Citoyendumonde
New Member
I live in Canada, where cars drive on the right hand side of the road (like on the continent in Europe). I purchased a 2011 RCZ 200 hp in Japan where cars drive on the left hand side of the road (like in Britain) and have now imported it to Canada. I was aware that I would likely need to replace the headlight units to get the correct illumination pattern to be able to pass my MOT. All cars in Canada must also have DRL's. While awaiting the arrival of the car, I therefore ordered what I was led to believe to be the correct halogen headlight units for right hand traffic. It turns out my car was one of the rarer cars that came fitted with HID headlights from the factory. I have searched for the last month for a pair of HID RHT headlights, but they are vaporware and cannot be found anywhere. The OEM headlights were made by AL (now Marelli) and even Marelli themselves say that they have not been available for close to a decade.
I have therefore thought about two possible solutions
1.) The RHT halogen headlights that I ordered would be ok to pass the MOT for illumination pattern but they cannot be wired up to the existing wiring harness. My mechanic says that he could rewire the car to the halogen headlights but that this will almost certainly trigger a headlight warning which will cause an MOT failure. He also says that the DRL's on the halogen headlights would probably also not work using the OEM wiring harness that simply bypasses the ballast. Does anybody know if it is possible to get a wiring harness for Halogen lights that will work for the DRL's and not set of dashboard light?
2.) Another option would be to open up the HID headlights still on the car and replace the LHT projectors for RHT projectors. The projectors are the headlight part that determines whether the illumination pattern is RHT or LHT. This would let me keep the better HID headlights but the seal of the headlights would potentially be compromised. I also do not know whether it is possible to find the correct RHT projector once the headlight is opened up. Does anybody therefore know which projectors are used in the OEM HID headlights and where RHT projectors can be found?
Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated. The car is currently sitting in a garage forecourt and cannot be MOTed/registered until a solution is found.
I have therefore thought about two possible solutions
1.) The RHT halogen headlights that I ordered would be ok to pass the MOT for illumination pattern but they cannot be wired up to the existing wiring harness. My mechanic says that he could rewire the car to the halogen headlights but that this will almost certainly trigger a headlight warning which will cause an MOT failure. He also says that the DRL's on the halogen headlights would probably also not work using the OEM wiring harness that simply bypasses the ballast. Does anybody know if it is possible to get a wiring harness for Halogen lights that will work for the DRL's and not set of dashboard light?
2.) Another option would be to open up the HID headlights still on the car and replace the LHT projectors for RHT projectors. The projectors are the headlight part that determines whether the illumination pattern is RHT or LHT. This would let me keep the better HID headlights but the seal of the headlights would potentially be compromised. I also do not know whether it is possible to find the correct RHT projector once the headlight is opened up. Does anybody therefore know which projectors are used in the OEM HID headlights and where RHT projectors can be found?
Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated. The car is currently sitting in a garage forecourt and cannot be MOTed/registered until a solution is found.