Hi all,

 

Haven't been around for a while for various reasons, but I could really use some help please. 

Last Wednesday I took my 6N for it's annual MOT and it failed because the Engine Management Light didn't flick on and off when the ignition is turned on. I've checked the owners manual and, although I can see the symbol on the instrument panel, it's not in the manual. It's not in the Haynes either. And it's never come on as long as I've had the car. 

I've just been on the phone with the tester and he said all cars have one, so I'm not sure what to do. Does anyone know definitively if there's this light and if so is it fixable? I really need my car back as I've got to go to the hospital on Thursday and I'm really annoyed that my otherwise safe and roadworthy car has failed because of one light that I've never seen! 

Any help gratefully received! 

Fen. 

 

P. S: wasn't sure where best to post this topic so if it's in the wrong place apologies. 

What year is your car ? as it's only the post 97 have the warning light and it's only wired for certain countries

Hi. It's the '99 T reg. 

Is there any chance that your car was MANUFACTURED prior to the lights being fitted? Just a thought.

 

Regards

Do you mean were the lights fitted at a later date? I wouldn't know, I bought it second hand in 2009. How would I look into that?

Edited 18 June, 20188 yr by Fenris

The light was only for some countries and I'm certain the UK wasn't one of them 

OK, well I'm going back tomorrow morning so I'll show the tester this thread and your responses and see what he says. These new MOT rules are a pain in the backside, that's for sure!

 

Thanks both for your replies. I'll post back tomorrow with the outcome. 🙂

What I intended to say, was,  'Was your car perhaps not first sold straight away, and maybe only sold AFTER the warning lights started to be fitted.'

Oh I see. Well nige8021 said that they were fitted after '97 and mine's '99, so if they were going to be fitted they would have been by that time, wouldn't they? That's a two year gap. I mean, I can see where it's meant to light up, the icon is there, it's just never done it. All the lights in the Owners Manual are there and do what they're supposed to, but this one is neither listed in the manual nor lights up, so I have to believe that what nige8021 says is correct; it just makes the most sense at this point. It's flippin' confusing though, that's for sure! I just hope I can sort it tomorrow; I can't be without my car where I live as there's no public transport. *Le sigh*.

The requirement for a warning light only came in for UK registered cars when in 2001 EOBD2 became a standard for petrol engines & 2004/5 for oil burners

That's it then, if it's not a requirement for my car, it should pass the MOT. Thank you nige8021, that's an invaluable piece of information! If I were still in MK I'd buy you pint!

Right, not long got back from the tester. I told him what you said nige8021 and actually showed him the regulation you quoted. There was a bit of uming and ahring, but it was agreed that it should pass OK. I did have a couple of other things that needed doing so I left it with them. When I got back, bugger me if he wasn't arguing with me again! Well, not in a fisticuffs kind of way, but he was determined to have the last word! He said he wasn't satisfied with what I'd said (really? You seemed satisfied enough when I left sunshine!) so he'd called whomever it was that certificated him and they said that, if the light wasn't coming on to pass the car. OK, cool! But no, that wasn't the end of it either! He then did some Googling of his own and downright insisted that any car, of any age had to have this bloody light flash on and off! Luckily he'd already issued the certificate before his Googling, so it's passed, but if he'd had his way it wouldn't have!

 

How the hell can he say this?! I've had a MKII and two MKIII's before this MKIV and I can't ever remember seeing this light on any of them (I may be wrong, it's been 9 years since I let the last MKIII go), so how can he say that all cars have to have this light? I know there wasn't one on my '75 Beetle and I'm pretty sure any vintage/classic car won't have one, so that's an asinine thing to say! How can a car that doesn't have this light fitted be failed because of it? It's not like I took off the cluster and ripped the wires out, as you said, VW never connected it up! So now I have to go through this rigmarole every year? I mean, how am I supposed to deal with this in future? I'm not even sure a letter from VW would help! I think next year I'll just take it up to the VW dealership in Lincoln and get it MOT'd there because I'm not going through this BS every year for the rest of the cars life, it's ridiculous!

 

Sorry for the rant, I'm just a little naffed off with it. Even with the proof you provided he still ended up saying I was wrong after agreeing the info was correct and that's made me pretty angry to be honest.

 

Anyway, there we are. Thanks again for the info, I do believe it helped; If I'd not had that to hand I think he would have failed it again anyway. So I suppose all's well that ends well!

Good news you got it passed.

 

I'd like to see the tester find the EML on an original Beetle !! Or even a mk1/2/2f Polo

 

Next year I'd try a different testing station

Yeah, if this isn't cleared up by the Gov. by next year I'll most likely go to the VW dealership just to be safe.

 

Thanks again for your help. 🙂

Try your local council, as they have independent garages that do their taxi testing, and they just do the tests no repairs so they are unlikely to fail it on some obscure problem just to generate some extra work for a quiet workshop

It does make you wonder what would have happened if you hadn't been savvy enough to challenge him and asked him to put it right - even more so if you had been the owner of a model that was produced before before they were even invented.

 

Regards