Blog: fzzt pop. (SORN MOT stuff)

Well, I was going to post a big rant about sodding electrics.
But now I'm feeling cleverer.

The 'city light' in my headlight had gone pop, probably a death from my
rectifier failure, it certainly was a nice black colour inside the glass.

I wobbled my way to halfrauds to get a displacement. They matched me up
sort of with a bulb, which after I fiddled with it I discovered doesn't
have the bayonet fittings 180 degrees from each other, it's jammed
itself in the socket, but it lights up so 'ho hum'. It's not a bulb I
use, but I imagine it has to be there and functioning for an MOT.

After wedging the front end back together I wiggled a few switches and
found I had a single non working indicator. "fucking fucketty ****"
thinks I, and rides home aggressively (yay fun) without any signaling.

I wedged a multimeter in the terminals for the indicator and got a non
infinite resistance, shoved the meter into the loom and pressed the
flashy button to see the voltage wobble about.

A bit of WD40 in each side of the connector a firm wiggle and I have
lights all over the place, so I'm ready for christmas as well as an MOT.

Woohoo, I think it just needs booking in now.

If I can't get a slot before the mot runs out, I don't need to SORN do
I? That's only for tax(which is has), I just have to drag it off the
public highway until the MOT test is passed, right?

 

Just try not to get pulled by the fuzz, and get a new MOT before the tax
runs out.
No MOT isn't an endorsable offence so why worry about it?

And get the right bulb for your headlight.

 

My irrational fear? I'm quite neurotic, it keeps me slim.

Why? It's the shitty little light that's mounted way way off axis to
spill light inside the reflector, it's like the parking light or something.

 

I'd never have guessed.

Whilst I can see your point, I guess it is what we of the Old School
would refer to as a sidelight. It is in fact a Statutory Light and
needs to function for the MoT test and is of limited use thereafter.
Your description of it in the OP as a "city light" caused a raised
eyebrow though - what's one of them, then?

 

Quote from bible:

Headlight Circuit (Other than Australia, ER500-C1 ~ C2)
item 7 Headlight (shown on diagram as dual coil three wire unit)
item 8. City Light (shown on diagram as off center single coil two wire
unit)

Its the one that comes on with the first click of the headlight
selector. It lights the front, but doesn't illuminate the road.
Second click gives dip beam. other switch flicks from dipped to main
beam, and a third gives a momentary main beam for dazzling oncoming
trucks. It currently does function, it's just not the 'correct' bulb.

To add to this, the switches on the left hand side unit are a bit fussy,
which might cause problems at MOT, I'm tempted to open it up and see
what's crawled in and died in there. Does the FOAK have any advice for
simple cleaning and freeing of switchgear?

 

Which side is it on, mister?

It's a light you can use in cities, where there's street-lighting so you
don't need the headlight to see where you're going.

 

I'll help Pip out, it's on the underside of the light housing.

 

Squirt in a load of WD40 and work the switch a few dozen times.
If this fails stop wasting time and get a new switch.

 

Spoilsport.

 

I'm quite partial to the argument that that should be the law that
anywhere there is streetlighting you should only use sidelights and
not headlights.

You can be seen with sidelights and it would stop things like
motorcycles, pushbike and pedestrians getting lost in the glare.

 

IIRC it used to be the case that you were permitted to use only sidelights
in lighted areas after lighting up time, but the law was changed to require
full dipped beam.

 

Eh? I was always under the impression that sidelights were the only
requirement when driving in a lit area at night. The Highway Code would
appear to back that up:

113

You MUST

* ensure all sidelights and rear registration plate lights are lit
between sunset and sunrise
* use headlights at night, except on a road which has lit street
lighting. These roads are generally restricted to a speed limit of 30
mph (48 km/h) unless otherwise specified
* use headlights when visibility is seriously reduced (see Rule 226)

Night (the hours of darkness) is defined as the period between half an
hour after sunset and half an hour before sunrise).

[Laws RVLR regs 3, 24, & 25, (In Scotland - RTRA 1984 sect 82 (as
amended by NRSWA, para 59 of sched 8))]

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_070302

 

Perhaps I imagined it. I've had a bump on the head, you know.

 

Haven't we all?

 

It's like a "driving lamp". What most of the rest of the world would
call a foglamp.

<Pet Peeve>

Which only wannabe muppets have on all the time when they are driving
under the mistaken impression it makes them look sporty.

</PP>

Phil

 

ITYMB. I remember a pair of Hellas I had on an Astra sometime back in
the 1980, which came with instructions for use (and wiring) either as
fog-lights, mounted below a specified height and angled quite low, or
as driving lights, wired into the main beam, rally-car stylee. It was
the latter configuration I used, for country-lane driving.

Of course there's nothing to stop the aforementioned muppets wiring
them up to dip beam, but as they don't have the correct beam pattern
they'd be illegal to use that way.

--
_______
..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (b.rogers at ifrance.com)
\`\ | /`/
`\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2, IBB#10
`\|/`
`

 

Yep. Plus fog lights may only be used when visibility is poor, whereas
driving lights (wired, as you say to main beam) may be used any time.

 

Nope. A 'City Light' is just the manufacturer's name for what we'd
commonly call a sidelight, but since it's a two-wheeler it's daft
calling it a sidelight. It might even be one of the higher-powered
options, ie, more than 5W or a dim-dip, but cat mentioned it's a
seperate bulb, so is probably 5W.

 

I know. That was my point..

Phil

 

Would this be 'running lights' you're thinking of?

--
_______
..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (b.rogers at ifrance.com)
\`\ | /`/
`\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2, IBB#10
`\|/`
`