mot failure??

Mon May 18, 2009 6:25 pm

hi all
has anyone else failed there mot on front lights being the wrong colour??
as mine has

im gutted as that was all that failed.
i thought hid's were legal but maybe not with this tester

note too self next time change them over too originals beforehand.
we live and learn

Mon May 18, 2009 6:27 pm

HIDs are legal providing they are fitted as ioriginal spec, give the correct colour (not blue!), and if fitted after market have self levellers and some form of cleaning mechanism.

Mon May 18, 2009 7:05 pm

mine passed fine with hids.

what colour are yours?

mine are 6000k which are close enough to white for most people, very slight blue tinge when seen from a distance

Mon May 18, 2009 7:53 pm

harry_p wrote:mine passed fine with hids.

what colour are yours?

mine are 6000k which are close enough to white for most people, very slight blue tinge when seen from a distance

+1

Mon May 18, 2009 9:13 pm

For an MOT the lamp colour has to be substantially white (can have a blue tinge round the outside when looked at). It can of course be yellow but must be a matched pair.

HIDS as after market fitments are NOT checked on MOT for self levelling and wash facilities; only the aim and the colour as well as security.

Mon May 18, 2009 9:20 pm

hennabm wrote:For an MOT the lamp colour has to be substantially white (can have a blue tinge round the outside when looked at). It can of course be yellow but must be a matched pair.

HIDS as after market fitments are NOT checked on MOT for self levelling and wash facilities; only the aim and the colour as well as security.

Out of interest then, what do we think the legal position is? If one has HIDs that emit light of a colour acceptable to an MoT tester, is it down to a copper to pull you for not having the specified self levelling gubbins/wash facility? Or is the self levelling/wash wipe thing a myth that has grown from teh internets?

Mon May 18, 2009 9:31 pm

mine were 6000k and i thought they would have been fine

but has a very faint tinge of blue

Mon May 18, 2009 10:13 pm

6000K should be fine for the MOT test. Anything above this should fail.
I'm sure there are cars out there fitted with 6000K lamps from the factory.

Mon May 18, 2009 11:34 pm

that was a good mot result for an E30 mark!

easy fix!

Mon May 18, 2009 11:48 pm

Type Approval states that any HID application must be fitted with self levelling and wash system.
The only time TA is checked is when a car is submitted for TA as a new design by a manufacturer or a limited check on what is now IVA (the old SVA).
If a plod knew the rules he may and I stress may be able to take action but it is highly unlikely. the most likely is if in an accident the oncoming driver claimed he was blinded and an investigation takes place following the allegation. that may result in action or indeed insurance action. I haven't heard of anyone yet being done in either circumstance.

Brian - Why should cars in excess of 6000k fail the MOT as there is no check on light output or wattage etc in an MOT - just the correct colour and pattern.

markdemon - If the colour emitted from the 6000k setup is predominately white the tester cannot fail it as it is showing the right colour.

Tue May 19, 2009 12:12 am

hennabm wrote:
Brian - Why should cars in excess of 6000k fail the MOT as there is no check on light output or wattage etc in an MOT - just the correct colour and pattern.

Because 6000K is often described as diamond WHITE, while the next temp up, 8000K is described as Iceberg BLUE.
6000K is still white, while 8000K is definitely blue.

Tue May 19, 2009 12:37 am

Mine passed just fine with 4300k HIDS. This is a tester who failed me for bad windscreen washers when one of the four jets was just slightly weaker than the other three...

Tue May 19, 2009 12:55 am

hi adit
it was a good result

had a couple of advisories
,steering rack and that brake pipe we all love

but apart from that im happy for anothere year

Tue May 19, 2009 1:22 pm

hennabm wrote:Type Approval states that any HID application must be fitted with self levelling and wash system.
The only time TA is checked is when a car is submitted for TA as a new design by a manufacturer or a limited check on what is now IVA (the old SVA).
If a plod knew the rules he may and I stress may be able to take action but it is highly unlikely. the most likely is if in an accident the oncoming driver claimed he was blinded and an investigation takes place following the allegation. that may result in action or indeed insurance action. I haven't heard of anyone yet being done in either circumstance.

Brian - Why should cars in excess of 6000k fail the MOT as there is no check on light output or wattage etc in an MOT - just the correct colour and pattern.

markdemon - If the colour emitted from the 6000k setup is predominately white the tester cannot fail it as it is showing the right colour.

In practice, is the colour of light simply a judgement call for the MoT tester? I'm guessing in the OPs situation, he could have challenged the issuing of a fail, or would it have been practically impossible to demonstrate that the lamps were compliant?

Markdemon, what did you do to get a pass in the end? Did you revert to standard lamps?

Tue May 19, 2009 2:24 pm

Mine just passed with 6000k hids and led side lights which I think are even more blue

Tue May 19, 2009 3:24 pm

yes djk i just swapped them over and all was ok

Tue May 19, 2009 5:52 pm

Brianmoooore wrote:
hennabm wrote:
Brian - Why should cars in excess of 6000k fail the MOT as there is no check on light output or wattage etc in an MOT - just the correct colour and pattern.

Because 6000K is often described as diamond WHITE, while the next temp up, 8000K is described as Iceberg BLUE.
6000K is still white, while 8000K is definitely blue.

Ahhhhhh I see now

Is it blue looking straight into it with a blue hue around it or is it pure blue light throughout when you look into the 8000k one?