Just a quick question - am I alone in spending time washing and hoovering a car before an MOT? It's a ritual I've always done (like to show the car is looked after) but my wife reckons I'm wasting my time. When I picked up my car today (passed!) I noticed a car going through the MOT which was caked in mud. Surely testers are more likely to fail filthy cars if things are on the borderline???
Just interested to know if I'm the only one who couldn't take a dirty car to the garage?
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im not sure if it will make the mot tester pass the car becuase of dirt but im with you. The way I see it is id wash it at some point that week so why not spend a bit more time on it at the time. If i were a tester id like to think that the cars i was passing were being looked after by the owner
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No, I do the same . Think of it as a treat for the car. Likewise tend to have a shower before going to the doctors...
My Mum made my sister remove her second ear stud when taking her driving test, in case it 'influenced' the Tester.
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It shouldnt make a difference, but an MOT tester is a human being and there is always some influence by the apperance of the vehicle. Not so much by the outcome of the test, but if they see a shed, they expect it to be maintained like one - bring in a sparkling, well looked after car, they may well not cast such a critcal eye over it.
I always send my cars into servicing or MOTs in mint cond - Ive noted from working in a main dealer workshop that the mechanics do take more care in general with a car that looks well looked after.
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I agree with sn26 on the human factor, though as posted previously, I tend to keep our cars spotlessly clean anyway and not just for service or MOT.
As it happens though, at the MOT centre last week the inspector popped the bonnet of my V70 up and with arms spread like reaching for something with reverence muttered out loud "Holy mother of Jesus" :-)
Talking of MOTs, was most interested by the engine speed detection device for the emissions test; a small device plugged in to 12v accessory socket with radio transmitter linking it back to the computing unit. ie no wires bar the short one to the 12v socket. Can but assume it was audio, like the devices that measure engine RPM for our delectation during televised motorsport, as I can't imagine ignition induced spikes in thw wiring loom large enough to measure would do the multiplex much good. Am open to being educated if it's different to what I guess though, please.
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Talking of MOTs, was most interested by the engine speed detection device for the emissions test; a small device plugged in to 12v accessory socket with radio transmitter linking it back to the computing unit. ie no wires bar the short one to the 12v socket.
Here's the baby: www.sun-diagnostics.com/uk/pdf/DGA_2500_EN.pdf
Nothing to describe the principle on which it works though.
Time to dig deeper.
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I don't know if this is how these sensors work, but among the things that it might be measuring is frequency of the alternator ripple voltage. It's then only a vehicle specific factor (based on pulley sizes) between this frequency which allows you to estimate alternator speed and an estimate of engine speed - the vehicle make, model, and engine data will probably have to be entered into the machine's computer by the operator in order for the machine to tell the operator the applicable test limits. I suspect this technique might not work well on modified cars.
Number_Cruncher
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it is not just MOTs.......in the good old days when you had the Old Bill patrolling in greater numbers than you have now.........a filthy car might mean that the driver doesn't care about other things as well, such as documents or service items
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One of the standard methods of adding a tachometer to a marine diesel.
1) Pulse from flywheel sensor
2) Light pulse from crankshaft pulley
3) Pulse from electrical tapping from alternator field coil
4) Voltage pulse from alternator
5) Magnetic sensor clamped to alternator casing
And of course good old mechanical drive via a flexible cable to a mechanical tachometer.
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Take the car for an MOT on a wet, winter day. No tester is going to want to get cold and damp.
I've had a leaking shock absorber passed in such circumstances.
I've also put a tyre through a pile of doggie doo (inadvertently). The tester didn't look too closely at that one. It was his dog!
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HGVs can be rejected by the tester if not presented clean enough for inspection. Mine is always pressure/steam cleaned before I present it. Getting another date at many HGV test centres can be a nightmare, so it's far easier to clean it first.
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I clean mine after it's been serviced/MOTd. There's no point in cleaning it before ~ it might come back with dirty hand marks on it and need cleaning again.
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L\'escargot.
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I have always cleaned the car inside and out before going in to the garage for the simple reason that there is probably more chance a clean tidy car will be looked after better than a scuffy one. Less chance of scratches or oil spread about.
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It's bound to make a difference in a marginal case.
My Triumph passed its MOT last week. It got an Advisory on one back brake, as the handbrake was only just on the acceptable efficiency figure. By coaxing and pulling hard on he managed to pass it, just..
I had cleaned the car beforehand, and more importantly perhaps there was clear evidence from underneath that I had replaced some items, and serviced and greased others. So clearly the tester was entitled to come down in my favour because he could see the car was well-looked after and that I would take some notice of his advice.
But if the car had been filthy and looked a wreck, and clearly was not going to get any more attention until the next MOT, he would have been justified in failing it instead.
(It was a seized piston, which I fixed last night)
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I clean mine after it's been serviced/MOTd.
In a similar vein; why does every garage I have used to service my 2003 V70 (two Volvo Independents and one main agent) insist in squirting lube in the general direction of the door hinges, stays, and both parts of each latch? This god-awful tacky stuff then streaks down both parts of the otherwise spotlessly clean jambs, and invariably has spotty overspray on sill kick plates, the door trim panels, A and B post plastic covers, leather upholstery, and dashboard. If the hinges and stays really do need greasing - this time round they didn't, despite inclusion in tthe service schedule - then a small dob of grease applied with a cotton bud from a pot would be a far tidier way of doing it than "Pfffffft" in a nanosecond, with the can already being moved away when it's probably still dribbling. If the "pffffft" approach is needed coz time really is that precious - from the larking around and idle chat with us customers, it isn't - at least be sparing and accurate. As my Dad drummed in to me as a kid; more haste, less speed.
In the scheme of life, not even a blip on the radar, and my only - and petty - servicing issue with the three outfits mentioned, but annoying none the less.
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>>HGVs can be rejected by the tester if not presented clean enough for inspection.
Indeed, the same is actually true for cars - it isn't a reason for failure as such, but it is a reason to refuse to perform the inspection. Another, similar reason to perform the inspection is the case where a vehicle is in some way unsafe to inspect.
Number_Cruncher
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I clean mine. It's the same principle as cleaning the house before visitors arrive; your assets are under scrutiny so you want to show them at their best.
As for showering before visiting the doctor, Mrs H, reflexologist, wishes some of her clients would wash their feet before attending for treatment!
Hawkeye
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Stranger in a strange land
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I was watching the Xantia being MOT'd a couple of years ago. The next candidate was a 4 x 4 pickup. The tester drove it in over the pit, went underneath it, came back out and drove it out.
I asked him why and his reply was to the effect that it was so caked in mud that he could not inspect it properly. It wasn't the garages job to clean it before the test.
Aparrantly a few of the local farmers/builders had been using the garage as a cheap steam clean.
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so Hawkeye...you wash your assets before you allow them to be scrutinised, so they're shown at their best...good advice methinks
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Why wash it before the MOT? If it fails, the scrapyard pays by weight!
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If it fails, the scrapyard pays by weight!
I once filled a petrol tank with water before weighing a car in at the scrap yard for that very reason !
Anyway to get back on topic- I clean my car before the MOT as I maintain it well and want it to look well looked after when presented for the test.
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As well as the relevant mechanical bits being clean enough for an inspection, HGV testing stations now ask that the cab be clean enough for a seat belt inspection.
They also insist that no dogs are in the cab during the inspection.
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