diff --git a/src/olsr/model/olsr-header.cc b/src/olsr/model/olsr-header.cc
index 30a2b09c0..70563dcae 100644
--- a/src/olsr/model/olsr-header.cc
+++ b/src/olsr/model/olsr-header.cc
@@ -50,6 +50,8 @@ SecondsToEmf (double seconds)
 {
   int a, b = 0;
 
+  NS_ASSERT_MSG (seconds >= OLSR_C, "SecondsToEmf - Can not convert a value less than OLSR_C");
+
   // find the largest integer 'b' such that: T/C >= 2^b
   for (b = 0; (seconds / OLSR_C) >= (1 << b); ++b)
     {