chp inspection and smog certification

Andreas · #1 (**permalink**) 08-09-2011, 03:12 PM

hey all. i'm heading down for my appointment with highway patrol and smog on thursday. i chose san jose chp and evergreen college based on the references i've found on here.

my questions are what happens at each inspection and more importantly who is going to be giving me a sticker/tag and where will they be mounting it? the last posts that i could find on here were from 2007 so i was hoping for more current information. my appointment at highway patrol is with officer danieles who is filling in for officer clark who replaced officer rosconi who came highly recommended by a few members.

any information would help. should i be worried that somebody is going to start drilling holes in my car???

xlr8or · #2 (**permalink**) 08-09-2011, 05:11 PM

The CHP inspection is pretty straight forward if you have all the documentation for the car and drive train. They will decide on the location for the official VIN and a hidden VIN.
Once done the BAR will inspect based on Year of Engine or Year that the kit replicates. You decide which. You will need to have a type IV closed PCV system installed or it will fail. Depends on who does the BAR inspection but I was able to select location for the sticker on my last one. Get it in a spot that won't be exposed to fuel, brake fluid etc or it will ruin it. I had him put mine in the door jamb.

John S Peterson · #3 (**permalink**) 08-09-2011, 07:04 PM

Last experience at CHP with a friend was they installed one and told the owner to do as many as he wanted in various locations throughout the vehicle. The REF will ask you where you want to put your exempt sticker (sb-100), usually in engine compartment but I've seen them inside vehicle as long as you have a place to stick it to. Just keep it away from something real hot in engine compartment that's all.

JP

Newsnake · #4 (**permalink**) 08-09-2011, 09:35 PM

Hey I have to go through the same process what is type IV closed PCV system?

jhv48 · #5 (**permalink**) 08-09-2011, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Newsnake

Hey I have to go through the same process what is type IV closed PCV system?

It means that all breathers and pcv lines must vent to the intake system. Not to the atmosphere.

Andreas · #6 (**permalink**) 08-09-2011, 11:34 PM

Thanks for the info. JP, do you know where CHP installed the tag on your friends car and whether or not location was an option?

I wasn't even thinking about the PCV valve but luckily i'm running one already.

Andreas · #7 (**permalink**) 08-09-2011, 11:38 PM

Thanks for the info. JP, do you know where CHP installed the tag on your friends car and whether or not location was an option?

I wasn't even thinking about the PCV valve but luckily i'm running one already.

bingo2 · #8 (**permalink**) 08-10-2011, 06:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Newsnake

Hey I have to go through the same process what is type IV closed PCV system?

Here's a good example; Crankcase Ventilation System - Bing Images

Rick Parker · #9 (**permalink**) 08-10-2011, 08:04 AM

Andreas: When I went through this process the absolute final item is application of the SB100 label to the vehicle. In my case the Ref asked where I would like to have it applied and I pointed to the Footbox, he complied and then took a photo of the label installed.

jhv48 · #10 (**permalink**) 08-10-2011, 03:43 PM

[quote=
I wasn't even thinking about the PCV valve but luckily i'm running one already.[/QUOTE]

Not talking about just the pcv valve. Also the breather cap on the other valve cover.

doug cords · #11 (**permalink**) 08-10-2011, 05:18 PM

Don't forget the DMV "Temporary Permits" to drive the car on the street.
In the Fresno CHP, I went in first AM, by appointment, with all paperwork.
The Officer reviewed everything at his desk and then made a VIN Piece for
the car. It is about 3/8x4 and he put it, with rivets, centered (nicely) in the
front crossmember, where it is easily visibile.
At our local JC's BAR, after the testing, just like our other posts, the Referee
asked about the SB-100 sticker. Our vehicle, a Superformance, has its factory
number plate on the passenger's side firewall - we had the sticker placed right
next to it.
The CHP's were awesome - about four other Officers came out to the parking lot
just to see the car. The BAR folks were professional and courteous.

Doug and Wendy Cords

Andreas · #12 (**permalink**) 08-11-2011, 08:57 PM

wow. that's all i can say. it was one of those days. it all started with 2 accidents on the 880 freeway which only left the fast lane open. this is when a chp officer pulled up behind me and over the pa system informed me that i couldn't be towing in the fast lane...

i arrived to my appt at the san jose chp on time and had my cousin jump out to see where they wanted me to park the truck and trailer. the first officer asked me to parallel park the everything on the street and as i was backing it out another officer told me to pull up into the middle of the parking lot and not to worry about it. the first officer came out and with tone started asking me why i hadn't parked in the street so i pointed at the 2nd officer and told him that he instructed me to park in the middle of the parking lot. the first officer literally started cussing at the officer saying something about i don't give a **** you're f'ing up my parking lot.

so 2 other officers came out. officer danielles and one other officer. one of the officers was grilling me passively to the point that he almost had me convinced that i had stolen car parts on my car. (not the case) i asked him if he was officer danielles, the verification officer, and he said no and walked away. officer danielles then jumped on the trailer and it was obvious that he was looking for reasons to not perform the vin verification. we also went over the dreaded location of the tag to which his response included not having enough time and not wanting to put forth the effort to drill it into the frame. he chose the fiberglass door jam as a safe place to put the tag... he then instructed me to park in the street and to wait what would be a very lengthy wait since he was going to have to check on everything. he implied that he was going to be taking other appointments and would get to mine when he could. i looked at my cousin and said this guy is going to go and find any reason not to complete this today and sure as **** he pulled it off. sir you are from contra costa county, you need to do this in your county not here. i mentioned CALIFORNIA highway patrol and that I live in CALIFORNIA and he cut me off which he did about every 2 seconds anyways to tell me that it is not how it works here. i then tried to tell him that my bar exam was at 1 oclock and that i was doing everything in san jose because it came highly recommended and that i had verified when i made my appt that i was coming from the east bay. he responded with i don't know who gave you this misinformation or who these cobra guys are that think they have had their vin verifications done here but i'm telling you like it is. anyways, i walked away from him while he was talking AT me since i had reached my boiling point and drove away.

at this point i had blown $80 on the trailer rental, i was going to miss my appt at the bar and get back in on the 2 month waiting list again for contra costa county chp. i called hayward chp and the guy just about laughed me off of the phone and told me that he could get me squared away at the end of september. i phoned dublin chp expecting the worst. the woman heard me out and politely transferred me to the verification officer, officer piccinini. he was listening and i could tell. he called san jose to confirm what had happened, called me back and squeezed me in the schedule understanding that i had already waited 2 months, rented a trailer, missed my bar exam and had taken the day off from work to complete this. mind you dublin's office is in alameda county, not contra costa where i live so he was obviously not concerned with where i was from. he was extremely polite, extremely respectful of the car and very understanding. the example: he was eyeballing my firewall as a location for the tag and when i mentioned that i would have preferred not to install it there he simply responded, well it's simply not going to go there then.

my advice to everybody is stay away from san jose. officer rosconi who came highly recommended is no longer doing vin verifications and i can't say i was at all impressed by any of the other staff. it was almost as if me bringing my car there was a total inconvenience to them.

officer piccinini is the way to go. you will not be disappointed with his level of respect or professionalism. after my experience at san jose i wanted to give him a hug. i maintained composure though, shook his hand and thanked him about 100 times. i still have to rent the trailer again and reschedule the bar exam but he got the vin done and allowed me to surpass another 2 month waiting list.

Randy Rosenberg · #13 (**permalink**) 08-11-2011, 09:51 PM

Besides all of the aggravation and frustration, the really sad part is that the CHP fails to realize that it is your payment to CA that funds their salary. They should be bending over backwards to service their customer. Grrr...

Rick Parker · #14 (**permalink**) 08-11-2011, 10:22 PM

Randy you are so correct. Perhaps a few well thought out phone calls directed to him or his commander at his office would remind him of that.

Got the Bug · #15 (**permalink**) 08-12-2011, 10:43 AM

Keep in mind that you can start at the DMV and get a tempory operating permit before you have you your VIN verified/installed by the CHP and get your BAR certification.

That way (if your car is running and you have insurance), you can drive to the CHP, get the VIN verified/installed, go back to the DMV to have them update your registration with the correct VIN, then drive to the BAR.

No towing required if your car is running and you follow the right steps.

jhv48 · #16 (**permalink**) 08-12-2011, 12:44 PM

That's what I did. Drove it to the chp and then the bar exam. No trailering needed.

Andreas · #17 (**permalink**) 08-12-2011, 04:53 PM

DMV wouldn't give me another Temporary. They gave me one before but I broke my back shortly after obtaining it. I could barely walk let alone drive. I stopped into a different dmv today to try again and the lady gave me a 2 day permit for my smog appt. This was after she charged me late fees on my incomplete registration. I asked her how you can get a late fee on an unregistered vehicle when you've never received a bill in the mail. Her response was that I was just supposed to know to come down there every June and pay my unsent bill. There's a point when you just have to find the humor in things. I guess I'm lucky that I've found the humor so quickly.

xlr8or · #18 (**permalink**) 08-12-2011, 09:50 PM

The CHP gave me crap for driving the car down for the VIN verification claiming I couldn't possibly have insurance on a car with no VIN in the system even though I had the insurance information with me. Some people are just d!cks and enjoy the power trip of a badge.

John S Peterson · #19 (**permalink**) 08-13-2011, 02:19 AM

It's too bad when people have bad experiences, they really have no reason to treat the public like that. I thought they had to affix the vin tag with rivets to a metal part of the frame not fiberglass, but I guess they make the call. Some sail right through the process with DMV, CHP, REF and all and some have headaches.........go figure, maybe it's the alignment of the moon and other planets causing a rif and people to act strange.

289fia_cobra · #20 (**permalink**) 08-16-2011, 08:45 PM

Wow, sorry to hear such a bad experience. "You need to do this in your county"??? Really,? I DROVE my un-vin'd FFR to Redwood City (San Mateo County instead of Santa Clara) and they were all wanting to look at my car. I was in and out of there in 20 min.

If anything I had the most excruciating time at Brake and Lamp inspection. But that's another thread all it's own.

Sounds like Dublin has a great CHP office. Glad that's taken care of. Just remember once everything is done and you finally got your plates and tags, you will never have to do this again.