MOT inconsistency

[mikeB]

My 2005 Berlingo 2.0 Hdi was recently marooned in France for nearly a year due to Covid. The MOT ran out in April 2021 so I eventually, in October, had it trailered to Dover. We stayed in a local hotel overnight and I had the car booked in to an MOT station close by, which also had a Post Office adjacent, so I could tax the car.
I delivered the car at 8.30am and collected it about 10am but it had failed the MOT, on a non yellow rear indicator, and emissions. 
When I got the car home I rebooked a test, without having changed anything, and it passed with flying colours, so I did a bit of digging. First, the indicator bulbs are the painted yellow types. There WAS a little yellow paint flaked off underneath the bulb but no white light was showing in my opinion. The second tester also thought both rear indicator lights were the same and were acceptable.
The story on emissions is even more annoying. The car was driven less than a mile to the first test. I heard the tester revving the engine a long time, perhaps 5 minutes, presumably to warm it up, then he revved again 6 times. The printed results showed 6 readings between 2.4 and 3.8. The average was 3.25. The acceptable limit, according to the tester, was 1.8. The limit, according to the DVSA website, is 3.0. This assumes the OIL (not water) temperature was at least 60C. I am certain the oil temperature would be nothing like that.
The car was warm for the second test. The tester used the FastPass test, the limit for which is 1.5. The reading this time was 0.3, i.e. one tenth of the average of the first test.
I did eventually find that some DVSA inspectors were stressing the requirement that no white light shows from indicators. DVSA consider this to be a serious fault (can you believe it). And why on earth do vehicle manufacturers use clear lenses with yellow bulbs when they know the coating peels off. Yes with front lights, where the lights are frequently part of the headlight, but why on rear lights, where the use of a yellow lens would solve the problem?
I ultimately used a dab of orange nail varnish on the bulb. The lesson however, is clear. Don't take a cold car for an MOT, and check for any white light at the rear.

[cancunia]

The indicators are a subjective thing, I've had similar issues in the past and have a few spares. The emissions on diesels are almost always affected by the temperature when tested. I now add some snake oil to the fuel to improve cetane and have a good warm up in a lower gear before the test. Easy for me to say but I can understand the pain it caused, chances are that having it standing for a few months would've added to the problem. Dover to Bury would've helped!
Saskak had some personal experience of the effect of the infamous Italian Tune Up where emissions are concerned.

[geoff]

Usual practice with a diesel is ensure the engine is fully hot before the mot with a decent hard drive thrown in, unfortunately you were not in a position to do so which must have been frustrating.

At least there were no heavy costs involved with the MOT.

[ffrenchie]

I had the orange bulb thing a couple of years ago but the tester just told me about it no mention on the certificate. Which of the Quality Streets comes in orange wrappers ?

[mikeB]

The indicators are a subjective thing, I've had similar issues in the past and have a few spares. The emissions on diesels are almost always affected by the temperature when tested. I now add some snake oil to the fuel to improve cetane and have a good warm up in a lower gear before the test. Easy for me to say but I can understand the pain it caused, chances are that having it standing for a few months would've added to the problem. Dover to Bury would've helped!
Saskak had some personal experience of the effect of the infamous Italian Tune Up where emissions are concerned.

Thanks for the info. I did drive it home to Bury eventually, as the law permits me to do that, and no distance is specified. It was obvious though that the car could not possibly have been up to temperature, and the tester should have known this. Reviewing previous tests at the MOT the readings have always been in the 0.3 region, which is why I was surprised it didn't pass first time. We live and learn!

[mikeB]

I had the orange bulb thing a couple of years ago but the tester just told me about it no mention on the certificate. Which of the Quality Streets comes in orange wrappers ?

Great idea. The nail varnish stuck well, and I left the bulb on a test PSU to make sure it didn't catch fire or peel off. I have also since bought some replacement bulbs in case a filament fails.

[mikeB]

Usual practice with a diesel is ensure the engine is fully hot before the mot with a decent hard drive thrown in, unfortunately you were not in a position to do so which must have been frustrating.

At least there were no heavy costs involved with the MOT.

That's true. It was also annoying that I took the car in a 0830 but it was nearly an hour before they started the test, so any temperature rise had been lost. I just know now to always submit the car when hot. My mistake was in choosing a station near to the hotel, but I was influenced by the proximity of the Post Office next door!

[Desdinova]

As a Dover resident, curious as to which garage it was - racking my brains for one with an hotel and post office nearby

[saskak]

For passing the emissions, the Italian Tuneup works a treat. I always thought that it is completely bogus thing, but I am now a convert (https://www.berlingoforum.com/thread-18853.html). It has to be done properly though, as just hard driving does not quite do it.

[Pedronicus]

For passing the emissions, the Italian Tuneup works a treat. I always thought that it is completely bogus thing, but I am now a convert (https://www.berlingoforum.com/thread-18853.html). It has to be done properly though, as just hard driving does not quite do it.

Couldn't agree more.  We live very close to J9, M25 and our mechanic always goes on a little trip from J9 to J10 and back on his way to the MOT station he uses.  So far it has worked every time.  (We try to pick days when the motorway is not stuffed by an accident.)