The ask an MOT tester thread

The ask an MOT tester thread

Author
Discussion

pti

1,706 posts

145 months

Monday 25th January 2021
quotequote all
Just fitted some new dials to my car, this has removed the ABS warning symbol (see picture below). Light is still present and can see it come on and off at startup but obviously it signifies nothing...

There is a warning symbol in the middle of the cluster that lights up if there's an ABS fault as well, this is unaffected.

Question is whether it will pass an MOT with the new dials or will I need to swap my old tacho back in come MOT time?

(ignore the difference in top speeds, this is being rectified as obviously the speedo is currently inaccurate)


rxe

6,700 posts

104 months

Monday 25th January 2021
quotequote all
pti said:
Just fitted some new dials to my car, this has removed the ABS warning symbol (see picture below). Light is still present and can see it come on and off at startup but obviously it signifies nothing...

There is a warning symbol in the middle of the cluster that lights up if there's an ABS fault as well, this is unaffected.

Question is whether it will pass an MOT with the new dials or will I need to swap my old tacho back in come MOT time?

(ignore the difference in top speeds, this is being rectified as obviously the speedo is currently inaccurate)

If the light comes on an off at startup, it meets the requirement. The MOT doesn’t test if the ABS actually works.....

pti

1,706 posts

145 months

Monday 25th January 2021
quotequote all
rxe said:
pti said:
Just fitted some new dials to my car, this has removed the ABS warning symbol (see picture below). Light is still present and can see it come on and off at startup but obviously it signifies nothing...

There is a warning symbol in the middle of the cluster that lights up if there's an ABS fault as well, this is unaffected.

Question is whether it will pass an MOT with the new dials or will I need to swap my old tacho back in come MOT time?

(ignore the difference in top speeds, this is being rectified as obviously the speedo is currently inaccurate)

If the light comes on an off at startup, it meets the requirement. The MOT doesn’t test if the ABS actually works.....
I probably wasn't clear.

The light which comes on and off is now hidden behind the new yellow tacho, so it's literally a bright spot on the tacho with no symbol.

The one in the centre of the cluster is a warning lamp (not ABS specific) that is only illuminated if there's an issue (including ABS).

I think I know the answer and it's that I'll need to swap the dial face come MOT time but thought I'd ask smile

SpeckledJim

31,608 posts

254 months

Monday 25th January 2021
quotequote all
pti said:
rxe said:
pti said:
Just fitted some new dials to my car, this has removed the ABS warning symbol (see picture below). Light is still present and can see it come on and off at startup but obviously it signifies nothing...

There is a warning symbol in the middle of the cluster that lights up if there's an ABS fault as well, this is unaffected.

Question is whether it will pass an MOT with the new dials or will I need to swap my old tacho back in come MOT time?

(ignore the difference in top speeds, this is being rectified as obviously the speedo is currently inaccurate)

If the light comes on an off at startup, it meets the requirement. The MOT doesn’t test if the ABS actually works.....
I probably wasn't clear.

The light which comes on and off is now hidden behind the new yellow tacho, so it's literally a bright spot on the tacho with no symbol.

The one in the centre of the cluster is a warning lamp (not ABS specific) that is only illuminated if there's an issue (including ABS).

I think I know the answer and it's that I'll need to swap the dial face come MOT time but thought I'd ask smile
I think on the grounds that any other driver wouldn't gather that there was an ABS fault, should there ever be one, then it should be a fail.



LetsTryAgain

2,904 posts

74 months

stevemcs

8,682 posts

94 months

Monday 25th January 2021
quotequote all
scoey1001 said:
What's your experience with 200 cell sports cats? Tend to pass or not? Also is it true your car should have the standard cat, if so generally how strict are testers with this?
They go through, some need to be roasting hot though - mine does. Just let them know when you drop the car off.

cuprabob

14,685 posts

215 months

Monday 25th January 2021
quotequote all
My MOT expires this Saturday on the 30th Jan. Can I legally drive my car for an essential journey on Saturday, the day of expiry?

I have a test booked for Monday 1st Feb and I'm aware I can legally drive to the garage.



LetsTryAgain

2,904 posts

74 months

Monday 25th January 2021
quotequote all
cuprabob said:
My MOT expires this Saturday on the 30th Jan. Can I legally drive my car for an essential journey on Saturday, the day of expiry?

I have a test booked for Monday 1st Feb and I'm aware I can legally drive to the garage.
No and yes, respectively.
If there’s no valid MOT, you can only drive it to and/or from a pre-booked MOT appointment.

Likelihood of being caught = low.
Likelihood of any punishment if caught = even lower.

InitialDave

11,933 posts

120 months

Monday 25th January 2021
quotequote all
If his MOT expires on the 30th, then he can drive it on the 30th. It's valid until midnight.

The Mad Monk

10,474 posts

118 months

Monday 25th January 2021
quotequote all
LetsTryAgain said:
cuprabob said:
My MOT expires this Saturday on the 30th Jan. Can I legally drive my car for an essential journey on Saturday, the day of expiry?

I have a test booked for Monday 1st Feb and I'm aware I can legally drive to the garage.
No and yes, respectively.
If there’s no valid MOT, you can only drive it to and/or from a pre-booked MOT appointment.

Likelihood of being caught = low.
Likelihood of any punishment if caught = even lower.
I am, as always. open to correction, but I think the correct answers are

Yes and yes.

The MOT expires on the 30th. It is legal to drive on the 30th.

LetsTryAgain

2,904 posts

74 months

Monday 25th January 2021
quotequote all
The Mad Monk said:
I am, as always. open to correction, but I think the correct answers are

Yes and yes.

The MOT expires on the 30th. It is legal to drive on the 30th.
Thought the 30th was Fri 🤷🏼‍♂️🙈

cuprabob

14,685 posts

215 months

Monday 25th January 2021
quotequote all
Thanks for clearing that up smile

watermoto

24 posts

61 months

Monday 25th January 2021
quotequote all
Hello.

I currently have winter wheels without TPMs sensors. If I disable the TPMs light (using forscan) for the MOT, will it fail?

The light won't turn on, but the system check (light on then light off) won't be present when the ignition is turned on. My car was built in 2016.

Appreciate the help.

stevemcs

8,682 posts

94 months

Monday 25th January 2021
quotequote all
If the TPMS light is on indicating a fault then its a fail, if its not on then it should pass.


For the MOT that expires on the 30th, i'd see that can be used up until 23.59 on the 30th.

watermoto

24 posts

61 months

Monday 25th January 2021
quotequote all
Hi stevemcs.

Thanks for the info. I assumed the TPMS light was like the ABS / airbag light which has to turn on and then off to indicate the system is working correctly.

stevemcs

8,682 posts

94 months

Monday 25th January 2021
quotequote all
Tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS)
The inspection of the tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) is for M1 vehicles first used on or after 1 January 2012.

The TPMS warning lamp (see diagram 3) can operate in many ways depending on the vehicle type. You must only reject vehicles if it’s clear that the lamp indicates a system malfunction and not simply indicating that one or more of the tyre pressures is low.

BTW you can get sensors and clone them and fit them.

watermoto

24 posts

61 months

Monday 25th January 2021
quotequote all
Sorry, I wasn't quite truthful before.

I do actually have TPMS installed. I stupidly bought cheap eBay sensors instead of Ford ones. They work, but very rarely I get a communications error and the TPMS light comes on. Hence my thought of disabling the TPMs system temporarily for the MOT. Or I could put the old wheels on instead I suppose.

Sorry for the confusion. I should have said this previously, but I didn't think it was relevant to the question, when in hindsight it was!

Serves me right for trying to save some £££ and purchasing cheap sensors. More hassle than it was worth.

stevemcs

8,682 posts

94 months

Monday 25th January 2021
quotequote all
The genuine Ford ones are not that expensive, usually £25 each. Trouble is they are a pain to learn, you can put the car in learn mode (see youtube) but it doesn't always work.

You could always drop the car off but reset the TPMS just before you hand the keys over, hopefully it will try and reset itself while in the test bay.

watermoto

24 posts

61 months

Monday 25th January 2021
quotequote all
Yeah, I'll probably swap out the rubbish sensors (£30 for four) and get proper Ford ones put in on the next tyre change. They were also a pain to pair, I had to use the relearn tool multiple times to get the car to register them. Should have taken that as a warning sign and returned them within the 30day money back guarantee instead of waiting for them go wrong!

Thanks for the reset advice. I'll try resetting the system before the test. If it fails, retests the next working day are free for TPMs faults at my local MOT place, so I can just throw on the original Ford wheels if I have to. Fingers crossed!

Avenicus

387 posts

45 months

Wednesday 27th January 2021
quotequote all
Hi MOT testers and thank you for all your answers so far...

I bought a used approved BMW just under 3 years old in December 2020 and it will be 3 years old in March 2021 (first registered March 2018).

It came with 12 months MOT in December when I bought it - I thought you cannot MOT a car 'early'?