1310 Posted October 20, 2005 Report Posted October 20, 2005 hi all.......i have a faulty reverse switch,which ive been told from this site is very akward to change,it works but you have to rest your hand on the gear stick to keep the reverse lights on.this doesnt realy bother me but the m.o.t. is due soon i i want to know if this would be a problem regards 1310 Quote
Masked Marauder Posted October 20, 2005 Report Posted October 20, 2005 The reversing light is not tested as part of the MOT. Quote
dipsomaniac Posted October 20, 2005 Report Posted October 20, 2005 The reversing light was not part of the MOT two years ago - has that changed? Quote
Guest marcusheawood Posted October 20, 2005 Report Posted October 20, 2005 It's really down to the discretion of the tester, since the equipment is fitted it is supposed to work. You may be unlucky and get a really strict tester, they can and do fail cars on fitted equipment not working. They may just give you an advise or not notice. It's up to you really, I know my MOT tester well and asked him beforehand about the reverse lights and the stonechip in the screen. He passed the screen but I did the lights anyway because reversing the Galaxy is tough enough without the added inconvenience of seeing even less! Quote
Masked Marauder Posted October 20, 2005 Report Posted October 20, 2005 I have a copy of the current MOT testers handbook in front of me. It lists EVERYTHING that is tested. There is NO mention of reversing lights as they are ancillary equipment and NOT a legal requirement. Next you will be telling us that front fog and driving lights are fitted so must work. So if you can offer some documentary or referable evidence to the contrary then I will stand corrected. Quote
Masked Marauder Posted October 20, 2005 Report Posted October 20, 2005 Found an on-line version: http://www.motuk.co.uk/manual/mot_section_one.htm Quote
Guest marcusheawood Posted October 20, 2005 Report Posted October 20, 2005 No need to get out of your pram MM! I was only relating what my local tester told me, as I explained it was my decision to repair the switch. Can you fit a 55W halogen spotlamp for reversing purposes? It's ancilliary. Sorry if I didn't make it clear enough for you. MOT testers can still exercise discretion and advise an item which is not explicitly tested as I stated. You can appeal if you like... As has been discussed in another thread, even tinted windows can now be tested; I see no mention of that in the handbook? Are you suggesting that it is safe and sensible to ignore a vehicle defect of which you are aware even if it can't specifically fail the MOT on that fault? Come on dude, Highway Codes at dawn! :D :) Quote
Masked Marauder Posted October 20, 2005 Report Posted October 20, 2005 Tinted windows can not be tested, a MOT tester is neither trained or equiped to test them. Quote
Guest j_mchattie Posted October 20, 2005 Report Posted October 20, 2005 Reverse light - helps you see at night Tinted windows - help you see in the day As far as Im concerned, either an improvement on your driving aids, and seeing should be quite high up on ye ol' list of things to do. I can see why a testicle - sorry - tester would fail you on that (or at least pull you up for it). Its pretty obvious when tinted windows turn into limo-privacy glass. A pushey tester without a coffee break wont sign on the dotted line unless hes happy(er). Mine was failed for a broken steering wheel lock! Anyway - how can 1310 fix the damn light? Quote
Masked Marauder Posted October 20, 2005 Report Posted October 20, 2005 I was only relating what my local tester told me, as I explained it was my decision to repair the switch. Can you fit a 55W halogen spotlamp for reversing purposes? It's ancilliary. Yes, as long as it only lights when reverse gear is selected, and I have seen it done on a mini. And you did not explain your decision to repair anything you simply spouted "Wanna bet?" Sorry if I didn't make it clear enough for you. MOT testers can still exercise discretion and advise an item which is not explicitly tested as I stated. You can appeal if you like... You made it clear? I said that it was not a fail, you said "Wanna bet?" I will take your bet. An advise is not a fail, so what do you get for the reversing light not working, an advise or a fail? Sure you can appeal an advisory, what are you hoping the VOSA inspector will do, change the advisory to a fail? In any case advisories are only supposed to be on any official paperwork if it is a tested item and it passes, but requires attention. As has been discussed in another thread, even tinted windows can now be tested; I see no mention of that in the handbook? See my replies and links in the other thread, they are not tested for anything other than opacity, normally due to de-laminating, which is not the same as light transmission. The tester has no training or equipment to test the percentage of light passed through. Why? Because it is not a tested item. Are you suggesting that it is safe and sensible to ignore a vehicle defect of which you are aware even if it can't specifically fail the MOT on that fault? The question asked was will a car pass it's MOT if the reversing lights are not working, not what my (or your) personal opinion is on vehicle defects on non-essential ancillary equipment. Come on dude, Highway Codes at dawn! You would never make it there in time, you would be stuck in your own fudge. Quote
Guest marcusheawood Posted October 21, 2005 Report Posted October 21, 2005 Oh boy, literalism strikes... 'Wanna bet' was a conversational gambit :D B-e-c-a-u-s-e...my MOT tester told me that equipment which was fitted and did not work might cause a discretionary fail. I hope he wasn't winding me up, I hadn't meant to flick your switch (bad day?). I was expecting to be able to discuss the wider issues surrounding the tightening up of MOT testing. It seems to me that testers are now much stricter than in the past. You are categorically stating that the car cannot fail on a reversing light issue, I was simply counselling caution based on my (possibly unlucky) experience with these grey areas. If your reversing lights are manually operated (with a dash switch) instead of the gearbox sensor is that OK? Then why not a 55W spot? I can't tell from the MOT testers handbook. If I gave offence then I'm sorry, I had absolutely no intention of challenging you to duel of legislatory small print; it was a joke. My advice remains the same; if you know you have a fault then you should get it fixed. The OP's car may or may not fail the MOT, but one thing I can tell you is that MOT testers like clean, well maintained cars and anything you can do to reinforce that appearance will help. Keep your prickly primacy...and BTW I prefer Mozilla Firefox (thumbs nose), it's open source. :) Quote
Masked Marauder Posted October 21, 2005 Report Posted October 21, 2005 Oooops. Never meant to be so acidic chap, bad night for me last night. On the spot lamp issue, if it is on a separate switch you can have what you like really as it is an ancillary "work light." Got to agree about the clean car bit. Also if you clip all the seat belts into the receivers it makes the car look like it has been pre-tested! But ultimately the MOT test is supposed to be conducted to a standardised set of rules and a pass or fail should pretty much be the same wherever the car is tested. As for the tightening of the rules, wait until the new MOT test they are doing in Northern Ireland comes in over here! This includes shaking the car to see if anything falls off...... But the main thing coming to us on the mainland is the computerised system. That will transform some aspects of the testing system. In particular the computer will time the test to make sure it is not done too quickly. That means that if you take your car away from the testing station following a failure, then a re-test will be another full test unless it is for some specifically listed fail points and is presented before the end of the next day. Also the number of tests a tester is permitted to do in a day will be automatically enforced by the system. So you can expect the number of garages willing to do free re-tests to fall dramatically. But ultimately a proper test is better than a dodgy one where the tester has rushed through so he can get on with something else. Quote
Guest j_mchattie Posted October 21, 2005 Report Posted October 21, 2005 How can 1310 fix his fault? Quote
Masked Marauder Posted October 21, 2005 Report Posted October 21, 2005 99 times out of 100 the gearbox switch is faulty. 100 times out of 100 it is a shit to get at! So short of changing it he would have to wire a dashboard switch in. Quote
delboyt Posted October 21, 2005 Report Posted October 21, 2005 if you have reversing light's fitted i thaught they had to be working ? Quote
familyman Posted October 21, 2005 Report Posted October 21, 2005 :angry: Gals gone through last 2 m.o.t's without reversing lights working, .I keep meaning to change switch on gearbox but every one keeps putting me off! all in all a reversing sensor is probably more use ,any one fitted an after market kit ,any good? Quote
Masked Marauder Posted October 21, 2005 Report Posted October 21, 2005 if you have reversing light's fitted i thaught they had to be working ? Nope. It is not in the manual so it is not tested. Quote
1310 Posted October 21, 2005 Author Report Posted October 21, 2005 hi guys thank you for all who replied..........im very sorry if i caused any disagrements what i have done is gone down to my local mot station and they say that they DONT test the reverse lites as they are not a legal requirement once again thank you to all who relied regards 1310 Quote
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