E30 Zone

my mot is on saturday and just came out yesterday morning to find a smashed front indicator lens in the road.

if i have orange bulbs but no lenses? will it be a fail,

struggliong to get a lens in time.

cheers

yes it'll still be a fail, you could probably bodge it through with a bit of transparent plastic cut to size and screwed on if you were really desperate.

yea was thinking that, what is the specific mot rul that means i need lenses

Not a fail surprisingly! So long as it can be seen from a "reasonable" distance. Definete advise though.

asmith88 wrote:my mot is on saturday and just came out yesterday morning to find a smashed front indicator lens in the road.

if i have orange bulbs but no lenses? will it be a fail,

struggliong to get a lens in time.

cheers

All bulbs need to be defused by way of a difuser or indicator lens !

Rich_W wrote:Not a fail surprisingly! So long as it can be seen from a "reasonable" distance. Definete advise though.

hmm, i'd have thought it would fail under..

method of inspection,
1. Operate the left and right direction indicators in turn and check
a. that all lamps are present and secure
b. that all lamps are complete, in good working order and clean

Reason for rejection
1. A direction indicator
a. missing or insecure
b. incomplete, not in good working order or not clean, ie so damaged or deteriorated that its function is impaired Note: An effective proprietary repair (eg lens repair tape, etc) must be assessed on its merits considering security, colour, light output and durability

i know one of my metros failed because it had lost the clear outer lens. it didnt affect the light output in any way as they still had an internal diffuser and colour screen which also covered the bulb, but as the lamp was 'incomplete' it failed

surely it can't be that hard to track down an indicator lens at short notice?

The general rule with lights, I believe, is that they need to be "as made by the manufacturer", unless it's a legal modification. In other words, parts missing/not working is not good.

yea, no breakers nearby have an e30 flip sake, im going to try a specialist tomorrow

Do you not know a local Zoner who might lend you one for your test?

Hi mate I have two orange indicator lenses I can post out to you if you want if that's any help.
Colin

I had a car with no indicator lens on the front, passed 3 years in a row at different garages each time.

There is nothing in the MOT that states that the indicator must have a lens, it must be orange and be capable of being seen at a reasonable distance, but no more than that.

only difference i believe is for front and rear fog lights. Fronts must be uncracked and in full working order if fitted otherwise it fails. Same goes for rear fogs.

My mate is an MOT tester so i found out from him.

My mot guy told me front fogs didn't matter as they are not a legal requirement.

somebody also told me that they had 2 mots without lenses and passed,

nah i dont know any local zoners,

hopefully this guy i go to today will have some.

i know my mate has failed loads of cars on front fogs being cracked as the beam is effected, same as most headlights, that would fail too. unless its a newer car with totally clear glass/plastic and the lenses do not effect the beam of the lights.

Aparently if fogs are fitted they must be in full working order and lenses intact. i had a car fail on it, all i did was removed them and it passed, leave everything else, just remove the units and it passes.

Well, I have been told opposing things by several mot inspector in the past. It seems it is in their hands, and the only thing is you can complain and get a retest from the ministry if you are not happy.

Personally, I don't want to drive a car with anything wrong with it anyway, so i don't really care. if it all works, they can't fail you!

The only fog light related items of interest to a UK MOT tester are the rear right fog lamp, its switch and the warning light in the instrument cluster. The rear left fog lamp need not work, and there is no reference at all to front foglights.
The full text of the testers' guide relating to front indicators is given further up this thread, and the only possible reason for rejection in the case in question is that it is incomplete.

got a piece of acrylic over it for the mot this morning,

passed