The ask an MOT tester thread

[MG CHRIS]

montyjohn said:

andburg said:

Shaw Tarse said:

Was the spare tyre ever part of the MOT?
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

if its present it must be legal

So the second you use it, and put your flat in the back of the car you are presumably no longer compliant as your spare is flat and therefore not legal. What you say doesn't sound like it's correct.

It's not hence spare tyre isn't testable item can be advised but that as far as it goes.

[Broomy72]

Hiya Folk's,newbie so go easy lol,this question genuinely is on behalf of a friend,he is currently in the process of fitting another engine to his campervan as the cambelt snapped on his original engine (maintained correctly too),anyway my question is it's a Fiat Ducato 2.5 ,the vehicle is a 98 R reg,the engine he is fitting is a 95N reg ,now what happens regarding emissions ie smoke test as it's a diesel,does it go on the plate on the vehicle or the engine ?

[Griffith4ever]

montyjohn said:

andburg said:

Shaw Tarse said:

Was the spare tyre ever part of the MOT?
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

if its present it must be legal

So the second you use it, and put your flat in the back of the car you are presumably no longer compliant as your spare is flat and therefore not legal. What you say doesn't sound like it's correct.

Regardless, mot isn't something you maintain all year to be "compliant" . It's a test you pass and that's it.

Imagine you get a rip in a ball joint dust cover one week after passing your mot. Do you really think your car then doesn't have an MOT for the rest of the year?

[Little Pete]

Broomy72 said:

Hiya Folk's,newbie so go easy lol,this question genuinely is on behalf of a friend,he is currently in the process of fitting another engine to his campervan as the cambelt snapped on his original engine (maintained correctly too),anyway my question is it's a Fiat Ducato 2.5 ,the vehicle is a 98 R reg,the engine he is fitting is a 95N reg ,now what happens regarding emissions ie smoke test as it's a diesel,does it go on the plate on the vehicle or the engine ?

It should be tested to the older engine's limits and the owner will need to provide proof of the age of it.

[Broomy72]

Little Pete said:

Broomy72 said:

Hiya Folk's,newbie so go easy lol,this question genuinely is on behalf of a friend,he is currently in the process of fitting another engine to his campervan as the cambelt snapped on his original engine (maintained correctly too),anyway my question is it's a Fiat Ducato 2.5 ,the vehicle is a 98 R reg,the engine he is fitting is a 95N reg ,now what happens regarding emissions ie smoke test as it's a diesel,does it go on the plate on the vehicle or the engine ?

It should be tested to the older engine's limits and the owner will need to provide proof of the age of it.

Thanks will let him know ,easy enough for him to provide proof of engines age as he brought the other van whole for part's so has the v5c

Edited by Broomy72 on Friday 20th January 14:32

[STO]

Unless one is turbo and the other isn't the limits are the same for a 98 and a 95 engine any way so I would not mention it at MOT time.

[Broomy72]

Both turbo so no issues then that's good to know thanks for the replies folks

[iknowhowtoholdaspanner]

Hi all,

I've been trying to figure out how to reduce my emissions for my MOT

I have a 2010 Fiesta 1.6 TDCI 1560cc model that is failing emissions. The car is at 130k miles and is probably due some work, so that's understood. I've been changing the oil every 10k miles for the past 40k miles, using Castrol stop-start and Petronas for two weeks ago as it was on offer. I did a wynns engine flush and then put in new oil after draining out the old. I also change the oil filter to a MANN filter and I changed the fuel filter last year as it was CLOGGED quite badly and kept bringing up engine faults, which have since gone after changing.

Anyhow, I took it in for MOT and the test limit applied was 0.7 1/m and I ran up with 1.30 1/m. I went for a retest after using some wynns DPF additive and going on a longer 2x hour motorway drive at 70 in 4th to try and flush out anything. It actually clocked in at 1.45 1/m after that, though the only difference on paper was the engine temp on test being 87c in first test and 82c in the second.

I saw in this thread something about the emission value for 2008-2014 cars to be 1.5 1/m. Am I missing something or has the car been tested to the newer 0,7 1/m standards and not the 1.5 1/m that it should have as an older diesel?

Would be real thankful for some advice on this matter!

[Athlon]

For vehicles first used between 1 July 2008 and 31 December 2013 the maximum level is 1.5m-1 for all engines.

They are wrong.

Edit to say unless there is a manufacturer limit in a box on the vin plate. we then test to that unless it is illegible for some reason...

[ro250]

I realised yesterday that the horn on my 4 Series sounded odd. A quick google tells me that F Series BMWs have 2 horns, one high pitched and one low and it's common for one to fail.

So basically my horn works but sounds a bit like a clown car and much quieter than it did.

Is there a minimum sound for a horn to pass the MOT? I might fix it anyway as it's a bit embarrassing but would like to know if it's an MOT fail.

Thanks!

[droopsnoot]

ro250 said:

Is there a minimum sound for a horn to pass the MOT? I might fix it anyway as it's a bit embarrassing but would like to know if it's an MOT fail.

Thanks!

MOT Testers Handbook said:

An audible warning must be loud enough to be heard by other road users.

For vehicles first used on or after 1 August 1973, the sound emitted must be continuous or uniform. It cannot be harsh or grating.

The following cannot be used as an audible warning:

gongs
bells
sirens
anything that has more than one tone
However, on vehicles first used before 1906 the audible warning can be a gong, bell or siren.

I am not a tester, seems as if it's down to the tester's discretion as to what constitutes "loud enough to be heard by other road users".

[E63eeeeee...]

Is it just me that really wants to fit a gong to a car?

Horns are just old hat now, if you really want to get someone's attention you need to go BONNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG

[inkyhands]

iknowhowtoholdaspanner said:

Hi all,

I've been trying to figure out how to reduce my emissions for my MOT

I have a 2010 Fiesta 1.6 TDCI 1560cc model that is failing emissions. The car is at 130k miles and is probably due some work, so that's understood. I've been changing the oil every 10k miles for the past 40k miles, using Castrol stop-start and Petronas for two weeks ago as it was on offer. I did a wynns engine flush and then put in new oil after draining out the old. I also change the oil filter to a MANN filter and I changed the fuel filter last year as it was CLOGGED quite badly and kept bringing up engine faults, which have since gone after changing.

Anyhow, I took it in for MOT and the test limit applied was 0.7 1/m and I ran up with 1.30 1/m. I went for a retest after using some wynns DPF additive and going on a longer 2x hour motorway drive at 70 in 4th to try and flush out anything. It actually clocked in at 1.45 1/m after that, though the only difference on paper was the engine temp on test being 87c in first test and 82c in the second.

I saw in this thread something about the emission value for 2008-2014 cars to be 1.5 1/m. Am I missing something or has the car been tested to the newer 0,7 1/m standards and not the 1.5 1/m that it should have as an older diesel?

Would be real thankful for some advice on this
matter!

Check your boost pipes for any splits and look for oil stains on the intercooler, as any air leak will cause it to over fuel.

[ro250]

droopsnoot said:

ro250 said:

Is there a minimum sound for a horn to pass the MOT? I might fix it anyway as it's a bit embarrassing but would like to know if it's an MOT fail.

Thanks!

MOT Testers Handbook said:

An audible warning must be loud enough to be heard by other road users.

For vehicles first used on or after 1 August 1973, the sound emitted must be continuous or uniform. It cannot be harsh or grating.

The following cannot be used as an audible warning:

gongs
bells
sirens
anything that has more than one tone
However, on vehicles first used before 1906 the audible warning can be a gong, bell or siren.

I am not a tester, seems as if it's down to the tester's discretion as to what constitutes "loud enough to be heard by other road users".

Cheers. I think it's audible, and probably louder than a bell!

[iknowhowtoholdaspanner]

Athlon said:

For vehicles first used between 1 July 2008 and 31 December 2013 the maximum level is 1.5m-1 for all engines.

They are wrong.

Edit to say unless there is a manufacturer limit in a box on the vin plate. we then test to that unless it is illegible for some reason...

I'm wrong, it does say within the vin box, ever so slightly 0.7 fudge it! I was hoping a 2010 car wouldn't be that strict.

I'm not sure what I'm able to do to fix the issue above what I've already tried. I have been suggested to do a terraclean and change the Injectors, but I'm not car savvy, so diagnosing an issue without going to a garage and forking out a few £100 is gonna be difficult

[stevemcs]

Last one we did, we fitted a new fuel filter but put emissions cleaner in the filter and run it through that way, On some of the TDCi's you can reset the EGR learned values and that also helps.

[mercedeslimos]

1.3+ sounds to me that it's either the last of the non-DPF cars or the DPF is gutted and mapped out. I managed to get a mate's Mazda 6 with gutted DPF through a non UK MOT, sticker said 0.51, tester tested it at 1.50 and it blew 1.39. Hilariously, my 250k mile 2.0 TDCi Mondeo on first day never cleaned never opened DPF, passed at 0.29...

[randomeddy]

Will a car pass or fail showing a yellow 'service required' light on the dash.

[Athlon]

randomeddy said:

Will a car pass or fail showing a yellow 'service required' light on the dash.

Pass, no interest to us.

[randomeddy]

Great news.