Failed MoT Three Times. (1 Viewer)

[madbluemad]

As the title says, my mh failed its Mot three times earlier this week. It was taken in on Monday to a Test Station that it has been to three times before and past first time every time.

The Test Station has recentley been taken over by a new company and there is a new tester on the block. The garage that took it in has taken two in so far and both have failed, much to the frustration of the garage owner.

The first time mine failed it failed because the idling exhaust emision reading was three didgits out, two points to the right of the decimal point. oh:.

There are two testers, one said he would accept it and the other said no, it was the tester who said no that had to sign the Mot Cert.

The camp site that we were stopping on had an Mot Tester camping there full time. I showed him the readings Monday night and he said he would have passed it.

On Tuesday the engine, which by the way runs like a dream, was taken apart. No fault could be found on the Engine Management Systems computer or the Gas Analyser that was used on the exhaust.

All of the oils and Filters were brand new because the engine was serviced. The mh was resubmitted for test on the Tuesday and promptly failed for the same reason. The "Out of Spec" reading had slightly improved but was still not good enough.oh:

On Tuesday afternoon June, (Of All People) asked whether the exhaust itself was ok.

The Tester had passed the exhaust and so everybody looked at her as if to say $%^&*.

The mechanic put the mh up on the ramp anyway and had a look at the exhaust. There is a seam along the exhaust that had a very small gap along along it. The mechanic filled it with putty and it was taken back for MoT Test on Wednesday morning.

It passed.

The second point of failure was "Product On Offside Headlamp Masking Light Strength". For Product, read, Beam Bender Glue.:shout:

The "Product" was cleaned off and the offending headlamp retested. It Failed.:Angry:.

A new Headlamp was fitted and it was resubmitted, It Passed. :cry-smile:.

I wish I had put it into the VOSA station in Ellesmere Port myself, but, wise after the event and all that.

Jim

 

[callumwa]

Sounds a bit over fussy.:Sad:

I guess they won't be seeing your repeat business, and in the future you will be heading down to the Port...

Callum

 

[Gromett]

Sounds like a test station to avoid.
Mine failed 3 times last year and I could have sworn at the bloke. Why didn't he pick the fault on the second test the first test....

They got £1200 of my hard earned cash and I have a few issues caused by them. I will never go back again.

I failed on tuesday and am going in to get work done on Monday. If he passes it straight away after the work is done I will start using them in future....

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[GJH]

Glad you got it through in the end, Jim.

 

[injebreck99]

MOT Tests

As an ex-mot tester of many years, the top tip I can give for your diesel M/H to pass the emissions test, is to go along to any Wilco's stores, purchase a flask of "Diesel Magic" in a red flask,about £5 pounds, empty it into your fueltank when the fuel level is low, 1/4 tank or under, then give the M/H a good hard run, using a lot more revs than you normally would, stay in the lower gears and work the engine fairly hard, not over revving it obviously, do this for 10 minutes or so, then take the test, it will almost certainly reduce the emissions enough to pass the test unless it is very badly choked up through low speeds/useage. Exhaust systems have little bearing on emissions , unlike petrol engines, which are suseptible to the slighrest if leaks on some vehicles.
I use Diesel Magic regularly in my M/H and other diesel vehicles , and have never had an emissions test fail , ever !:thumb:

 

[vwalan]

hi at a quarter tank full add a gallon or two of petrol .that works lovely .

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[madbluemad]

As an ex-mot tester of many years, the top tip I can give for your diesel M/H to pass the emissions test, is to go along to any Wilco's stores, purchase a flask of "Diesel Magic" in a red flask,about £5 pounds, empty it into your fueltank when the fuel level is low, 1/4 tank or under, then give the M/H a good hard run, using a lot more revs than you normally would, stay in the lower gears and work the engine fairly hard, not over revving it obviously, do this for 10 minutes or so, then take the test, it will almost certainly reduce the emissions enough to pass the test unless it is very badly choked up through low speeds/useage. Exhaust systems have little bearing on emissions , unlike petrol engines, which are suseptible to the slighrest if leaks on some vehicles.
I use Diesel Magic regularly in my M/H and other diesel vehicles , and have never had an emissions test fail , ever !:thumb:

Mine is a Petrol engine.
Jim

 

[madbluemad]

hi at a quarter tank full add a gallon or two of petrol .that works lovely .

I made sure that there was well over a half tank on. I also gave it a really good run before hand.

The thing is that I know that these emission specs can be achieved. I have the emissions print out from my MoT in 2008 on the same Motorhome. All bang on.

Jim

 

[Techno]

My tester passed mine complete with beam benders installed , no problemo
Walsh's of Yeadon/Rawdon

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[haganap]

at the risk of being controversial, and well done on getting it through Jim.

why are people suggesting the tester is being fussy for failing it when it just, misses the emission target?

The target is the target, so where do you stop?

I think people would do better to commend the MOT tester not slate him.

My van & cars, get one serious proper check per year, I pay for them to find the faults, however small and tell me, so it can be put right.

I would rather take it to that garage than one that allows for dangerous or illegal vehicles to be on the road.

 

[madbluemad]

My problem was that the tester didnt see the gap in the exhaust seam. He inspected the exhaust and passed it. Had he seen and rejected the exhaust, I would have fixed it and had the full Mot passed on Monday.
I have no problem with Inspectors rejecting workmanship, thats their job.

Ive employed hundreds of Inspectors over the years and Ive lost count of the amont of times that Ive had to defend them from complaints from people and companies that have had their work/products rejected by one of my Inspectors.

What I cant have is Inspectors getting it wrong and this guy got it wrong. He should have failed the MoT on the exhaust. Everybody can make a mistake but this one cost me over £400.00

It was June who actually suggested that it may be a leaky exhaust sucking in air.
Jim

 

[vwalan]

in my experiance a leak in the exhaust would weaken the emissions . only should need a turn of a screw to pass if not then there is a problem. just speed it up a bit should cure it . also a good quality cfuel cleaner does it as well . we usaed a peirburg cleaner in injection and carb vehicles .

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[madbluemad]

in my experiance a leak in the exhaust would weaken the emissions . only should need a turn of a screw to pass if not then there is a problem. just speed it up a bit should cure it . also a good quality cfuel cleaner does it as well . we usaed a peirburg cleaner in injection and carb vehicles .

Your not allowed to mess with the engine speed. There are three emission readings taken. Two with high revs and one at normal idling speed. The two with high revs passed and the one with the normal idling speed failed.
Jim

 

[vwalan]

i take it that it wasnt checked before the first mot . so just wind in the idle so it revs a bit more . whats standard?must say i havent took a petrol for years . dont mot mine so i dont care . hee hee.

 

[madbluemad]

i take it that it wasnt checked before the first mot . so just wind in the idle so it revs a bit more . whats standard?must say i havent took a petrol for years . dont mot mine so i dont care . hee hee.

You right it wasn't checked before it went in the first time. I asked for it to be checked but it wasn't.

There is a specific idling speed which is shown on the emissions chart so you cant speed it up or take it down.
Jim

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[ruffingitsmoothly]

Hi I would question why the garage that took the motorhome for it's test did not inspect it first?

If they had done surely they would have noticed the exhaust, or are they like so many who give the vehicle a cursory glance and hope it will go through! Did they even put it on a ramp?

The inspector did his job correctly and they are under quite a lot of pressure to get it right, they themselves are liable to a, without notice, thorough examination of any vehicle they have just tested and if they have got it wrong can and do have their testers licence either temporarily or permanetly revoked thus depriving them of their livelyhood.

I feel you are being much too harsh on the wrong person it was the garage that got it wrong!

Regards Pat

 

[jaygee]

Jim
A small leak on your exhaust will effect the emissions,mainly the H.C (hydro-carbons) on idle
The larger the leak or blow the greater the effect
the exhaust gas Analyser is programmed to take readings at fast idle and idle
this criteria is programmed into to EGA and it is not down to interpretation
You will get a read out of results
The MOT criteria for a exhaust leak is "a major leak of exhaust gasses"which would/should be a fail
A minor leak of exhaust gases would be a pass with advisory
But this would/could still effect EGA readings
HTH
Tony

 

[dave newell]

Hi I would question why the garage that took the motorhome for it's test did not inspect it first?

If they had done surely they would have noticed the exhaust, or are they like so many who give the vehicle a cursory glance and hope it will go through! Did they even put it on a ramp?

The inspector did his job correctly and they are under quite a lot of pressure to get it right, they themselves are liable to a, without notice, thorough examination of any vehicle they have just tested and if they have got it wrong can and do have their testers licence either temporarily or permanetly revoked thus depriving them of their livelyhood.

I feel you are being much too harsh on the wrong person it was the garage that got it wrong!

Regards Pat

When we submit customers vehicle's for MOT at our neighbouring station we just put them in, I don't specifically look for any faults first, yes if I saw a bulb was out I'd replace it but a failure is not an issue because the vehicle comes straight back to us and if its failed I put it right before submitting it for retest. Never had a failure second time round.

D.

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[madbluemad]

When we submit customers vehicle's for MOT at our neighbouring station we just put them in, I don't specifically look for any faults first, yes if I saw a bulb was out I'd replace it but a failure is not an issue because the vehicle comes straight back to us and if its failed I put it right before submitting it for retest. Never had a failure second time round.

D.

The garage that I took my mh to was asked to engine service and MoT the mh. The mh was submitted for test without being serviced first. That was wrong.

I wouldn't have expected the garage to see the very minor fault on the exhaust.

Its a part of the MoT that the tester should Inspect the exhaust for physical integrity and if the physical integrity is compromised the MoT Test is a fail. The tester missed this and that is wrong. Thats what cost me three days and about £400.00.

I once took a car into the garage for and MoT Test and it failed because there was a small hole in the exhaust.

The car passed its vehicle exhaust emissions test but failed because the tester had seen a hole in the exhaust, probabley caused by a chipping from the road. The exhaust was under warrantey anyway and so it cost me nothing but you can see my point.
Jim

 

[Terry]

Hi Madbluemad,while I can understand your grief I am in Haggers camp I had my probs last yr with a ABS light When I take it for test I also ask if there is anything else dodgy that way I get plenty of warning for a fix :thumb:I would sooner know if something is on the way out well before test time hence I always MOT the month before :thumb:
terry

 

[spannermanwigan]

Must say something here.
Having until retiring, run my own fleet of HGV'S and a commercial vehicle workshop
maintaining both our own and other peoples/companies vehicles both HGV and PSV.
Which we were responsible for both preparing and presenting for test at VOSA stations on a regular basis.
Taking un prepared vehicles for test, for us was not an option. Not only is it frowned on by the Vosa inspectors, but can in fact lead to action against the operators licences of the owners of the vehicle as a pass rate system is operated by Vosa for both HGV/PSV.

It is Possible that problems can occur on the way to the test station which can lead to a failure, but in my professional opinion no vehicle should be presented without a full inspection having been carried out first, and any repairs required having been completed, and certainly not if the customer has paid for or requested that this be done.

Any business seen to be doing this on a regular basis will find themselves on the wrong end of their test station staff and manager very quickly.

regards
Steve

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[madbluemad]

Hi Madbluemad,while I can understand your grief I am in Haggers camp I had my probs last yr with a ABS light When I take it for test I also ask if there is anything else dodgy that way I get plenty of warning for a fix :thumb:I would sooner know if something is on the way out well before test time hence I always MOT the month before :thumb:
terry

Hiya Terry, I'm in haggers camp as well. There's no way that I want to be driving around in a faulty vehicle. I'm not really upset with anybody, I'm really just telling the story.

If I have a problem with anybody its the tester who shouldn't have passed the faulty exhaust which then caused a lot of time, effort and money to correct. in addition, it may save somebody else a world of grief if they have a similar problem.
Jim

 

[dave newell]

Must say something here.
Having until retiring, run my own fleet of HGV'S and a commercial vehicle workshop
maintaining both our own and other peoples/companies vehicles both HGV and PSV.
Which we were responsible for both preparing and presenting for test at VOSA stations on a regular basis.
Taking un prepared vehicles for test, for us was not an option. Not only is it frowned on by the Vosa inspectors, but can in fact lead to action against the operators licences of the owners of the vehicle as a pass rate system is operated by Vosa for both HGV/PSV.

It is Possible that problems can occur on the way to the test station which can lead to a failure, but in my professional opinion no vehicle should be presented without a full inspection having been carried out first, and any repairs required having been completed, and certainly not if the customer has paid for or requested that this be done.

Any business seen to be doing this on a regular basis will find themselves on the wrong end of their test station staff and manager very quickly.

regards
Steve

I'm only guessing but I am guessing this is in response to my post. Three is a world of difference between submitting a class four motor home for mot and submitting a HGV or PSv for test. My local test station is my direct business neighbour and part of a national chain so they can Ill afford to cheat. Why should I spend an hour doing a pre test inspection (which I would have to charge the owner for) only to see a failure for something I missed because I am not a MOT tester?

Much better in my humble opinion to submit the vehicle "as provided" and see what the official opinion is then deal with anything that crops up., then submit for a free retest.

The alternative is I inspect previous to MOT then charge for it plus any remedial work I feel necessary, then submit for MOT and in the event of a failure I have to (1)explain why I didn't pick up the failure fault, and (2) explain why it costs more to do it this way and (3) explain why I now want to be paid to fix the fault I missed on the pre test inspection? Please someone explain why this should be the preferred option?

D.

 

[knokinonabit]

Lots of the smaller, and some of the larger, garages submit a vehicle for MOT and fix what it fails on. Having been in the haulage industry and taken numerous vehicles for MOT it sometimes seems that there is a "failure of the week", which changes from time to time (once a week maybe :Blush and it appears, at the whim of a particular tester. Yes there are different criteria for HGV/PSV to cars, such as cleanliness (steam cleaning under HGV/PSVs so that every nut and bolt can be inspected) etc., but even then they can fail on a retest for something missed on the first time round. Most of the time though, they are only looking for first time faults to be remedied, so why not present it for MOT and let the tester do the "pre-test" inspection. That way you are only fixing the faults highlighted and not making unnecessary work for yourself and the customer, who has to pay for it.

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[dazzer]

If it aint broke...dont fix it

 

[mick noe]

omg if this vehicle had been allowed to continue to use the roads in Britain we will all be dead in a week.... 0.somthing over some strange limit please the limits are so low that a slight leak in the exhaust fails emissions!!!! do me a favor glad I run older vehicles that are killing us all /furry animals etc. are you sure?