Just recently i have been driving a vechile that as been displaying a red warning light on the dashboard.(it is indicating that the brake linings are worn,that it needs oil in it, and another warning that says INS which i hav’nt got a clue what it means).
I have told my TM and he says that it is okay to drive it, it needs to go into the dealers to be fixed, I also pointed this out 12 months ago, and it is still the same.
Just wondering if i got stopped by vosa would i get done for it, also would i be whithin my right to refuse to drive it?
what ABOUTTHE VEHICLES operating instructions
BOOK if itis there,
Brit-Mark did you write a written defect and keep a copy
for yourself, next point if no one here gives an answer stop
at the next workshop which deals with your make of lorry and ask
as for oil either check it at the front or as is becomeing normal with
lorrys drop the cabin and check the oil to see if ,a/ IT NEEDS OIL
b/ THE ELECTRONICS ARE LIEING,
IF you wish to check your brake lineings yourself, they have a
inspection hole through which you can check the wear on the
brakes (FOR DRUMS) all shoes have a refenence mark
which is the point to look for ,AS for disc pads have a look and
see if they are okay again there wil be a reference point for the
wear of the pads, When you do your daily BRAKE TEST how
do the brakes react,are you happy because if not
brit_mark:
Just recently i have been driving a vechile that as been displaying a red warning light on the dashboard.(it is indicating that the brake linings are worn,that it needs oil in it, and another warning that says INS which i hav’nt got a clue what it means).
I have told my TM and he says that it is okay to drive it, it needs to go into the dealers to be fixed, I also pointed this out 12 months ago, and it is still the same.
Just wondering if i got stopped by vosa would i get done for it, also would i be whithin my right to refuse to drive it?
Thanks
Mark
Yes, you are perfectly within your rights not to use it. You should be doing a daily checklist and verifying everything is ok and signing to say it is, or is not. If the engine goes bang through lack of oil you will get the blame, if it goes bang because it hits something because the brakes fail you will get the blame. I can understand you maybe not wanting to push him if you are trying to keep your job, here’s what i would do if i didn’t want to rock the boat at work and i wanted the wagon fixed pronto (short of not driving it and/or reporting it to VOSA). When you go out in it tomorrow, take your tacho out for five minutes after you finish your break then sign the back of itin someones name (just a barely legible squiggle), someone else will tell you what the cops etc write on the back, then pop tacho back in and return to base and tell the gaffa you have been stopped by the authorites and you told them you where on the way to get it fixed and they let you go so you want it doing right now! And then watch him get on the fone to the workshop pronto!!
They key is get it in writting from the Boss that it’s OK to use and a qualified mechanic has looked at it.
If it’s been running for 12 months with the oil warning light on, then it’s obviously an electrical fault as the engine would have given up by now other wise.
With the brake lining warning, it’s a common problem on all types of vehicle. The sensor wires in the brake linings are very thin and arent in the most friendly environment. So they normally snap off and earth out bringing the light on. might even be a computer fault of other lights are on too.
I’d go with Brit pete, check the brakes yourself and decide if they work well. But get something in writting from your boss, to say that it’s been checked over.
INS, will most likely be an INSpection light, often called a service reminder light. Might be on because the workshop have forgotten to reset it, might be because the computer is playing up. Just get something in writting to say it’s been inspected.
Depending what vehicle it is you can always tell if it needs oil or not by using oil pressure gauge, if it showing no pressure it will need oil.
It would not surprise me if it is a new vehicle if the computer will shut it down if insufficient oil and water…
As for brakes dont worry as long as they work this is bound to be the stupid little wires on the sensors…
Mine always used to come on when I used the brakes a lot usually coming down Simplon.
Problem soon solved took bulb out of warning light.
Have to saw I’m rather amazed at the “it’s nothing, just ignore it” comments. Are you all qualified mechanics that can diagnose this just from what he’s said, even though we don’t even know what truck it is?
Personally, if it were me it and it’s showing red lights on the display then it wouldn’t be going anywhere until the garage fixed it - electrical fault or mechanical. What you gonna do if the ministry nab you at Ainley (or elsewhere)? Tell them that the gaffer said it was alright? That’ll go down well with them and I’ve every confidence they say “well that makes it alright then Mark, carry on!”
Coffeeholic:
You didn’t think I was serious did you Rob?
Nothing surprises me these days .
True enough. I know someone who did just that, which was what gave me the idea for the post. The light was annoying him as it was too bright and distracting at night.
If you were at a Testing Station and the VOSA guy got in the cab to check the instruments and the red warning light in addition to the ‘brakes’ warning light stayed on then the vehicle would fail the test and not be allowed to leave the site until a repair had been made.
The same applies at a roadside checkpoint. Immediate prohibition.
So no, you shouldn’t be driving it on the road.
Ask your TM does he really want the local VOSA people on his case all the time from then onwards as a consequence of being too stubborn to authorise the replacement of an £80 relay switch and an hours labour for the workshop electrician to check the wiring for bad earths, chaffed wires etc. (I’m only guessing here… )
When it comes to your firm’s ‘O’ licence renewal time - the report from VOSA on your file will read “poor maintainance” and the Traffic Commissioner may well want to “have a word” with your TM at a public enquiry to explain himself and why he has ignored your defect reports for nearly 12 months (er…you have been covering your arse this way - haven’t you, Mark??.. )
One - some years ago (in the days before I gave up the corporate shilling and the share opions and all that stuff - it’s not just driving that gets you down) I was out with one of my reps and a red light appeared on the dashboard of his 4 week old Sierra (that’s how long ago it was!). We wondered what it was and checked the manual which confrimed it to be a brake warning light. “Best get that looked at , I’ll take it easy, but the brakes seem fine” he said.
Famous last words - about 15 minutes later, as we drove through some of the hilly bendy bits to the north of the A69 in northumberland the brakes totally failed. If we hadn’t been conscious of the light being on we could have been travelling a lt faster than we were and it wasn’t a good road to be brakeless on.
Lesson learnt.
Point two - almost without exception my clients tell me that they run ‘Zero defect’ policies. If it has a defect it gets fixed. Trailer side light out? Get it fixed before you leave the yard. My drivers are told that if they aren’t happy with the vehicle they can, and should, insist on it being fixed before they drive. We’ve had the ‘dodgy switch’ syndrome on ABS lights on Scanias regularly. They all got fixed though!
It may be a dodgy switch, or dodgy wiring, but what if you ignoring the dodgy switch is hiding an actual problem? Remember the boy who cried wolf?
Ultimately whether you choose to drive a vehicle with a defect is down to you. But if you’re doing it through me then I will support you 100% if you decide not to because you don’t believe it to be safe or legal.
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If you were at a Testing Station and the VOSA guy got in the cab to check the instruments and the red warning light in addition to the ‘brakes’ warning light stayed on then the vehicle would fail the test and not be allowed to leave the site until a repair had been made.
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