# MOT failure question - 'front position lights"?



## Nikon (Jun 10, 2018)

Just been looking at a car's MOT history and for the last few years the MOT has recorded the following as failures, on 3 separate years

Nearside Front position lamp(s) not working (1.1.A.3b)
Offside Front position lamp(s) not working (1.1.A.3b)

What are these, the front side-lights, (or parking lights - whatever they are called these days)

On all occasions the problem seem to have been rectified and the car passed

It this a common problem?


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## conlechi (May 6, 2006)

Lamps not working , bulbs poss , near side / offside are drivers or passenger side , it's not referring to side lights


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## Nikon (Jun 10, 2018)

conlechi said:


> Lamps not working , bulbs poss , near side / offside are drivers or passenger side , it's not referring to side lights


are these the o/s and n/s headlights then?

surely no-one would take a car for an MOT with the Headlights not working?


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## David C (Apr 15, 2013)

"Position lights" are the H6W sidelights.


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## David C (Apr 15, 2013)

The failure 1.1.A.3b is sidelights.
It would be 1.7 to be headlights.


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## Nikon (Jun 10, 2018)

David C said:


> "Position lights" are the H6W sidelights.


That's what I thought - side lights

With the MOT history I looked at - they were failures in 3 out of 4 years

is this (another) common problem?


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## David C (Apr 15, 2013)

They are easy to miss if you don't look.
I'm not sure if they are monitored or not.

Some people get through loads of H6W bulbs, others have them last many years.
They are a Halogen bulb, so fingerprints on the glass will cause early failure.


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## pcbbc (Sep 4, 2009)

Nikon said:


> David C said:
> 
> 
> > is this (another) common problem?


I've no idea if it is endemic, but I had quite a few failures of my incandescent sidelights in the first few years of ownership from new (2002). I gave up and installed LED replacements instead. Since then only one failure in what must be well over 10 years now.

Edit: Not monitored as far as I am aware, so very easy to miss as DavidC says.


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