MOT - No reverse lights ! Will it fail ??

stylus360

Hi

The reverse light switch on my van is faulty is this an MOT failure

There is also a split in the gaitor of the lower arm ball joint (the joint is sound just rubber split)., is this also a failure ??

Cheers

alwaysskint96

reverse light shouldnt ne a problem No idea on gator

Stevie_Palimo

Depends on what part the Country you are in and also what mood the person is in, By rights the van must fail the MOT as it is not fully road worthy.

stylus360

Stevie_Palimo wrote: »

Depends on what part the Country you are in and also what mood the person is in, By rights the van must fail the MOT as it is not fully road worthy.

I'm in Wales.

Stevie_Palimo

stylus360 wrote: »

I'm in Wales.

I am not totally sure of the MOT situation there and if it is done by mainstream garages you may be okay but if it is a government run MOT centre then chances are they could fail you.

BeenThroughItAll

Stevie_Palimo wrote: »

I am not totally sure of the MOT situation there and if it is done by mainstream garages you may be okay but if it is a government run MOT centre then chances are they could fail you.

The MOT situation is the same in England, Scotland and Wales. Reversing lights are not a testable item, so why you think they'd fail is beyond me.

stylus360

I'm going to put it through MOT anyway, the ball joint is only £6 and the switch £5.

Cheers Guys.

AdrianC

It should fail on a split gaiter on the ball joint - the job of the gaiter is to keep dirt out of the joint, preventing rapid wear, so changing it is the right thing to do - but the reversing lights aren't testable.

TeamPlum

Yeah, gaiter is a fail.

Don't buy one of those split gaiters or "sticky boots" - you'll fit it one day, and be changing it the next.

Stevie_Palimo

BeenThroughItAll wrote: »

The MOT situation is the same in England, Scotland and Wales. Reversing lights are not a testable item, so why you think they'd fail is beyond me.

As I had no clue where the OP was and in Northern Ireland being a Government run MOT centre they chose not to pass mine before with lights out and I had to replace them prior to it being passed.

Why you silly comment was posted is beyond me to. !!!!!

AdrianC

Stevie_Palimo wrote: »

As I had no clue where the OP was

Even after he told you, you weren't sure - despite that part of the country having the same MOT system as more than 97% of the country, by population...?

and in Northern Ireland being a Government run MOT centre they chose not to pass mine before with lights out and I had to replace them prior to it being passed.

Reversing lights are not part of the GB MOT at all. I have no idea whether they are part of the NI MOT, but - if they are - it is irrelevant to how the testing stations are run. A quick google doesn't find the full tester's manual for NI, but the overview suggests they're not part of the test there, either.
https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/vehicle-test-procedures#toc-6

Why you silly comment was posted is beyond me to. !!!!!

Care to explain this bit?

...and also what mood the person is in, By rights the van must fail the MOT as it is not fully road worthy.

Neither fail point affects roadworthiness. Neither involves the tester's opinion - both are black-and-white. There is nothing whatsoever related to reversing lights listed in the Reasons for Rejection, so the car cannot fail, even if a fish swims past the inside of the lens.
A ball joint gaiter would fail under 2.2.c

a ball joint dust cover missing, insecure or excessively damaged or deteriorated to the extent that it would no longer prevent the ingress of dirt etc.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/518634/mot-inspection-manual-for-class-3-4-5-and-7-vehicles.pdf