After-mark HIDS?, dash warning lights? -you've failed MOT!
Discussion
Well I am one of these criminal sorts that operates a car with aftermarket HIDS (I know I'm a bad ass aren't I) anyway I fitted them because the stock headlights (US flat beam pattern) are frankly appalling. Osram don't make bulbs for the headlights, neither do any of the other manufacturers. I have tried off road only super bright halogens from the states which weren't as bright as the stock ones. The only thing left was a set of HIDs (35w 4300k ones) that cost $90 shipped from china (plus some taxes on arrival) after fitting them I could not believe the difference it made, I can actually see at night down unlit roads. I have never been flashed by anybody even with the car fully laden (3 people and the boot crammed) so I don't see the issue in using them.
As for headlamp washers - they are the biggest waste of money and washer fluid I have ever encountered, they are fine when the wipers are going and you use the wash wipe and the lights, but if you don’t have the lights on the headlamp washers did not operate (every third squirt of the wash wipe with them on) consequently this gave the dirt time to dry – rendering the washers as nothing more than something to make watery streak marks up the bonnet and waste washer fluid – without headlamp wipers they are a waste of time!
So come MOT time I’ll take the 30 minutes to strip the system out put the stock bulbs in and then after I have passed return home and re-fit them – it’s a ball ache but I put my personal safety above an hour on the driveway with a spanner and a screwdriver.
As for headlamp washers - they are the biggest waste of money and washer fluid I have ever encountered, they are fine when the wipers are going and you use the wash wipe and the lights, but if you don’t have the lights on the headlamp washers did not operate (every third squirt of the wash wipe with them on) consequently this gave the dirt time to dry – rendering the washers as nothing more than something to make watery streak marks up the bonnet and waste washer fluid – without headlamp wipers they are a waste of time!
So come MOT time I’ll take the 30 minutes to strip the system out put the stock bulbs in and then after I have passed return home and re-fit them – it’s a ball ache but I put my personal safety above an hour on the driveway with a spanner and a screwdriver.
If your Aero is a Version III onwards, it has the MINI headlights which have the washers and the levelling gubbins built in; BMW made the units in Xenon and non-Xenon flavous.
Easiest way to tell is that the Xenon flavour has an ellipsoidal projector in the top 1/2 unit of the unit where the non-xenon has an H7 in a refector; both have H7s in the bottom of the unit. The washer is, I believe, a small pop out bit in the side of the unit (was in the centre of the car on the MINI but due to the Morgan reversal, on the outside of the units.
Aero I and II had Beetle lights and I didn't think they did them with Xenon...but will cheerfully be proved wrong.
EJH
Easiest way to tell is that the Xenon flavour has an ellipsoidal projector in the top 1/2 unit of the unit where the non-xenon has an H7 in a refector; both have H7s in the bottom of the unit. The washer is, I believe, a small pop out bit in the side of the unit (was in the centre of the car on the MINI but due to the Morgan reversal, on the outside of the units.
Aero I and II had Beetle lights and I didn't think they did them with Xenon...but will cheerfully be proved wrong.
EJH
Have any of you actually read the MOT testers manual? You should only fail if you have HID's and the self leveling or washers are fitted and they don't work. If they are not fitted or the tester cant tell if they work(leveling) then it shouldn't be a fail unless they fail the beam pattern, but with that HID is irrelevant.
Too much wrong info.
HID's over a certain level have to have levelling and cleaning IF FITTED AS O.E. only, if the car was not fitted with them you will be fine,most manufactures are lowering the intensity slightly to overcome the issue.
Dash lights, this is a killer! SRS, ABS have to show a fault, yep.youread that right, they have to show a fault, thing is people, the cycle test is being removed from the test, so in theory you can just pull the bulb now, if it does not light it can't show a fault..
Loads of other stuff has been/is about to be brought into law, lots of stuff has been relaxed, some stuff more stringent, I have just done the refesher course and this was pretty musch all we covered.
Any specific questions ask and I will try and give you the answers as stated by the course tutor.
HID's over a certain level have to have levelling and cleaning IF FITTED AS O.E. only, if the car was not fitted with them you will be fine,most manufactures are lowering the intensity slightly to overcome the issue.
Dash lights, this is a killer! SRS, ABS have to show a fault, yep.youread that right, they have to show a fault, thing is people, the cycle test is being removed from the test, so in theory you can just pull the bulb now, if it does not light it can't show a fault..
Loads of other stuff has been/is about to be brought into law, lots of stuff has been relaxed, some stuff more stringent, I have just done the refesher course and this was pretty musch all we covered.
Any specific questions ask and I will try and give you the answers as stated by the course tutor.
well I am into my cars.I do mots on cars too.I currently have hid kits fitted to every one of my cars.As I do mots i am always really spot on with headlight alignment.If I do any work near my lights I always recheck the alignment.I never get flashed as my lights are fitted correctly.The amount of normal bulbs I have to refit to customers cars as they have been fitted wrong is unbeliveable.I serviced a car last week which was a renault megane.The offside headlight had no pattern and I noticed straight away.When the customer returned for his car I asked him who had changed the bulb.In reply he said renault,local dealer done it for £7including fitting.would have been cheap if they done it correctly.I have cars in for mot where halfords,kwitfit any DIYers have changed bulbs and not fitted correctly.There is nothing worse than a car behind or approaching you when there bulbs are not fitted correctly.If a bulb of any kind,or brightness is fitted correctly,aligned correctly and headlight in good condtion I dont see the problem??I know some cars are a total nightmare to replace them.
Could PH please devise a system that automatically posts
1) this URL - http://www.motinfo.gov.uk/htdocs/index.htm
2) a link to a "reading and comprehension" course
3) the caveat that what is legal and what passes the MOT are two different things
whenever someone starts a "new MOT test" thread?
Then, perhaps, it wouldn't be months before someone sensible (thank you ViperDave) comes along and provides accurate information.
1) this URL - http://www.motinfo.gov.uk/htdocs/index.htm
2) a link to a "reading and comprehension" course
3) the caveat that what is legal and what passes the MOT are two different things
whenever someone starts a "new MOT test" thread?
Then, perhaps, it wouldn't be months before someone sensible (thank you ViperDave) comes along and provides accurate information.
Edited by gareth_r on Monday 21st May 13:22
I had my car MOT'd last month. It has an airbag light on the dashboard and has had since I bought it over 3 years ago. When i picked the car up, the light was still on so i asked the tester about it. He said there's nothing on the software they use to actually put that there's an airbag light on. Nothing in the software to enter that a light was on, so he had no option to pass it as the software has yet to be updated.
Can't comment about HID's though!
Can't comment about HID's though!
vsonix said:
robinessex said:
Just for the record, my E34 540 BMW had the worst headlights I've ever come across. The complete light units were eventually replaced with HID units, I could see where I was going at last, and I NEVER got flashed by oncoming traffic.
Same on my '00 e36 Compact - they illuminated basically nothing. Switching to HIDs was quite possibly the best value mod I made to that car - I noticed straight away that my level of driver's fatigue after even a fairly short night drive was far lower. The OEM projectors on my '97 coupé are a big improvement over the 318ti but still only adequate as headlights go. You sometimes wonder how on a cars as generally good all-round as a 90s BMW manage to have fundamentally important things like headlights letting things down considering the attention to detail and functionality that does into everything else...
No Advisory on January MOT either, which had to be done in line with the new MOT regs.
that's what I find odd though, most e36s had projectors as standard, right back almost as far as the beginning. My '97 328 has them, my late 2000 X plate compact didn't, I think they were similar to the reflector unit found on US E36s (not allowed to have projectors under US law).... which are renowned for being lousy.
EJH said:
If your Aero is a Version III onwards, it has the MINI headlights which have the washers and the levelling gubbins built in; BMW made the units in Xenon and non-Xenon flavous.
Easiest way to tell is that the Xenon flavour has an ellipsoidal projector in the top 1/2 unit of the unit where the non-xenon has an H7 in a refector; both have H7s in the bottom of the unit. The washer is, I believe, a small pop out bit in the side of the unit (was in the centre of the car on the MINI but due to the Morgan reversal, on the outside of the units.
Aero I and II had Beetle lights and I didn't think they did them with Xenon...but will cheerfully be proved wrong.
EJH
No mine's a II, Beetle lights, but factory fitted with Beetle lights with Xenons (available from VW in 2005): but no washers fitted.Easiest way to tell is that the Xenon flavour has an ellipsoidal projector in the top 1/2 unit of the unit where the non-xenon has an H7 in a refector; both have H7s in the bottom of the unit. The washer is, I believe, a small pop out bit in the side of the unit (was in the centre of the car on the MINI but due to the Morgan reversal, on the outside of the units.
Aero I and II had Beetle lights and I didn't think they did them with Xenon...but will cheerfully be proved wrong.
EJH
Harry Flashman said:
No mine's a II, Beetle lights, but factory fitted with Beetle lights with Xenons (available from VW in 2005): but no washers fitted.
I am, officially, stumped! The Beetle's headlight washers were fitted in the bumper so I have no idea how Morgan manage to type-approve the Aero with xenon lights and no washers!EJH said:
I am, officially, stumped! The Beetle's headlight washers were fitted in the bumper so I have no idea how Morgan manage to type-approve the Aero with xenon lights and no washers!
Aren't there some models of Evo (FQ's I think) that came from the dealers with HIDs but no leveling and or washers?Gassing Station | Motoring News | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff