IVA Test

[GrahamSh]

I had my IVA test at Southampton on Tuesday - unfortunately I failed, but not on anything really significant so now working through the list to get a re-test as quickly as possible.

I thought is would be useful to club members to post what I failed on - I have found it very useful during the build to look at other's IVA failures and make sure that I didn't repeat them.

02B - Metered Emissions - I did not provide sufficient evidence of engine age and therefore my RV8 was tested to the 1995 standards for non-cat engines which it met, however it could not be passed as there was no proof that engine was that age or older. I had applied for a dating letter from British Motoring Heritage but it had not arrived in time - now has - and date is 1989!

03A - Fuel Tanks - Fuel filler insert (the locking bit) did not have a seal on it. I was a bit surprised at this one, as it was part of a fuel filler set I bought from Brasscraft. I tried to persuade the examiner that it didn't need one as the fuel cap sealed the filler, but he (quite rightly as it turned out) was insistent. Subsequently bought a replacement that does have a seal.

08 - Indirect Vision - Interior mirror mounting insecure - this is fixed on the centre stay and wobbles quite badly. Also failed on offside mirror which didn't meet the field of view requirement - basically too low down and couldn't see the markers on the wall. These are Pilgrim supplied and seem to be the standard ones that most builders use. Will have to find something different that is higher and/or further out.

09C - Park Brake Control - no reserve travel - i.e. pulls up to far before it engages - just needs adjustment

12 - Interior fittings - 3 failures here all under the dashboard. Wiper motor bottom edge needs covering; cable ties too sharp on a wiring loom (!); my heater vent outlet in footwell did not have 2.5mm radius. All a bit annoying, but easy to fix.

19 - Seat Belt Anchorages - The big failure. The examiner was not happy that the seat belt mounting internal metal bracket bonded to the GRP was sufficiently strong. He wanted either evidence of testing to the required standards or fixing the bar down to the chassis. I have opted for the later as getting evidence is likely to prove difficult - even if Pilgrim can supply the evidence, it would have to be against the MkIII chassis. In any case, it is not a bad thing to strengthen up the seat belt mounting.

28 - Rear Fog Lamps - Two failures here. The first one is lack of e-marking on the fog light. The second is that the fog light did not stay on with the Main beam. Turns out that the Pilgrim wiring loom is incorrect - and picks up the fog light from the Dipped beam only. Will have to modify the loom to include a couple of diodes from the Main and Dipped beams to the fog light switch.

GC - General Construction - HT leads are on the exhaust. I had added some brackets to fix the leads, but needs more to hold them off the exhaust.

Overall, I am quite pleased with the list - not too long and nothing difficult. I thought the tester was very fair and I enjoyed the 4 hours it took.

Graham

[pevans]

Hi Graham,
Bad luck on the test, but thanks for bothering to put up your experience. Most of it looks fairly reasonable and not too hard to resolve hopefully.
I will be taking my car to Southampton if and when I ever finish it!
Paul.

[StewbieC]

All simple fixes, when you go back they only check these issues so you shouldn't be there for too long. Shame about the seatbelt anchors and mirrors as if they are supplied by Pilgrim then they should be compliant!!

The one with the radius issues under the dash is a good one to highlight as it's pretty simple to make a cover to fit under the dashboard on most of our cars. I've heard a couple of times that this has been a failure point.

Good luck with getting your stuff sorted!! Just in time for the summer!!

[Lloyd Barnes]

excellent effort, a bit more work, and you'll be on the road just as the sun arrives

[Ian C]

Graham,

Again commiserations on the failure (- I had initialy replied to your post on the other thread re the seat belts). I spotted the problem with the fog light when I was installing & checking the loom and have added a relay to correct the error, I have attached diagram for your use if required.

Many thanks for posting the details it is much appreciated, good luck for the re-test.

Ian

[GrahamSh]

Ian,

I also looked at fixing the error with a relay - much as you have shown in the diagram - a good solution. For me, that means more work fitting a relay somewhere on a completed car - much easier for me to fix a couple of diodes from the Main and Dip relays to the Rear fog light switch / dashboard light / rear fog.

Graham.

[timnutt]

Hi,

I did my first SVA (lotus 7) in Southampton back in 2005 and was told afterwards that they were really strict there and didn't let any go. I remember when I first drove my car onto the ramps obviously looking VERY worried the examiner said - "don't worry, nobody passed first time" - Nice!

Your list doesn't look too bad and I will be storing the info for future reference as I will be IVA'ing my Sumo at Soton too in a few months/years... What age is your chassis and body? I'm a bit worried now about the seat belt one...

Thanks
TimN

[GrahamSh]

I did my first SVA (lotus 7) in Southampton back in 2005 and was told afterwards that they were really strict there and didn't let any go. I remember when I first drove my car onto the ramps obviously looking VERY worried the examiner said - "don't worry, nobody passed first time" - Nice!

I don't know if Southampton are any different to other stations, but the tester was thorough and fair. I didn't get the impression that he was particularly strict, but I did fail on some rather minor issues (as well as some more serious ones) - e.g. sharp cable ties under dashboard - so maybe true. On the other hand, he did allow me to adjust the headlights and adjust the engine idle mixture on the emissions test. I had taken great care to cover all the IVA points that I was aware of and the points of failure for others highlighted on the forum so that probably helped to show that I had taken the test seriously. I also know that I have built a car that is safe and have not 'bodged' anything!

Your list doesn't look too bad and I will be storing the info for future reference as I will be IVA'ing my Sumo at Soton too in a few months/years... What age is your chassis and body? I'm a bit worried now about the seat belt one...

I have now made the mods to the seat belt anchoring - fairly straightforward and I think it is what was asked for, but will have to see what happens on my re-test next week. I have attached some pictures to show what I have done.

My chassis was purchased in mid-2009 and the body in late 2010.

Graham

[cperry]

Ian,

I also looked at fixing the error with a relay - much as you have shown in the diagram - a good solution. For me, that means more work fitting a relay somewhere on a completed car - much easier for me to fix a couple of diodes from the Main and Dip relays to the Rear fog light switch / dashboard light / rear fog.

Graham.

Watch this, simply fitting diodes will mean the fog light will illuminate with the flasher as well as the high beam ! If the tester check this, it may fail again.

Craig

[GrahamSh]

In the end, I fitted a relay, similar to your design. I wanted to do it correctly and the diode idea was a bit of a bodge. It took a lot of effort to do on a completed car as the wiring looms are all nicely fitted to the car with convoluted tubing and cable ties - but worth it in the end. The diodes would have been just as much work to fit into the loom and I was also concerned that the fog light would momentarily turn off when switching from dip to beam.

Not sure I understand the problem with illuminating with the flasher - is this not allowed? I assume you mean flashing the headlights only when the headlight switch is off?

Graham