Took my car in for an MOT today.....

[944psi]

I took my S2 in for an MOT this morning. This is the first time I've driven the car since I test drove it back in February at which point it had a very noisy gearbox, jumped out of gear and was generally feeling a little sorry for itself. I must say I'm totally blown away with the pulling power, sound and driving experience.

I have replaced the gearbox, cv joints, brake lines, fuel lines, body seals, brake calipers (for ones with less plate lift), air / oil filters, plugs, oil, front pads, handbrake springs and lots of other little bits - and I've spent a fair bit of time getting my hands dirty doing all of this.

Anyway - it failed .... but only one point - N/S Headlamp not working on dipped beam - so a great result []

The garage told me they would sort it out for £15 so I said go ahead. They then called me again to say they'd replaced the bulb and it was still not working - did I want them to carry on? Having put quite a lot of time, money, sweat and tears into this I wasn't going to be beaten by a headlamp or hand a garage I've barely used an open chequebook - so I opted to pick the car up and sort the lamp out myself.

On picking the car up the chap said they'd replaced the bulb and that it might even be a fuse (don't know why they didn't check the fuses first if this was the case?). I paid the bill, which was slightly more than I expected. They'd charged me £15 for the headlamp bulb (is this expensive?) and a total of £48 for the MOT. I then got in the car and realised the odometer had clocked up a couple of miles. I looked at the failure sheet and saw that another garage (coincidentally one I'd used for the last MOT on the Galaxy and 306) - had actually performed the MOT!

I went back in and said to the chap that I wish he'd told me that they didn't actually perform the MOTs. Another guy that worked there threw me a bit of attitude and said that I never asked! So I wasn't best pleased. The signage at the garage doesn't say "MOTs Arranged" or anything to that affect so I may well check with VOSA.

So I've vowed never to step foot in the place again and take it direct to the MOT station for the retest - assuming I sort out the wiring to the headlamp!

It's a shame really as this place are a supposed to be experts in engine tuning, bosch diagnostics and even have a rolling road - but I doubt they'll ever see me again!

Phil
'91 S2 Linen Metallic (bit of grey primer still) / Linen

 

[Peter Empson]

Sorry to hear it failed, but I'm sure you'll make light work of getting it through (sorry, pun intended). Must be so frustrating to be so close to being able to use it.

I can't believe the attitude of some garages. It makes me wonder how much money is in an MOT for them, as I doubt there's much if any trade discount. I guess they just hope that something major is found that they can then resolve at great expense...

Anyway, I hope you're able to get it on the road soon, are you planning on taking it to any of the events this year (Tipec or PCGB), as I'd certainly like to see it.

Best regards,
Peter.

 

[Diver944]

The wires going in to the plug at the back of the headlight can often fray due to the movement of the lamp as it pops up and down. Mine had a short right at the point where the loom comes out of the chassis, it was a devil to get to and in the end I had to get a trained auto electrician to splice a new bit in

 

[Peter Empson]

Oooh, like the new avatar Paul, very shiny![]

 

[944psi]

Hi Peter,

I paid £40 at the same MOT garage. They paid £28 - so £12. It's not as if they even gave it the once over before it went - otherwise they would have spotted the headlight. In my eyes they added no value whatsoever - apart from affording me a slightly shorter walk to the garage!

I've got the TIPEC event pencilled in so fingers crossed - although my car is definitley a "work in progress" and is a bit scabby around the edges (aren't they all?) probably as a result of not being used on a regular basis and the previous being known as "wild slag" using the car on his Fast Car magazine exploits! No doubt I'll have some further issues when I start using it for real.

Hope to catch up with you soon and see your 944 S2lux.

Phil

 

[944psi]

ORIGINAL: Diver944
I had to get a trained auto electrician to splice a new bit in

Sounds expensive! I've not looked yet but a previous post on clarks-garage turned out to be the same thing - especially as the headlight works on main beam as there is a seperate wire for the dipped part of the beam.

Your cam box looks very nice. Are you planning to colour the lettering?

Phil

 

[Mark_Bennett]

I thought they were not allowed to charge more for a MOT - even if taking it elsewhere?

 

[Guest]

Sounds like a bit of a cowboy outfit to me.

A likely candidate is the wiring between the light pod and the bodywork. It flexes when the lights go up and down, and is exposed to the elements a fair bit. I had a similar problem on an S2 loan car I had. I thought it was the bulb, but it turned out to be a broken wire.

Wasn't it nice of me to fix it before returning the loaner []

 

[944cabby]

ORIGINAL: JamesH

Sounds like a bit of a cowboy outfit to me.

A likely candidate is the wiring between the light pod and the bodywork. It flexes when the lights go up and down, and is exposed to the elements a fair bit. I had a similar problem on an S2 loan car I had. I thought it was the bulb, but it turned out to be a broken wire.

Wasn't it nice of me to fix it before returning the loaner []

That's exactly the same issue i had with mine last year - the wires that go to the passenger side pod were held down too tight by a cable tie which broke two wires with the up/down movement of the pod.

 

[Diver944]

ORIGINAL: 944psi

Sounds expensive!

Your cam box looks very nice. Are you planning to colour the lettering?

It wasn't particularly expensive, I think it was an hours labour and a few pounds for wire. I pointed out in advance exactly where the short was because if I wiggled the wire in a certain place the bulb would come on

I'm undecided about colouring my cam box letters, it looks very nice just blinged up as it is. If I had a red car then I would definitley paint it red, but my car is Baltic Blue and I don't think the effect would be the same. Tony Foote has valeted my empty engine bay and Simon (the engine builder) has blinged up a few of the ancilliary bits so it probably looks great as it is

 

[944psi]

All sorted now - well sort of.

It took me 30 minutes this morning to diagnose the two broken wires in the loom before the 3-pin connector plug leading to the headlight. I made a temporary repair using a terminal block just so I could take it back to the MOT test station. So all I need to do now is pick up my certificate later and make a more permanent repair.

It is very tight down there so I can see why you left it to someone else. Might consider this.

How far off being completed is your car as I can't wait to see the engine bay. This is one area that is slighty disappointing about my S2. There seems to have been a lot of condensation forming in the past that has sent some things under the bonnet rusty or covered in a white powdery coating.

Possibly the scabbiest cam cover ever?

Phil

 

[Fen]

Jeez - that isn't pretty, is it? I'm sure it would come up with some elbow grease applied in situ, or a removal and powdercoat or polish job would fix it.

 

[Fred Hindle]

Had a similar problem on the 924S with one dipped beam, eventually solved by taking a wire from the other headlight to the one that wasn't working. As yet I haven't gotten around to a proper repair.
By law the MOT station has to do another full retest on the car, and for which they can charge you the full price again. With the new computerised system they can't 'just squeeze you in' as all MOTs have a time logged against it. If the tester does two MOTs and then tries to log them on the computer afterwards he can only do the first one, the system will not allow you to log the second for about an hour. Progress!
Cheers.

 

[944psi]

Retests are still allowed - but it depends on the items and the flexibility of the garage (to some extent).

The full 'rules' are here http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_roads/documents/page/dft_roads_612093.hcsp

Phil
(now with mot certificate in hand - and I've lost 100k off my mileage!)

 

[edh]

Well done Phil - I knew you'd sort it out

I might pop along to TIPEC - although it's my daughter's birthday that day, so may be a short visit

 

[Fred Hindle]

I stand corrected. Now you can go out and enjoy the fruits of your labour.
Cheers,

 

[Diver944]

Well done Phil - another years happy motoring awaits [] My short was right at the point where the wiring disappeared back in to the chassis and there was no way I could get my fingers in there

I've never seen an S2 cam cover look that bad [&:], a quick powdercoating in whatever colour takes your fancy would not cost more than £20. I once saw a guy buy a brand new one from Porsch-Apart in Bury for a very reasonable £40 and the original colour was grey. They all seem to fade to beige.

I 'may' have my car at Tipec next week, as the engine is being fitted from Monday onwards. Honestly though, there are so many unknown variables that I would not hold my breath (though I will reserve a Bournemouth Motel for Friday night so I can maybe collect her on Saturday).

Here is a pic of the fully assembled engine []

 

[Fen]

Hang on, shouldn't ther be a transverse hole through the back of that? Or is that just mine? [&o]

I really hope you have it for Sunday, Paul. If I wasn't already intending to go I'd change my mind if I thought LIL was going to be there.

 

[John Sims]

ORIGINAL: Fen

...... If I wasn't already intending to go I'd change my mind if I thought LIL was going to be there.

Ditto []

WUF and Beaky are in the modified Turbo display, though I'm starting to think non modified Turbos are probably the rarer vehicle these days.

BTW Beaky passed his MOT last weekend with flying colours.

 

[sawood12]

WOW! that engine looks absolutely fantastic! I just hope you are not going to let it all down by fitting an old cloudy yellow expansion tank!!

I've got my MOT looming in a couple of months time, hope I don't let the side down with a spectacular failure! I got a first time pass last year so i've got my fingers crossed.