Test next week. Car has check engine light on. Panic?

craggles

Doing a test next week in a 2001 Nissan Micra.

This car has had a dashboard check engine light on for the last year and has passed the NCT with the light on, with no issues. Checked the error before and it's some minor emission thing or something, told to ignore it by various mechanics (obviously not bad enough to fail NCT).

Given that many older cars tend to have persistent check engine lights, is there likely to be any issue with this on the day of the test if everything else is in order or should I get it seen to/ turn off the warning light with one of those diagnostic handheld things in advance of the test?

Has anyone ever been refused a test over something similar before?

Red Fred

Some testers used to conduct the test with the engine management light on, but I think they are stricter about it now.

This is an extract from the driving test checklist booklet:

"Any warning lights indicating a malfunction or a
defect, which shows before or during the test, may lead to the non-conducting/non-completion of your test.
Vehicles are fitted with a number of warning lights that let the driver know if certain critical safety and performance features are not working properly. They are important safety features and it is in the interest of the driver and road safety that all safety systems in
the vehicle are in full working order."

Dravokivich

Don't ignore it. Tell a mechanic you expect them to do what's needed for that light to be off.

Alanstrainor

Older cars do not tend to have persistent check engine lights, something is wrong. Best get it rectified.

What car is it? (make, model, engine, year?)

pudzey101

bitta black tape over it .... be grand joking OP best off bring to a mechanic to see what the light is about , could be something small

craggles

2001 Nissan Micra and as I say I've been driving it about for a year or two with no issues with this light on.

readytosnap

If you cant get it turned off and are worried the tester will fail you, then use a driving instructors car, probably get one pre test lesson from them and then use the car for the test.

Bigus

pudzey101 wrote: »

bitta black tape over it .... be grand joking OP best off bring to a mechanic to see what the light is about , could be something small

As its not a safety issue this is not a bad suggestion, light is probably caused by stretched timing chain causing camshaft sensor mis read, so it's a permanent problem .

Jimbob1977

It needs to be checked out

My wife's car had the 'Check Engine' light sporadically. The warning light would appear and then disappear. The car kept on driving.

Mechanics could not recreate the issue. We thought it was fine.

One day, the light reappeared. No escape this time. The car engine died while driving and was towed.

A sparkplug head had fallen off and damaged a cylinder over the months.

This particular warning light can be for something simple.... or something serious. Needs a mechanic.

TeaBagMania

If it were myself, id just pull the bulb from the cluster for the test and reinstall after, no way am I waiting another six months for a retest over a bulb various mechanics and the NCT have told me not to worry about

dennyk

Or get yourself a cheap code reader (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00VV4FZIQ or similar), pull the code it's throwing, and look it up online to see what it means. It may be a simple fix, often just cleaning or replacing a sensor or valve. Last time mine came on, it was throwing a code about running lean, which usually means there's a problem with the fuel/air ratio; I just gave the MAP sensor, which had gotten rather oily, a quick isopropyl bath and that fixed the fault code and got rid of the rough idle symptoms it was exhibiting. Took all of ten minutes, not counting waiting for it to dry out after cleaning.

You can also reset the code with a reader, which will turn off the check engine light for a while (though I would recommend not doing that if you don't actually take steps to remedy the issue, as it will erase all of the stored codes and may make diagnosis more difficult).

If you're gonna own an old car, you ought to learn how to do basic maintenance tasks and diagnostics yourself; it'll save you time and money if you can tackle basic issues, or at least have an idea of the likely causes and solutions to problems, rather than blindly relying on a mechanic.