Do fog lights get checked in the NCT?

sweeno69 · 09-02-2011 5:51pm #1

Car is due for NCT this month.

Slight bit of damage to one of the front fog lights. The light itself is working but has slipped in behind the housing so isn't visible.

Will they fail me on this - or are fog lights even part of the test?

Thanks.

Matt Simis · 09-02-2011 5:55pm

Yes tested and yes will fail on a damaged light.

sweeno69 · 09-02-2011 6:10pm

would i be right in saying if neither fog light is working it will pass?

Ardennes1944 · 09-02-2011 6:13pm

not all cars have front fog lights though?

Nissan doctor · 09-02-2011 6:22pm

You are not required to have front or rear fog lights, but if you do have them, they must work.

dougie-lampkin · 09-02-2011 6:32pm

They can only be tested if there's a switch there. If the switch is visible and the lights don't function correctly, it's a visual retest. However, if you class them as auxiliary driving lights, they're not required to function. They must be 500mm off the ground to be classed as auxiliary lights however, which they probably aren't.

They will also check beam alignment on the front fogs, it must not cross 2% above the normal axis. If the fogs are within the 2% and not insecurely mounted, they'll still pass. There's no requirement for the beams to be at the same height like headlamps.

If you think you'll be failed on them, see if you can remove the switch, assuming it's not built into the headlight switch. If there's no switch then they can't be tested.

Same story with rear fogs and reversing lights actually. If they're not fitted, they can't be tested, and you can't be failed on them

Fey! · 09-02-2011 6:38pm

Don't "auxilary driving lights" have to go on and off with high beams, wheras fog lights don't? In other words, they won't work with parking lights or low beams.

Also, I was always of the impression that if they were on the vehicle they had to work.

dougie-lampkin · 09-02-2011 7:07pm

http://www.ncts.ie/pdf/nctmanual.pdf wrote:

NOTES
1. Where auxiliary lamps are found to be inoperative, this should not be considered a reason for failure.
2. A broken glass on an auxiliary lamp or fog lamp is not a reason for failure unless the crack or break is
large enough to insert a sheet of paper as used in the test.

They do have to switch with the main beams, but they don't have to be operative at all. It's a fail if they come on with anything other than main beams, but not vice versa

The beam pattern is also totally different on the two, but the NCT don't check the beam, just the height. As in, fog lights classed as auxiliary lights would pass, but I don't think the scattered beam off an auxiliary light would be low enough to pass as a fog light.

doOh · 09-02-2011 8:44pm

they dont test them ... had galant with one broken glass and not working and it passed no problem ...

kermitpwee · 09-02-2011 8:59pm

doOh wrote: »

they dont test them ... had galant with one broken glass and not working and it passed no problem ...

The test has changed recently and fog lights are now checked.

BrianD3 · 09-02-2011 9:01pm

My understanding of the procedure is:

No front fog lights - not tested.

Front fog lights - checked for security and bad glass cracks. The part about inserting the piece of paper in cracks is a recent addition to the NCT manual so cracks that passed before may not pass now. But the lights don't have to be working. "Not working" is not a fail item. The OP may fail on the light being insecure if the foglight unit is moving around inside a housing.

Fog lights that are working - checked for white or yellow light, height etc. Should only come on when switched on. No wiring of fogs to come on automatically with headlights etc.

Dynch · 09-02-2011 9:06pm

I had an NCT recently and had to go back within one month for a visual retest on a rear fog light. They needed to see that the fog light was working and that the dashboard light for it came on when it did. Basically, if the light is there - it needs to be working.

patwicklow · 09-02-2011 9:07pm

doOh wrote: »

they dont test them ... had galant with one broken glass and not working and it passed no problem ...

me to had a mondeo with one not working and got passed:D

BrianD3 · 09-02-2011 9:12pm

Dynch wrote: »

I had an NCT recently and had to go back within one month for a visual retest on a rear fog light. They needed to see that the fog light was working and that the dashboard light for it came on when it did. Basically, if the light is there - it needs to be working.

The requirements for rear fog lights are different. "Not working or faulty" is a fail whereas it isn't for front foglights.

dougie-lampkin · 09-02-2011 9:32pm

Interestingly, you can go into an NCT with a blown fog light bulb, possibly even both blown, and still pass if the light on the dash comes on with the switch.

NCT Manual wrote:

Front Fog Lamp:

1 Incorrectly positioned (see page 53).
2 Insecurely mounted.
3 Switch defective.
4 Not white or yellow.

It doesn't say that both fog lights must work. But it does say that a broken lense is a failure if it's large enough to fit a piece of paper through.

BrianD3 · 09-02-2011 9:39pm

dougie-lampkin wrote: »

Interestingly, you can go into an NCT with a blown fog light bulb, possibly even both blown, and still pass if the light on the dash comes on with the switch.

The dash light doesn't even need to come on. If it did need to come on then:

"Fog lamp indicator not working correctly"

Would be listed as a fail for front fogs lights as it is for rear fog lights.

dougie-lampkin · 09-02-2011 9:45pm

BrianD3 wrote: »

The dash light doesn't even need to come on. If it did need to come on then:

"Fog lamp indicator not working correctly"

Would be listed as a fail for front fogs lights as it is for rear fog lights.

Ah but if your two front fogs were blown, and the dash light never came on with the switch, wouldn't that fall under "3. Switch defective"? If someone gave me a car and nothing at all happened when I presses the switch, I'd presume the switch was defective.

BrianD3 · 09-02-2011 9:55pm

dougie-lampkin wrote: »

Ah but if your two front fogs were blown, and the dash light never came on with the switch, wouldn't that fall under "3. Switch defective"? If someone gave me a car and nothing at all happened when I presses the switch, I'd presume the switch was defective.

You could take that interpretation but in my view that's not what's meant by switch defective. IMO it refers to the switch itself not the dash light that comes on with the switch. The only way I could see a car failing for switch defective would be if the switch failed to turn the front fog lights off or if the wiring of the switch was dodgy/unsafe.

biko · 09-02-2011 10:04pm

I passed with two non-functional fogs just before Christmas.
As long as glass looks ok you should be ok.

maidhc · 09-02-2011 10:14pm

Passed with a blown front fog lamp bulb last month.

101sean · 09-02-2011 10:34pm

Can't understand why these questions keep coming up if the fix is a simple bulb blown or cracked lens, how hard can it be and reflects on the owners attitude to car maintenance and safety, if it's fitted, it should work :mad:

maidhc · 09-02-2011 11:31pm

101sean wrote: »

Can't understand why these questions keep coming up if the fix is a simple bulb blown or cracked lens, how hard can it be and reflects on the owners attitude to car maintenance and safety, if it's fitted, it should work :mad:

Mine blew a few days before the NCT and getting it fixed would have involved going out in -7oC at 9pm after work and fishing about trying to get the bloody lamp off. Calling into the NCT centre after I doing the bulb in the daylight if I failed seemed a more convenient solution.

sweeno69 · 14-02-2011 5:33pm

101sean wrote: »

Can't understand why these questions keep coming up if the fix is a simple bulb blown or cracked lens, how hard can it be and reflects on the owners attitude to car maintenance and safety, if it's fitted, it should work :mad:

bit hash! as i said the housing was damaged and i presume the whole unit will need to be replaced - if it was a blown bulb obviously i'd just get it fixed!

attitude to car maintenance and safety??? its a fog light!

after reading the thread i reckon i'll just save up, get it repaired then go for the nct...

taintabird · 14-02-2011 6:26pm

sweeno69 wrote: »

attitude to car maintenance and safety??? its a fog light!

I will have to say I agree with 101sean on the issue fog lights are fitted for a reason

maidhc · 14-02-2011 6:30pm

taintabird wrote: »

I will have to say I agree with 101sean on the issue fog lights are fitted for a reason

sweeno69 · 14-02-2011 6:57pm

taintabird wrote: »

I will have to say I agree with 101sean on the issue fog lights are fitted for a reason

so cars that have no fog lights are unsafe?

taintabird · 14-02-2011 7:41pm

sweeno69 wrote: »

so cars that have no fog lights are unsafe?

In fogy conditions yes they are

101sean · 14-02-2011 8:10pm

The fact that they were foglights was irrelevant to my comment about maintenance but was a bit harsh I suppose.

The attitude among many owners that stuff is only required for an NCT and only needs fixing every two years is a concern though.

taintabird · 14-02-2011 8:14pm

101sean wrote: »

The fact that they were foglights was irrelevant to my comment about maintenance but was a bit harsh I suppose.

The attitude among many owners that stuff is only required for an NCT and only needs fixing every two years is a concern though.

That's quite true maintenance is not just something to be done every two years it should be on going, it would cost people less in the long run.

Do fog lights get checked in the NCT?

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