major auto parts store
- Thread starter sadtimes
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Hilldweller
Enlightened
I did some advance work for a delegation from Malaysia several years ago and I can tell you that they are some serious folks when it come to enforcement. I never encountered such utter disgust for leniency in my life...
radiopej
Enlightened
How come they're illegal and so hated?
Alaric Darconville
Flashlight Enthusiast
There's a WHOLE bunch of threads on this board which will explain that. It's even explained in this one.
Please, don't skip to the very end of a thread to ask a question which has been answered at least in part, for example, in this post.
Alaric Darconville
Flashlight Enthusiast
Yet the commenters on the story are blaming the government for "allowing it to go on so long" and "why are they only cracking down now?". Translation: These posters only VERY RECENTLY put that stuff on their cars and now they're worried that they've spend their money only to "enjoy" their illegal products for a short time. Or perhaps "all the OTHER stupid people ruined it for me since I wanted to break the law, too!" These posters would lament not shoplifting in a store the whole time the store didn't have cameras. "Why'd the store owner install cameras? That's so unfair!"
idleprocess
Flashaholic
The hallmark of all the things anyone really wants to do in life per Alexander Wallcott (and often included in compilations of Murphy's Law) ... thus not at all discouraging to the tuner set.
Irresponsibility.
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Thanks for the info Virgil. The fact that there is only a minimal brightness difference between the running light brightness and the brake light brightness is a real danger. I have very good vision and could probably spot it but there are many out there with limited vision and I'm sure direct sunlight would also make it hard to see.
Hmmm, it could also explain the rash of what I HAD assumed was people who drive with their brakes on, with the third/hi-mounted one blown out...as instead, them not having their brakes on, but their tail lights being as bright as you'd expect from a brake application.
idleprocess
Flashaholic
I am suddenly reminded that a friend of mine gave me some LED H7 "headlamps" that a Japanese acquaintance had passed on. They feature 18x 5050 LED's and the package generously bills them as 6500K; connected to a 12V DC power supply I'd say they're a good deal cooler than that. My friend briefly used them in his vehicle's dedicated DRL fixtures and said they managed to suck even at that meager task.
Not sure what I'll do with them, but they're never seeing the inside of an automotive fixture ever again. Perhaps I'll light a closet or something.
Not sure what I'll do with them, but they're never seeing the inside of an automotive fixture ever again. Perhaps I'll light a closet or something.
How do you guys power up an automotive light inside the house? I would love to power a few HID bulbs to light up the garden for a night barbeque.
In Canada, it is actually hard to purchase LEDs for cars. Canadian Tire does not sell it, all the turn signal, brake etc bulbs are incadensent only. They are the biggest automotive parts retailer here. Walmart do not have it either. In fact, it is almost impossible to buy any Philips car lights in retail here. The question is, aren't there laws governing the sale of illegal items? After all, if Home Depot started to sell electronics with no CE and FCC marks, someone is going to get in trouble regardless of whether it is for novelty purposes or not.
Isn't this the same reason why most stores do not sell HID conversion kits? If non compliant LED bulbs are illegal, why is it less illegal than HID conversion kits? I have read that most US warehouses do not store HID kits. When someone placed an order online for them, they are usually drop shipped from China. My customs broker told me before that getting a container full of HID conversion kits are next to impossible to the US or Canada. Customs will seize it.
In Canada, it is actually hard to purchase LEDs for cars. Canadian Tire does not sell it, all the turn signal, brake etc bulbs are incadensent only. They are the biggest automotive parts retailer here. Walmart do not have it either. In fact, it is almost impossible to buy any Philips car lights in retail here. The question is, aren't there laws governing the sale of illegal items? After all, if Home Depot started to sell electronics with no CE and FCC marks, someone is going to get in trouble regardless of whether it is for novelty purposes or not.
Isn't this the same reason why most stores do not sell HID conversion kits? If non compliant LED bulbs are illegal, why is it less illegal than HID conversion kits? I have read that most US warehouses do not store HID kits. When someone placed an order online for them, they are usually drop shipped from China. My customs broker told me before that getting a container full of HID conversion kits are next to impossible to the US or Canada. Customs will seize it.
In my experience, this kind of product does a very good job of relieving excessive emptiness in trash cans.
idleprocess
Flashaholic
Use a 12V power supply that can handle the load. For the terribly H7's I received, odds are I need perhaps 1A ... for a HID bulb, you might need something exceptionally beefy that can handle the considerable startup requirements. I tested a repurposed HID ballast/starter/lamp assembly using a PC power supply. Be very careful with automotive HID - the startup voltages are immense and the bulbs themselves under some pressure when cold (and higher pressures when hot).
There are always loopholes, lax enforcement, and other shenanigans to get around the law.
FCC/UL/CE/CSA/etc marks are not absolutely required on electronics, but strongly recommended for anyone looking to stay out of trouble - be it for radio emissions, meeting code, filing an insurance claim (if it's not rated and it burns your domicile down, SUX2BU), or just general safety.
I suspect that HID "kits" are slipping by customs the same way that most other knock-off or otherwise unauthorized wares seem to be these days - as you mentioned they are shipped direct since customs can't look at every China Post, DHL, UPS, FedEx, etc package.
I believe it was mentioned earlier they label it for off road use only. There's the loop hole. Just like they make exhaust, tires, tint, ect...... that aren't street legal. The LED bar lights for 4x4 trucks aren't legal for road use. But if stores are selling these as replacement bulbs and not informing the customers is a whole other issue.
With a power supply. Mine plugs into regular house current (120 volts, 60 Hz) and delivers 13.6 volts at up to 15 amps.
Careful, it's not safe to burn an automotive halogen or HID bulb in the open air; they need to be in an enclosure.
It must vary by location. The last time I was in Canada was just under a year ago; I was in Toronto and stopped in at a Canadian Tire to see what they had for lights, and they had a whole bunch of "LED bulbs" (all inadequate and dangerous) along with a big variety of unsafe incandescent and halogen bulbs (green, blue, pink, purple, etc), and the full range of Sylvania's variety of blue bulbs. They also had the GE Night Hawk line, but those weren't promotionally displayed.
Those few that exist are generally not enforced. On that same trip, I also pulled in at a Toronto-area speed shop called "Performance Improvements" or "Performance Enhancements" to get a sense of what's being offered. Answer: a huge variety of "HID kits". Every bulb type, every color. One of the sales clerks was busy selling one to a grandfather type when I walked into the store: "Just remove the original bulbs, pop these in, connect these wires to these ballast boxes, plug your headlight sockets in here, and you're good to go."
Because headlight bulbs are directly regulated in the USA and Canada, but signal bulbs (turn signal, brake light, etc.) are not. That doesn't mean the "LED bulbs" are legal, just that the regulations that apply to them are less direct and with lax enforcement, it's a pretty safe bet you won't get smacked for selling them.
Could fool me!
Customs seizes a fair number of such shipments, yes, but a lot more get through.
Except it's a nonexistent loophole. "Off road use only" is legally meaningless. Such a claim or label does exactly nothing to change the seller's and installer's legal responsibilities and liabilities. If a regulated piece of vehicle equipment is physically capable of being installed in an on-road vehicle, the equipment must comply with applicable regulations (even if the equipment also fits in off-road vehicles).
Agreed, all it does is save the manufacturers tail in a lawsuit. That's the loop hole I was speaking of.
...and easy to counterfeit.
Virgil, if you ever come to Toronto again, you should pay a visit to Pacific Mall. Those vendors there sell everything from fake Louis Vuitton bags to any car mods you can think of. Since there is a strong East Asian connection in Toronto, it is possible to purchase items from Raybrig, IPF and PIAA. Obviously none of them are ECE compliant. Canadian Tire now only sells colorful LEDs for interior lights. Then again, they promote the Silver Star more than the non filtered bulbs.
The desire for HID kits and LED bulbs are so strong, that vendors are doing everything to evade customs. One truck driver I spoke to said that people are now shipping the components seperately and re-asembling them in the USA for sale. The best way for compliance is to force people to carry legal cards for the mods in their car. Back in my youthful days, (around the launch of the 1st The Fast and The Furious) I actually carried the instruction manual for the Philips Blue Vision that I have installed in my car. The DOT compliant declarations were all there. If the police were to pull me over, I would be safe. All the police has to do is to take the offending mod and check it against the legal card. Even today, Philips bundle their Crystal Vision bulbs with legal cards.
The desire for HID kits and LED bulbs are so strong, that vendors are doing everything to evade customs. One truck driver I spoke to said that people are now shipping the components seperately and re-asembling them in the USA for sale. The best way for compliance is to force people to carry legal cards for the mods in their car. Back in my youthful days, (around the launch of the 1st The Fast and The Furious) I actually carried the instruction manual for the Philips Blue Vision that I have installed in my car. The DOT compliant declarations were all there. If the police were to pull me over, I would be safe. All the police has to do is to take the offending mod and check it against the legal card. Even today, Philips bundle their Crystal Vision bulbs with legal cards.
Str8stroke
Flashlight Enthusiast
Some folks seem stumped as to why major retailers sell these types of items. So, I carry the 4x4 Off Road use only comment to the next level. I know alot of guys & galls who are into showing cars. They buy all kinda of items for their show vehicles that would not be Legal for use on public roads. But, for displaying the vehicle down to the Sonic or the parking lot of the Mall once a year, its all good. Look at some of the stuff the fellows do to the SEMA vehicles. 
I also know folks who buy this kinda stuff for their hunting rigs, trucks, 4 wheelers, and boats. So to each is own.
The law typically doesn't care if the offender is ignorant. Although, at times, ignorance is bliss. :shrug:
I also know folks who buy this kinda stuff for their hunting rigs, trucks, 4 wheelers, and boats. So to each is own.
The law typically doesn't care if the offender is ignorant. Although, at times, ignorance is bliss. :shrug:
