Document ID: NHTSA-2010-0166-0001
Agency: nhtsa
Document Type: Rule
Title: Petitions for Decisions of Inconsequential Noncompliance: Panda Power LLC
Posted Date: 2010-12-21T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 244 (Tuesday, December 21, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 80110-80111]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-32010]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2010-0166; Notice 1]

Panda Power LLC, Receipt of Petition for Decision of 
Inconsequential Noncompliance

    Panda Power LLC (Panda Power),\1\ has determined that High 
Intensity Discharge (HID) lighting kits \2\ that it imported and sold 
during 2007, 2008 and 2009 failed to meet the requirements of paragraph 
S7.7 of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108, Lamps, 
Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment. Panda Power has filed an 
appropriate report pursuant to 49 CFR Part 573, Defect and 
Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports, dated February 10, 2010.
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    \1\ Panda Power, LLC (Panda Power) is organized under the laws 
of the State of Arizona and is the importer of the subject 
nonconforming replacement equipment. Panda Power sold the 
nonconforming replacement equipment while doing business under the 
name Mobile HID.
    \2\ Panda Power's high-intensity lighting (HID kits each 
contained 2 lamps, 2 lamp ballasts and a wiring harness with relay 
and fuse).
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    Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) (see implementing rule 
at 49 CFR part 556), Panda Power has petitioned for an exemption from 
the notification and remedy requirements of 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301 on 
the basis that this noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle 
safety.
    This notice of receipt of Panda Power's petition is published under 
49 U.S.C. 30118 and 30120 and does not represent any agency decision or 
other exercise of judgment concerning the merits of the petition.
    Panda Power estimates that approximately 1,851 headlamp kits that 
it sold during 2007, 2008 and 2009 are affected. All of the affected 
kits were manufactured by Guangzhou Kingwoodcar Company, LTD, Guangzhou 
City, China.
    Paragraph S7.7 of FMVSS No. 108 requires:

    S7.7 Replaceable light sources. Each replaceable light source 
shall be designed to conform to the dimensions and electrical 
specifications furnished with respect to it pursuant to part 564 of 
this chapter, and shall conform to the following requirements:
    (a) If other than an HB Type, the light source shall be marked 
with the bulb marking designation specified for it in compliance 
with Appendix A or Appendix B of part 564 of this chapter. The base 
of each HB Type shall be marked with its HB Type designation. Each 
replaceable light source shall also be marked with the symbol DOT 
and with a name or trademark in accordance with paragraph S7.2.
    (b) The measurement of maximum power and luminous flux that is 
submitted in compliance with Appendix A or Appendix B of part 564 of 
this chapter shall be made in accordance with this paragraph. The 
filament or discharge arc shall be seasoned before measurement of 
either. Measurement shall be made with the direct current test 
voltage regulated within one quarter of one percent. The test 
voltage shall be 12.8v. The measurement of luminous flux shall be in 
accordance with the Illuminating Engineering Society of North 
America, LM-45, IES Approved Method for Electrical and Photometric 
Measurements of General Service Incandescent Filament Lamps (April 
1980); shall be made with the black cap installed on Type HB1, Type 
HB2, Type HB4, and Type HB5, and on any other replaceable light 
source so designed; and shall be made with the electrical conductor 
and light source base shrouded with an opaque white cover, except 
for the portion normally located within the interior of the lamp 
housing. The measurement of luminous flux for the Types HB3 and HB4 
shall be made with the base covered with a white cover as shown in 
the drawings for Types HB3 and HB4 filed in Docket No. NHTSA 98-
3397. (The white cover is used to eliminate the likelihood of 
incorrect lumen measurement that will occur should the reflectance 
of the light source base and electrical connector be low).
    (c) The capsule, lead wires and/or terminals, and seal on each 
Type HB1, Type HB3, Type HB4, and Type HB5 light source, and on any 
other replaceable light source which uses a seal, shall be installed 
in a pressure chamber as shown in Figure 25 so as to provide an 
airtight seal. The diameter of the aperture in Figure 25 on a 
replaceable light source (other than an HB Type) shall be that 
dimension furnished for such light source in compliance with 
Appendix A or Appendix B of part 564 of this chapter. An airtight 
seal exists when no air bubbles appear on the low pressure 
(connector) side after the light source has been immersed in water 
for one minute while inserted in a cylindrical aperture specified 
for the light source, and subjected to an air pressure of 70kPa (10 
P.S.I.G.) on the glass capsule side.
    (d) The measurement of maximum power and luminous flux that is 
submitted in compliance with section VII of Appendix A of part 564 
of this chapter, or section IV of Appendix B of part 564 of this 
chapter, shall be made with the direct current test voltage 
regulated within one quarter of one percent. The test voltage shall 
be 12.8v. The measurement of luminous flux shall be in accordance 
with the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, LM 45; 
IES Approved Method for Electrical and Photometric Measurements of 
General Service Incandescent Filament Lamps (April 1980). The 
filament of a replaceable light source shall be seasoned before such 
measurement. The white covers are used to eliminate the likelihood 
of incorrect lumens measurement that will occur should the 
reflectance of the light source base and electrical connector be 
low.
    (1) For a light source with a resistive element type filament, 
seasoning of the light

[[Page 80111]]

source shall be made in accordance with section 2.9 of SAE Standard 
J1383 APR85 Performance Requirements for Motor Vehicle Headlamps. 
The measurement of luminous flux shall be made with the black cap 
installed on Type HB1, Type HB2, Type HB4, and Type HB5 light 
sources, and on any other replaceable light source so designed, and 
shall be made with the electrical conductor and light source base 
shrouded with an opaque white colored cover, except for the portion 
normally located within the interior of the lamp housing. The 
measurement of luminous flux for Type HB3 and Type HB4 shall be made 
with the base covered with the white cover shown in the drawings for 
Types HB3 and HB4 filed in Docket No. NHTSA 98-3397.
    (2) For a light source using excited gas mixtures as a filament 
or discharge arc, seasoning of the light source system, including 
any ballast required for its operation, shall be made in accordance 
with section 4.0 of SAE Recommended Practice J2009 FEB93 Discharge 
Forward Lighting Systems. With the test voltage applied to the 
ballast input terminals, the measurement of luminous flux shall be 
made with the black cap installed, if so designed, and shall be made 
with an opaque white colored cover, except for the portion normally 
located within the interior of the lamp housing.
    (e) If a ballast is required for operation, each ballast shall 
bear the following permanent markings:
    (1) Name or logo of ballast manufacturer;
    (2) Ballast part number or unique identification;
    (3) Part number or other unique identification of the light 
source for which the ballast is designed;
    (4) Rated laboratory life of the light source/ballast 
combination, if the information for the light source has been filed 
in Appendix B of part 564 of this chapter;
    (5) A warning that ballast output voltage presents the potential 
for severe electrical shock that could lead to permanent injury or 
death;
    (6) Ballast output power in watts and output voltage in rms 
volts AC or DC; and
    (7) The symbol ``DOT''.
    (f) For light sources that use excited gas mixtures as a 
filament or discharge arc, the ``rated laboratory life'' shall be 
determined in accordance with sections 4.3 and 4.9 of SAE 
Recommended Practice J2009 FEB93 Forward Discharge Lighting Systems.
    (g) After the force deflection test conducted in accordance with 
S9, the permanent deflection of the glass envelope shall not exceed 
0.13 mm in the direction of the applied force.

    Panda Power did not describe the noncompliances in detail, instead 
it deferred to the agency's concern that the subject HID headlamp kits 
may not comply with one or more of the regulations enforced by the 
agency. This concern was described as an apparent noncompliance in a 
letter sent to Panda Power dated September 2, 2009. The letter was sent 
to Panda Power as part of a National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration (NHTSA) Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance Office 
Activity.\3\
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    \3\ Office Activity Number: OA-108-090606G.
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    In the petition Panda Power argues that the noncompliance is 
inconsequential to motor vehicle safety for the following reasons: (1) 
The kits were originally intended for sale to the agricultural 
community to be placed on tractors and combines, for off-road vehicles, 
and for exhibition purposes; (2) the HID bulbs that were sold with the 
kits in 2007 and 2008 are likely burned out by now and no longer 
functioning; and (3) Panda Power no longer sells the headlamp kits.
    Supported by the above stated reasons, Panda Power believes that 
the described FMVSS No. 108 noncompliance is inconsequential to motor 
vehicle safety, and that its petition, to exempt it from providing 
recall notification of noncompliance as required by 49 U.S.C. 30118 and 
remedying the recall noncompliance as required by 49 U.S.C. 30120, 
should be granted.
    NHTSA notes that the statutory provisions (49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 
30120(h)) that permit manufacturers to file petitions for a 
determination of inconsequentiality allow NHTSA to exempt manufacturers 
only from the duties found in sections 30118 and 30120, respectively, 
to notify owners, purchasers, and dealers of a defect or noncompliance 
and to remedy the defect or noncompliance.
    Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and 
arguments on this petition. Comments must refer to the docket and 
notice number cited at the beginning of this notice and be submitted by 
any of the following methods:
    a. By mail addressed to: U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket 
Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590.
    b. By hand delivery to U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket 
Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590. The Docket Section is open on 
weekdays from 10 am to 5 pm except Federal holidays.
    c. Electronically: by logging onto the Federal Docket Management 
System (FDMS) Web site at http://www.regulations.gov/. Follow the 
online instructions for submitting comments. Comments may also be faxed 
to 1-202-493-2251.
    Comments must be written in the English language, and be no greater 
than 15 pages in length, although there is no limit to the length of 
necessary attachments to the comments. If comments are submitted in 
hard copy form, please ensure that two copies are provided. If you wish 
to receive confirmation that your comments were received, please 
enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard with the comments. Note that 
all comments received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided.
    Documents submitted to a docket may be viewed by anyone at the 
address and times given above. The documents may also be viewed on the 
Internet at http://www.regulations.gov by following the online 
instructions for accessing the dockets. DOT's complete Privacy Act 
Statement is available for review in the Federal Register published on 
April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78).
    The petition, supporting materials, and all comments received 
before the close of business on the closing date indicated below will 
be filed and will be considered. All comments and supporting materials 
received after the closing date will also be filed and will be 
considered to the extent possible. When the petition is granted or 
denied, notice of the decision will be published in the Federal 
Register pursuant to the authority indicated below.

DATES: Comment closing date: January 20, 2011.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120: delegations of authority at 
CFR 1.50 and 501.8.

    Issued on: December 15, 2010.
Claude H. Harris,
Acting Associate Administrator for Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 2010-32010 Filed 12-20-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P