Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Hi guys,

I had an interesting experience earlier in the week, when I was pulled over as part of a "random check".

My girlfriend was driving the car at the time, he breath tested her and checked her licence etc. All good. When he found out it was my car he stated asking me what modifications had been done etc, I replied and told him that for the most part it was pretty stock.

My car looks very stock from the outside, no rims or bodykits etc, it hardly ever gets any attention. However, it does have an exhaust and a front mount which are visible externally. He asks me to pop the bonnet, which I did. The officer then noted the pod filter and boost controller in the engine bay.

In all fairness, the officer was a pretty good bloke, he knew what he was looking for and went about his business in a pretty professional manner. At the end of the day I was in the wrong for having those modifications. The officer didn't defect me or anything, however, he did tell me that I should expect a letter in the mail from the EPA in the future. Naturally, the officer was doing his job, and I obviously deserve this.

However, reflecting back on the experience, i'm curious to know under what circumstances an officer can look under the hood of your car. I've been told that the officer must have "reasonable suspicion" that there is something illegal going on, but looking back, I'm hard pressed to know what suspicions could have been formed in the officer's head, particularly given that my car looks so stock.

Obviously the common sense approach is to comply with the officer's request and be polite etc, however, at the same time, i think it is important to know your rights. So, my question is:

Under what circumstances an officer can look under the hood of your car?

Thanks guys, happy motoring.

  • Replies 80
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

dont qoute me on this but i belive the hoon legislation gives officers the power to search a car for illegal modifications which unfortunatly in your case were there so it was well within his power i think

I was 400m from my house last night... coming back from drive ins with the gf.... pulled me over...and my gf had to use the girls room pretty bad.... luckily they didnt take too long.... just the regular checking...

they pulled me over because 1 of my headlights were out... which I seriously had no idea... must have happend last night... i flicked them from high beam back to low beam and then the one that was off turned on and the other 1 turned off.... :P my hid balasts were playing on me...... the cops had a chuckle and just said fix it up....

10 days ago i was coming back from work in the city at about 11:30am.... talking to my dad on a blueant (bluetooth handsfree) which is legal to use while driving... they pulled me over for thinking i was a nutter...... i mean come on... who doesnt know about handsfree?! especially them when they are so ready to give out fines for talking on the mobile.... i was sooo tempted to say yeh theres this new technology going round called hands free..... they were just trying to be ass's werent they? then they asked if the car belonged to me and I lived at the address thats on my license...... in the end nothing happend and I want my 15 mins of life back they wasted....

10 days ago i was coming back from work in the city at about 11:30am.... talking to my dad on a blueant (bluetooth handsfree) which is legal to use while driving... they pulled me over for thinking i was a nutter...... i mean come on... who doesnt know about handsfree?!

they must have been taking the piss...

Does anyone know where I can site the relevant piece of legislation that refers to vehicle searches / police powers with regard to the searching of vehicles?

Cheers

i guess the question is why do you care

if they pull you over and want to check

they will check, if you refuse, it raises suspucion and you are probably hiding something

its not rocket science really

i've been told this one, be it a myth or not but the officer has to be a senior Sargent or to that affect to have an uncontested look under your bonnet. A friends work colleague used this to avoid it but he probably had a lot to loose if defected so it was a chance he was willing to take. That said if you give permission to look for a lower ranked officer then that's enough for them. But as someone said before, your probably gonna be in a bigger world of hurt if you don't comply robo-cop style.

Last time i got pulled over was 3 months ago in knox right infront of the cop shop. was stopping at the red light saw a persuit car waiting to exit the cop station and low and behold the pulled up right behind me..ha didnt make it 50m lol. They were good about it, i got out of the car as I always do and complied with their requests. Wasn't the typical muzza with attitude that they normally encounter and that was that. Was expecting an exhaust epa in the mail....still have yet to receive it so i guess they gave me the benefit of the doubt?

pfttt cops in the northern suburbs seem to be carrying tools and removing kick panels to discover aftermarket ecu's as experineced by one of my customers

They sure do! I got pulled over in my 33 (by Gibson) and he moved the kick panel to have a look and looked for a controller behind the dash and in the glovebox. Which company do you work for mate?

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • But first....while I was there, I also swapped across the centre console box for the other style where the AV inputs don't intrude into the (very limited !) space.  Part# was 96926-4GA0A, 284H3-4GA0B, 284H3-4GA0A. (I've already swapped the top 12v socket for a USB bulkhead in this pic, it fit the hole without modification:) Basically to do the console you need to remove the DS and PS side console trim (they slide up and back, held in by clips only) Then remove the back half of the console top trim with the cupholders, pops up, all clips again but be careful at the front as it is pretty flimsy. Then slide the shifter boot down, remove the spring clip, loose it forever somewhere in the car the pull the shift knob off. Remove the tiny plastic piece on DS near "P" and use something thin and long (most screwdrivers won't fit) to push down the interlock and put the shifter down in D for space. There is one screw at the front, then the shifter surround and ashtray lift up. There are 3 or 4 plugs underneath and it is off. Next is the rear cover of the centre console; you need to open the console lid, pop off the trim covering the lid hinge and undo the 2rd screw from the driver's side (the rest all need to come out later so you can do them all now and remove the lid) Then the rear cover unclips (6 clips), start at the top with a trim tool pulling backwards. Once it is off there are 2 screws facing rearwards to remove (need a short phillips for these) and you are done with the rear of the console. There are 4 plugs at the A/V box to unclip Then there are 2 screws at the front of the console, and 2 clips (pull up and back) and the console will come out.
    • So, a bit of a side trip, but one that might be interesting for people with JDM cars and japanese head units. I know @Pac previously posted about a carplay/android auto adapter he installed which used the AUX input, and @V35_Paul put in one of the Tesla style units that replace both screens. The option I went with was a Lsait LLT-YF-VER5.87_2 (https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Lsailt-8GB-Android-Multimedia-Interface-for_1601187633672.html). Price was $1,150 for a single unit although they are much cheaper if you are willing to buy 2....$857ea. Make you you get the version 2 not version 1, it is faster and has a better UI - this is the manufacturer listing: http://www.lsailt.com/product/348.html. BTW if you've never bought from Alibaba before, don't be concerned....these guys can't stay in business unless they are responsive, ship fast etc, they were excellent (probably faster shipping than most local places) So, this was my task for a lazy Sat afternoon....looks complex but was all done in a few hours (it probably helps that I had some of it apart before so it was a bit familiar). I also decided to add a HD USB drive recorded at the same time and the unit also supports an aftermarket reverse cam (if you don't want to retain factory) and also AV in and HDMI out It looks much worse than it is, in fact in was genuinely all plug and play (no custom wiring at all). This video was pretty good (skipped a few steps), unfortunately they are an Aussie seller but no longer sell this unit (I guess Carplay/AA adapters are easier to install and much cheaper) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5hJfYOB8Dg
    • That still isn't a lot to go on. I don't have a Y50 Fuga Head Unit wiring diagram. I can say that a lot of nissans of that age shared head unit plugs, so if you are in Australia something like this would probably help: https://aerpro.com/app091# You plug that into the car loom, then either plug the head unit ISO into that (if it has ISO), or you buy and ISO adapter harness that you wire in. Bit of stuffing around, but once you have ISO its easy to change things in future.
    • It is a kunfine Android screen . Does anyone know the wirering diagram of the fuga ??
    • just an update to this, poor man pays twice  Tried sanding down the pulleys but it didnt do the trick. Chucked another second hand alternator in the na car which I got for free off my mate and its fixed the squelling. Must have been unlucky with the bearings.    As for my turbo car, I managed to pick up a cwc rb alternator conversion bracket + LS alternator for 250 off marketplace, looked to be in really good nick. Installed it , started the car and its not charging the battery.... ( Im not good with auto elec stuff so im not sure if this was all I needed to do but I verified such by using a multimeter on the battery when the engine was running and I was only getting 12.2v )   I had to modify the earth strap for the new LS alternator , factory earth strap was a 10mm bolt which did not fit the bolt on the LS alternator which was double the size so I cut it off , went to repco bought some ring terminals that fit, crimped it onto the old earth strap and bolted it up to the alternator , started the car and same issue. Ran like shit and was reading 12.2 at the battery.  For a "plug and play" advertised kit thats not very plug and play but alas.  My question is , am I missing something ? Ive been reading that some people recommend upgrading the stock 80 amp alternator fuse to a 140 amp but I dont see how that would stop the alternator charging especially at idle not under load.  Regardless ive pulled it out and am going to get it bench tested by an auto elec tomorrow but it would be handy to know if ive missed something silly or have done something wrong.   
×
×
  • Create New...