This is a part of a series of articles provided by the MOT Chelmsford blog.
Did you know that lights are an important part of the MOT of your car and can potentially fail it? Here are some tips how you can prevent this from happening through some quick and simple maintenance.
Lights are a good example of something that can let a car down and even make it fail its MOT. Failing an MOT because of a dodgy light bulb is easily preventable.
The way to make sure that your bulbs are working at all times is quite simply to check them often. Most motoring organisations recommend checking them every week.
Look for bulbs including the brake lights, headlamps, parking lights and fog lamps which are not working or are incorrectly angled. The front headlights should point down and to the left, so that they do not dazzle drivers who are coming towards you. Get this angle wrong and the result is as bad as having a lamp that does not work it will fail the MOT. Check your car manual to find out how to alter these angles.
Exactly how you replace a bulb will depend on the make and model of your car, but you should be able to get spare bulbs easily either online or in a shop. It is a good idea to carry a set in the car just in case something goes wrong that would render your car unroadworthy.
If only one lamp goes wrong, then you simply need to replace the correct bulb. If, though, a number of them go within a short space of time it is almost certainly worth visiting a garage (or the dealer if it is a new car) to see whether there is an underlying electrical problem. If there is, it’s always advisable to get an expert to handle the repair.
Finally, remember that if you’re going to a country where they drive on the right, you’ll need to change the angle of your dipped headlamps so that they shine to the right And, of course, remember to change them back when you return.
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