Has anyone ever had a "failure" like the one I had a few days ago at the local KwikFit?

 

The Octy twin horns aren't (in my opinion!) loud enough, and so I fitted a small Steibel "Nautilus" airhorn just in front of the radiator about 2 years ago, and it went through the MoT test at the same KwikFit place a year ago with absolutely no comment from the guy who did the test at that time. (and the same horn had been on my old Mk IV Golf for many years without any comments!).

 

However, this year, the tester (NOT the same one as last year!) awarded it a Test Failure because it was too "loud" or "raucous" - he didn't say which, and I could get no clear statement as to what he didn't like about it! P**'d off, I pulled a wire off the relay for that horn, hit the horn button to sound only the OEM-fit ones and asked "Is that OK now?" and the tester "nodded". He did a quick retest, "retested" horn himself (also having adjusted a slightly out of alignment headlight - no quibble there!),  and passed the car this time around.

 

I complained online to KwikFit and had a call from the area manager this morning. "Nett result" - this test appears to be entirely subjective, and you are at the "mercy" of the individual tester, unless you yourself call in the DVLA to give the "definitive " judgement!

 

Never had anything like this happen in 50 years of running a car - have you?

 

PS: I have now reconnected the airhorn, although I did have to fit a new relay because I damaged the mounting bracket of the old one when I tore the wire off it !

Edited 28 April, 20188 yr by jeallen01

Back in the nineties, I fitted an electrically-operated Klaxon to my Bedford van.  Come MoT time, the tester said he considered failing it because the Klaxon didn't produce a note that was "continuous and uniform".

 

I tried to argue that the Klaxon did eventually produce a note that was continuous and uniform... it just took its time getting there and slowing down afterwards.  No deal! 

So at the tester's invitation (and for the purpose of the test) I disconnected the Klaxon and re-connected the original horn.  Pass certificate issued; MoT tester happy; I'm happy.

 

I just had to re-connect the Klaxon when I got back home.

I've had air horns on every car I've owned, really loud ones and never failed and MOT for them. I'd hazard a guess that the tester is a bit of an end of a bell.

10 minutes ago, niceyellow vrs said:

I've had air horns on every car I've owned, really loud ones and never failed and MOT for them. I'd hazard a guess that the tester is a bit of an end of a bell.

To me, "end of a bell" describes most of the "staff" at that KwikFit branch at the moment"

There are a lot of bellends that go sounding horns at other road users while forgetting there are others not in vehicles hearing their noise, maybe biking and getting their full blast. 

standard horns can be loud enough, or even those in other vehicles thinking WTF.

Many never know if their horn works because they never use or need to use it and might check it before a MOT or find out when it fails to work at a MOT.

Time to find a more sensible MOT station by the look of it.

 

or one with a hard of hearing test guy!  ; - D)

4 minutes ago, Offski said:

There are a lot of bellends that go sounding horns at other road users while forgetting there are others not in vehicles hearing their noise, maybe biking and getting their full blast. 

standard horns can be loud enough, or even those in other vehicles thinking WTF.

Many never know if their horn works because they never use or need to use it and might check it before a MOT or find out when it fails to work at a MOT.

Here, I think, we have to maybe "disagree" because I use the horn only when really needed, but:

1. Around where I live, you have lots of "ends of bells"  walking across roads whilst "engrossed" in their phones - take's a lot to wake them up to the fact that they could be walking to their "doom" if they don't f***ing wake up to what is happening around them.

2. Same goes for a lot of people in "well-insulated" vehicles who are "chatting" with their passengers whilst "incidently" driving their cars - ring a bell, anyone????

3. If I "wake up" a few "innocent" pedestrians and bike riders (who are often wearing headphones!) to the fact that I am behind them with a very short tap on the horn button, then I'm OK with that.

 

How is it that you keep having cars with crap horns?  Millions of others world wide manage fine sounding the OEM ones.

 

There are lots of bellends that are on the horn lots of times.

As it is there are laws on their use, so that covers some bellends mis-use. 

 

10 minutes ago, Offski said:

How is it that you keep having cars with crap horns?  Millions of others world wide manage fine sounding the OEM ones.

That's because I'm NOT one of BILLIONS of "others world wide" who innocently believe that the horns on their cars are actually "fit for purpose" - which I don't !

Not billions of your models of car though are there.  Just the millions.

6 minutes ago, Offski said:

Not billions of your models of car though are there.  Just the millions.

Different models almost certainly - BUT the SAME (VAG! and MANY others!) horns!

No need to SHOUT...

 

Quote

 

We are not all deaf! 

10 minutes ago, Wino said:

No need to SHOUT...

 

Rather off-thread, but IF you are referring to my exchange of posts with Offski, then I have to disagree with you. Horns are used  to alert the "unalerted" to the fact that "you" are "there" because you believe that "they" are totally oblivious to the fact that "you" are "there".  What ELSE are horns for?

I was referring to your upper-case words in recent posts. Generally interpreted as shouting on t'internet.

41 minutes ago, Offski said:

We are not all deaf! 

Have you had YOUR hearing tested lately? - because I have, and the report was not that good, and I suspect that I am not alone (at 70) amongst the "older generation" (you may not be in "that" age group but an increasing % of the population actually are!)  in having reduced hearing sensitivity!

 

OTOH, I'm actually less concerned about people of "my age" (because the "older generations" are actually reasonably "traffic-aware"!) - but rather the multitude of those in their teens to twenties who walk around engrossed in what is on their phones (and often wearing headphones!) and ignoring anything else (seem familiar, anyone?).

 

OH, and then, when, in the totally different "environment" of a dual carriageway or a motorway, just how "effective" do you think the "average" "parper" horn is/will be at 60-70 mph in alerting anyone else that you are there? (NOT A LOT)

 

 

Edited 28 April, 20188 yr by jeallen01

Actually been deaf since 3 in my left ear, German Measels seemingly caused a perforation then later mastoiditis and i had my inner ear removed.

 

Anyway, that is off topic, i can still hear bellends and sound my horn back or just flip them one.

12 minutes ago, Offski said:

../or just flip them one.

Explain that (hopefully you can!) to your insurance company - and the "Law"

10 hours ago, jeallen01 said:

PS: I have now reconnected the airhorn,

So knowingly made your car unroadworthy, as evidenced by the recent MOT failure, then wrote about it on a public forum.

Smart. 

30 minutes ago, Wino said:

So knowingly made your car unroadworthy, as evidenced by the recent MOT failure, then wrote about it on a public forum.

Smart. 

SO, if you consider that a slightly misaligned (and then quickly fixed! ) headlight (for which I never got "flashed" by oncoming traffic!)  and  a "loud" horn meant that my car was (is!!) "unroadworthy", then God help you when someone with a "rusty" chassis, ineffective brakes (and "whatever" other safety-critical defects - and was probably not actually tested) crashes into your car! - GET R£AL for goodness sake!

BTW: there were no "advisories" on the final certificate - not (to me) surprising as the Octy has a pretty rust-free chassis, BIG (312mm v 288mm standard front Mintex discs and pads, and so on!), and emission levels right at the bottom end of the permissible limits!

PS: AND DON'T get me thinking about posting about your online moniker (which might explain a lot )

 

Edited 28 April, 20188 yr by jeallen01

Must check the manual tomorrow, been an MOT tester for 15 years, and never failed air horns for being too loud, didn't think it was a reason for rejection (DVSA's term for fail)

 

For me the louder the better, as then you will hear them, and we all know the vehicle's horn must not be used between the hours of 11.00pm and 7.00am so should not make a difference

7 minutes ago, Ju1ian1001 said:

Must check the manual tomorrow, been an MOT tester for 15 years, and never failed air horns for being too loud, didn't think it was a reason for rejection (DVSA's term for fail)

 

For me the louder the better, as then you will hear them, and we all know the vehicle's horn must not be used between the hours of 11.00pm and 7.00am so should not make a difference

Many Thanks   - at last, the "Voice of Sanity"! ("Some" people should "take NOTE"!)

Re Highway code,   best read that and see now the wording & if the 11.30pm - 7.00am  is Built up areas, areas with street lights and not a ban on using a horn out in the countryside or where there is the NSL between 11.30pm -7.00am.

EDIT (Basically a road with 30 mph speed limits)

 

Do the words 'Harsh or Grating' still appear in the UK MOT Test Manual concerning horns fitted to vehicles  after 1973?

Edited 28 April, 20188 yr by Offski

38 minutes ago, jeallen01 said:

 AND DON'T get me thinking about posting about your online moniker (which might explain a lot )

 

OK, I won't. You sound tired enough already.