I'd never given it a second thought with my other vehicles to be honest, but one issue with the Volvo is that when you put the high beams on the O/S headlamp turns off completely, despite the bulb being fine.  Having investigated it I can see that one of the wires going into the bulb fitting is hanging loose and not connected to anything, which is presumably the problem and why it works fine on dipped but dies all together when you put the highs on.

Given that the car won't be driven at night and is only going to be here for a couple of months, I'm not bothered about fixing it, but it raises the question that if it was like that at the MOT would it still have passed, or wouldn't they have to put the high beams on to check that they work in addition to the dipped beams?

Thinking about it though, it could be that high beams aren't tested due to the fact that you shouldn't use them unless you are alone on the road, so they aren't considered mandatory items.  Same as the spare tyre, for example.

Just curious!

All bulbs are tested Jamie, however if one bulb goes out it's probably not going to be a big problem, probably an advisory...

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3 minutes ago, jeebowhite said:

All bulbs are tested Jamie, however if one bulb goes out it's probably not going to be a big problem, probably an advisory...

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That's what I thought, if they did test the highs though then I would think the whole O/S headlamp cutting out would have resulted in a fail!  I'm presuming it was yet another bodge repair done by the previous owner after the MOT.

Mind you, as far as I know reverse lights are still not testable items, despite most people seeing them as necessary.

Not sure on that I must admit, but I have a friend who is friends with a tester I might ask him next time I catch up with him

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Just now, jeebowhite said:

Not sure on that I must admit, but I have a friend who is friends with a tester I might ask him next time I catch up with him

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Yeah, I think there was talk of them being added to the test but as far as I know they still haven't been.

Very strange though that a car can fail on something like a blown rear fog lamp but will pass with both reverse lights defective. 

fail.

all headlights should work , dipped and main.

13 minutes ago, iantt said:

fail.

all headlights should work , dipped and main.

Good to know, thanks Ian!

1 hour ago, jmurray01 said:

 

Very strange though that a car can fail on something like a blown rear fog lamp but will pass with both reverse lights defective. 

there is no legal requirement for reverse lights on Uk cars thus they are not MOT tested as far as i know.

1 hour ago, iantt said:

fail.

all headlights should work , dipped and main.

but main / full beam are not checked for beam pattern though unlike dipped , right ian ? 

5 minutes ago, biff55 said:

there is no legal requirement for reverse lights on Uk cars thus they are not MOT tested as far as i know.

Indeed, strange isn't it?

3 minutes ago, jmurray01 said:

Indeed, strange isn't it?

not as crazy as no requirement for rear fog lights on japanese cars.........  ;-)

Most of the mot can be laughable... It serves a purpose but some of it is too much...

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How does it apply to some models of peugeot, where the main beams turn off the dipped when turned on?

Is the wire loose from a terminal, and can it be reattached or resoldered?