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The number combined with the 'E' is the country where the ECE-type-approval has been granted. Once it has been completed in one country it can then be used legally in the other EC countries.
Although the testing standards are uniform across europe there can be differences in how easy it is for a manufacturer to pass. In germany they are very strict and it's difficult to get new parts approved. On the other hand it's not so difficult in luxembourg. Differences in interpretation of some of the regulations.
So an E-code headlight that ha a german approval is generally of a higher standard than one with a luxembourg approval. Either one will still meet all the requirements, but the german one probably has a better quality.
Combined DOT/E-code lights exist. They use a slightly modified E-code beam (less inclination of the 'flare' at the side for one).
To confuse things a bit there are also headlights with both an E-code *and* DOT marking on the glass, but are *NOT* combined units. The S/V40 headlights are one of them. These headlights usually have a sticker on the housing which has two boxes printed on it which either say: (ECE:YES DOT:NO) or (ECE:NO DOT:YES).
This is caused by the fact that these are free-form headlights, so all the beam shaping is done by the reflector and the glass is simply smooth and clear. The glass and headlight housing are shared by both the DOT and ECE models (so both identification codes are present on the glass), but the reflector is specific for either type and the sticker shows which is installed in the housing.
Bye, Arno.
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