MOT fail Grrrrr

[Peter]

Standard stuff, number plate bulbs out, couple of advisories on rust.

But as always, the big one: emissions. I'm not sure if my FRP cat has died or if the garage are just numpties and didn't spend long enough running her up to heat, either way I'm not sure how I want to find out

 

[Neil]

Best bet is take it to a different testing station for the retest. Were the emissions massively over?

 

[Peter]

Will another place do the free retest? CO was 1.25%, needs to be >0.3

 

[Neil]

Doubtful, but if could be worth it if you're unsure if the test is being conducted properly

 

[Cherie]

Not the first I've heard of a Puma with an FRP cat struggling on emissions. Some do need to get really hot before they'll pass. I would check that there's no other underlying causes, give the car a good blast, then take it somewhere else.

 

[Peter]

I'm thinking I'll take it to a different garage now, take it in with a roasting cat and get it straight on the sniffer. If it fails then then I know it's shot, but it had to get screaming hot last year to pass. Plus if it passes elsewhere i'll get my money back off the first lot. Grr cars

 

[FlashBastd]

I know the tester who did mine. He said that when cold, it wouldn't pass, however once it was warmed up, the emissions actually kept falling, to well below the required level.

If yours has failed, I have a spare I could sell you, in vgc.

 

[Peter]

How much are you looking for for it?

 

[Peter]

Well I bit the bullet and took her to a different (read: better) garage. Failed on the first fast idle test, but then we went through the cat conditioning section on the test machine, after a minute at 3000 rpm the CO level started falling, and falling and falling to within limits! Got down to 0.27% by the time the actual test was complete, and it was going further south too.

Then for the idle test. Worrying at first, as the CO shot up to 1.5% after about four seconds, but then it fell through the floor again. Passed at 0.49%, and I reckon if the tester had declutched it would have gone further.

So now to get my first MOT fee refunded....