So I pick this trailer up, and after doing my checks, I get the following warnings on the dash:
The customer of the agency whose unit and trailer it is, says it’s only an amber advisory, and not to worry about it. I defect it anyhow.
Legal to use or not?
Ken.
No. Take it from me VOSA do their nut over ABS warnings
If the lamp in coloured yellow/
amber the examiner will need to
obtain evidence from the vehicle
driver that the MIL became
illuminated during this journey
fta.co.uk/_galleries/downloa … bition.pdf
if we have an amber at the start of shift we have to take it to the VMU.
if it happens “en-route”, we have to stop and make an entry in the defect book (time/mileage), do a “check” of the brakes then carry on.
Thanks guys. Just what I suspected.
Nice link RB. I’ll print that off and carry it with me.
Ken.
We have a couple of trailors that are “not compatable with the unit” and have the amber ABS light showinghow does that work then.i.e should they be made compatable
should you ignore it
is the “not compatable” just BS
gezt:
We have a couple of trailors that are “not compatable with the unit” and have the amber ABS light showinghow does that work then.i.e should they be made compatable
should you ignore it
is the “not compatable” just BS
I’ve also been told this in the past. No idea if it’s true or not.
I know it’s possible to corrupt / surge spike the trailer ABS computer by connecting with the ignition on, so maybe this is more the issue?
gezt:
should you ignore it
No
waynedl:
I know it’s possible to corrupt / surge spike the trailer ABS computer by connecting with the ignition on, so maybe this is more the issue?
We used to have a lot of amber abs warnings for that reason, now we are advised to connect with the ignition off. Since adopting the “ignition off” approach, I haven’t had an amber light at connection for over 12 months.
i would like to see spankys views on this. 
I have a single page ‘flow-chart’ type guide for drivers in pdf format … not got a flamin clue how to post it on here though
Dads old place had a tanker and when you hooked up to the stralis every single warning possible went off and when you hooked it up to the fh16 everything went quiet again 
does the trailer have a green light on the head board
Rules must have changed since I worked over there. If an amber ABS warning light came on during your pre-trip check you could note it and carry on, lots of trailers were not compatible with certain trucks and in any case working ABS was not a legal requirement, it just was advised to get it repaired at the next available chance. ABS on trailers didn’t really appear untill late 80’s and after that I would rather drive without ABS than wih it.
The rules I just mentioned still apply here, I have been stopped by DOT at an inspection site and so long as I pointed out the warning light before they saw it I was allowed to over look it without a ticket, if however I had denied the light was on and they saw it I would have got a ticket.
gezt:
We have a couple of trailors that are “not compatable with the unit” and have the amber ABS light showinghow does that work then.i.e should they be made compatable
should you ignore it
is the “not compatable” just BS
Yeah, i’ve been told this too . . sort of!
I’ve been told, everything works fine but it shows as not being compatible on the dash. To be fair, of all our trailers it’s always the same type that show the fault.
green- go
amber- be careful
red- stop
I had a bus thta had the ABS light on, STOP on the dashboard warning and an alarm going off in the cab.
Engineers said “carry on driver, OK to drive”.
I refused to drive the bus.
Imagine if you had a crash, VOSA would be all over you!!!
However, my understanding is that if ABS packs up, braking goes back to normal.
I generally cover the amber light with something and crack on. Can’t see the problem = no problem.
rambo19:
I had a bus thta had the ABS light on, STOP on the dashboard warning and an alarm going off in the cab.
Engineers said “carry on driver, OK to drive”.
I refused to drive the bus.Imagine if you had a crash, VOSA would be all over you!!!
However, my understanding is that if ABS packs up, braking goes back to normal.
Indeed,it say’s in the premium handbook(pretty sure it does) that if you get all these pretty lights then the braking reverts to conventional but greater pedal pressure may be required…Ah,that would bring back memories of the wonderful brakes on older scanias.
Coffeeholic:
I generally cover the amber light with something and crack on. Can’t see the problem = no problem.
This seems a logical sugestion
I had something similar with the amber ‘Check engine’ light on my old truck, it was on for months and every time the mechanics put it on the lap top it showed various faults, not to serious, each time I started the engine the light came on and stayed on untill the tiny lamp blew out… Fixed then
The OP’s pictures show a (red?) EAB warning as well. The vosa advice seems to refer only to the ABS light and specifically says so.
I would say no.
On the other hand it looks like an Actros dashboard, which should by design be lit up like a Xmas tree at all times 
If you do get pulled by VOSA while you have an ABS light lit a trick is to stop the engine as soon as you stop, as on some trailers the light only goes off once you do a certain speed, something like 15kmh. They know this though and try to get in your door to look at dash before you stop engine
