APRIL 2013 Heads Up - NEW MOT regulations on loose wires

[Purple Pixie]

Bongo failed the MOT....... 09-04-2013

New MOT rules 3-4 weeks ago they came in? Basically if there are any loose wires under your bonnet or under your bongo, get them secured! Our bongo just failed the MOT on wiring that had been installed by a professional (sic) automotive electrician.... it was sufficiently insecure to cause multiple failure points on an otherwise perfect inspection......... I think lots of cable ties and self adhesive backed cable clips are enough to remedy this

(i) loose wiring under the bonnet (The mobile electrician in Worcester who does the work for JAL hadn't bothered to secure the leisure battery wiring properly under the bonnet and it is now an MOT fail)

(ii) no foglight (The mobile electrician in Worcester who does the work for JAL hadn't bothered to secure the live feed spade connector properly - it had pulled off)

(ii) loose wiring under the dashboard (The mobile electrician in Worcester who does the work for JAL hadn't bothered to secure the foglight wiring properly and it is now an MOT fail))

(ii) loose foglight wiring under the van (The mobile electrician in Worcester who does the work for JAL hadn't bothered to secure the live feed cable properly - the live feed for the foglight was simply run under the body of the vehicle through openings in the sub-body and it is now an MOT fail)

SO I used a fair few cable ties and superglued some cable clips underneath.... put the spade terminal on ok but it will pull off again owing to.... can you guess? .......The mobile electrician in Worcester who does the work for JAL hadn't bothered to leave enough slack in the power feed cable (routed down the accelerator cable hole!) and I don't fancy sorting that today!.

Hey Ho..... remember the new rules on loose wires came in 3-4 weeks ago!

Dr B

[haydn callow]

In view of the above I would suggest anyone who I personally have fitted a Low Coolant Alarm for, just lifts the bonnet and checks the sensor wire that connects the screw in the header tank to the alarm unit via the bulkhead and through the large grommet behind the starter battery....It might be worth using a couple of cable ties to be sure it complies.......probably o.k. But worth fixing just in case.

[Purple Pixie]

very good of you to post this, the supposed auto electrician who installed our wires would have been welcome if you were trying to jury-rig a crashed plane but not as welcome in the cors-d'elegance

[Dodgey]

I'm very surprised about loose wiring under the dashboard - MOT guys can only look at accessible things - I assume you mean wires that have dropped below the plastic trim under the steering wheel and are visibly dangling?

MOT inspectors are not allowed to remove or lift panels - i.e. if your car underside is covered with a plastic protector, they can't peek underneath it to check for rust etc. I found this out when my Bongo passed, but noticed on the report that he hadn't checked under the engine as it was hidden behind a cover (the oil catch mat under the engine). When I asked about this the MOT guy confirmed they are not allowed to move anything to get access. He then told me that "dodgy" people pushing heaps through MOT often spray expanding foam over rusty under-parts and dodgy brake lines etc, so they can't be inspected.

[Purple Pixie]

yup... dangly wires

[mikeonb4c]

very good of you to post this, the supposed auto electrician who installed our wires would have been welcome if you were trying to jury-rig a crashed plane but not as welcome in the cors-d'elegance

2nd that. Suspect I may need to do bit of tidying before MOT in November. The auto electrician in this case was....ahem....me. Woops

[Dodgey]

Big bag of cable ties!

[New Forest Terrier]

Is the purple pixie the purple Bongo that drove past our national bongo day meet at the Royal Oak in Beaulieu? There can't be many around that colour.

[mikexgough]

I use the spiral wrap.... on any wires Tidy and no worries.....

[Purple Pixie]

Is the purple pixie the purple Bongo that drove past our national bongo day meet at the Royal Oak in Beaulieu? There can't be many around that colour.

When was it held, will check our petrol receipts

[Simon Jones]

I thought everyone had National Bongo Day in their calendars . Sunday 24th Feb.

[Purple Pixie]

Following up the shambolic way our fog light had been installed, I picked up a few
more bloopers as shown below!

2 trim retaining screws missing along with a run of wire a suicidal suspension bridge builder
would have shaken his head at... through chassis holes without any grommets
AND so tight the wiring cut the corners across the open engine bay.....
threading round the loom as it makes "the shortest distance between 2 points is
a straight line" seem to be this elastic-tricians

[mikeWalsall]

Has your ABS warning light got a bulb in it ..??

My wiring was very untidy ..



So I did it myself before the MOT ..

[mikexgough]

Has your ABS warning light got a bulb in it ..??

My wiring was very untidy ..



So I did it myself before the MOT ..

Nice tidy wires there Mike...... that Coolant alarm wire made everything look untidy.... For me a couple of minutes with spiral wrap or similar makes the job tidy and look so much neater.... and lets face it spiral wrap costs very little

Wonder how many loose/untidy Coolant Alarm cables are out there waiting to cause Bongo's to fail the MOT?

[mikeonb4c]

Must always remember though that tidy wiring cannot substitute for sound wiring. Some members may remember a rash of questionable wiring done for members and where plenty of spiral wrap was used. By the way, where do I buy this stuff and is it easy ti use and to remove later if need be?