Must have vroken something,  i'm back

 

Well i havn't technically, but the eldest has

 

He's just taken the 2000 Felica in for an MOT and the guy has said the headlamps wont adjust, as the hydraulic unit is cracked and leaking.

 

News to me,  had no idea they had a hydraulic system.

 

Now comes the fun part. the unit in question is no longer made apparantly, and the only source he (the garage) can find is in the Czech Republic

 

The Unit with labour and some welding that needs doing will come to £600   which my nipper obviously thinks ouch

 

I had a look and its a common fault, of which the cheap fix is to manualy wind the adjustor out and set the beam. 

 

My Nipper spoke to the garage suggesting this, and they say they cant due to MOT regs about self leveling units must work.

 

Now ive been through the MOT regs and they are quite clear

 

4.1.2 Headlamp alignment

You must inspect all dipped beam headlamps fitted.

 

On vehicles with hydro-pneumatic suspension systems, it's necessary to have the engine running when checking headlamp aim.

 

Defect                                                                                                                                              Category

	The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements Major Headlamp aim unable to be tested Major Beam image obviously incorrect Major
	Quite clear,  If the beam isnt with the  required area, and still isnt following adjustment,  then it's a fail   No problems with that   4.1.5 Levelling devices Make sure any manual headlamp levelling devices (driver controls) work by:   switching on the dipped beam headlamps operating the manual levelling device checking that the headlamp beams move up and down returning the levelling device control to its original position   Now if this is a switch or lever inside the car then we know where he's coming from .   However there is a clause   "Sometimes it is not easy to determine if the self-levelling systems work. In such cases you should give the benefit of the doubt."   So if he beam test's it and its at the right level,  it should pass, as he has to give the BOD..   Afaik  all he's done is seen the leaking unit  and said it will fail   There is nothing in the regs about the pump unit  or suitability of said unit   That said if he does need to source a unit, any one got one knowing around, oe know where once can be sourced ( cheaply)

Edited 2 July, 20197 yr by Santa2512

So what is your question?

13 minutes ago, Santa2512 said:

The Unit with labour and some welding that needs doing will come to £600

 

What welding are you talking about? It's straightforward job without need for special tools.

 

Quick fix is to get liquid into hoses by some syringe. It might work long enough to get tgrough MOT.

 

Lot of people converted Felicia to electrical system. Octavia servos fit after some mods.

Edited 2 July, 20197 yr by Papez

14 minutes ago, RicardoM said:

So what is your question?

 

The garage wont accept a manual setting adjustment when the cars presented, becase they know the unit is leaking.

 

The question is

Is it a self leveling sytem or an adjustment system.

 

 

 

 

 

 

11 minutes ago, Papez said:

 

What welding are you talking about? It's straightforward job without need for special tools.

 

Quick fix is to get liquid into hoses by some syringe. It might work long enough to get tgrough MOT.

 

Lot of people converted Felicia to electrical system. Octavia servos fit after some mods.

 

The front wing has tinworm - thats the welding 

 

if the unit is leaking i doubt it will hold enough fluid to get through the mot

 

Can you point me in the direction of the Octavia servo mod please

The headlamps adjustment is manual, not automatic/self leveling. The MOT rules you quoted from don't apply to Felicia.

Instead of using let's say cables, Skoda decided to transfer the input from a knob via hydraulic means. We're talking plastic tubes filled with a sort of antifreeze solution. The plastic ages and cracks. I don't know of a reliable solution to refill the system. There is a better alternative sold by a Czech company which consists of an electrical adjustment system.

Yeah the system is an adjustment system. There is a fixed amount of fluid in the pipes and if it leaks out the headlights fall way below the required legal level.

 

I think I managed to get one of the last original systems available in UK stock for my Felicia about eight years ago now. 

 

Unless you can source a new one from the Czech Republic I would be going for an electric set up. There are a few threads here on the subject so you should find help no problem if you need it. Good luck. 

On 02/07/2019 at 19:42, Santa2512 said:

Can you point me in the direction of the Octavia servo mod please

I found these tutorials. Text is not really important, all is visible in photos.

 

https://www.feliciaklub.cz/navody/elektricke-naklapeni-svetel.html

https://skoda-virt.cz/cz/clanky/elektrika/1568-elektricke-naklapeni-svetel-felicia/

 

I've also read somewhere, that servos from some Volvo or Saab fit even better, but I cannot find which type.

I had the same problem, so I simply stripped the whole hydraulic system out - it was pretty simple and easy to do.  I then hid the adjuster on the dash by Velcroing my stereo remote fob over the top.  'What the eye don't see' and all that.  Whoever carries out the MOT doesn't even know there used to be a hydraulic adjustment system on the car (how often do the MOT Felicia's now?) .  I seem to remember you can manually adjust the headlights using an Allen key - like cars in the good old days!  Not had any problems passing an MOT for years. 

Best of luck

3 hours ago, mexmeister said:

I then hid the adjuster on the dash by Velcroing my stereo remote fob over the top. Whoever carries out the MOT doesn't even know there used to be a hydraulic adjustment system on the car

Some moderators on this forum are MOT inspectors. They don't seem to be morons...

Well I'd better update the thread,

 

He had the MOT done -

 

The guy told him what needed to be done to fix the car for the MOT,  then MOT'd the car and failed it, and then did the work and re- MOT'd it. 

 

So what was done   HL Adjuster unit  - obviously,  Some welding,   and here's where things get odd which does make me wonder??

 

Supposedly the car went in for a pre mot service and check, which is where he found all the faults that needed fixing  -

 

But he didnt do an actual MOT  - we know that becase the MOT system didnt show an MOT  until the day he did it  and my nipper asked him if he had done an MOT, to which he said no

 

On the day he did the MOT it shows a fail and then a pass  ...    why fail it if the work had been done , conversly why MOT it if your going to do the work

 

And other strange things showed up  

 

He gave him an advisory for a rear wheel bearing being noisy, and then failed it for excess play ?

 

WTF - if your going to fail it  fail it,  if your going to give an advisory give an advisory ,  but to do both, is he trying to prove what a superior MOT tester he is ??

 

 And that one came out of nowhere - despite the car having a pre mot check!!  

 

I asked my nipper to check how much he charged for that on the bill -    as he wasnt aware of that in the list of things done

 

cost him about £500 in total

 

 

 

 

Edited 30 July, 20196 yr by Santa2512

We don't know who is "he" and what car you have.

1 hour ago, Santa2512 said:

He gave him an advisory for a rear wheel bearing being noisy, and then failed it for excess play ?

 

WTF - if your going to fail it  fail it,  if your going to give an advisory give an advisory ,  but to do both, is he trying to prove what a superior MOT tester he is ??

The timeline is unclear here. If the pretest was done on an earlier date than the actual MoT it would be possible to have a marginal bearing produce an advisory on the pretest and then fail the actual.