SVA.... Tale of Woe

[Oldun]

Took the car to Birmingham for its' SVA today and failed on emissions. This was not a complete surprise as I knew that I had problems and due to unforseen circumstances could not get my tweaking checked out in time.
This is only part of my story. The day started really well, weather was great. Lots of admiring glances. Picked up my support vehicle and son in law, with half the contents of my garage. A couple of miles from the station the car suddenly was shrouded in steam. A blanking cap had burst releasing water and steam all over the engine bay. After what seemed like hours, Harv spotted that the cap on his Clio was the same size. I was sorted but the Clio had to stay where it was. Put water in the car and arrived at the station bang on time. Had planned to be early.
Paul started the test, very nice guy , who thought it amusing that we had had problems. The engine has to be running a lot particularly at the start of the test. The water temp started rising and then water started escaping from the pressure cap. Paul got quite nervous and we had to stop the test and let the car cool down. We had not put enough water in at the first breakdown due to air locks. We also realised that the fans were not kicking in when they should. I think at this stage Paul was very close to cancelling the test. In our haste we had left all of our tools/spares in the Clio. The fan fuse had blown, so I had to swap one from another circuit. Another fuse then blew, leaving the car with two circuits down. Paul was very understanding and patient but when a fuel line union came loose and sprayed fuel. It was getting more like "Game for A Laugh" than an SVA test. All I have to do now is sort out my Hydro Carbon problem and take it back and I should be sorted. There is never a dull moment with Cobs is there.

[wilf]

Now you are ready to tackle any kind of obstacle course!

If you just failed on a petrol feed union that is a pretty good job. Well done.

Next time run the engine/car for a bit before the test eh? A pre SVA MOT is a good idea for sorting out niggles like these...............

[Oldun]

Wilf. Thanks for your kind comments but I think you must have got bored reading my sad tale. The car failed on high Hydro Cardon emissions on one bank of cylinders, not leaking fuel union. The engine had been run regularly and I did take it for a pre SVA MOT. They picked up on the high emissions but I thought (hoped) that I had sorted it, but no. Cheers

[wilf]

Aah - the old "speed read and miss important points" syndrome............

[JonnyT]

Wilf is still right in sentiment though - if it only failed on hydrocarbons its still a pretty good result - should be pretty easy to sort out. Just need to work out why the fans are blowing fuses now.

Well done,

Jon