Services · Electrical
I trace electrical faults. I don't guess at them.
Electrical problems are where a lot of people get taken. A shop replaces the part the code points at, the fault comes back, so they replace the next one. A code tells you which circuit has the problem, not which part. I bring a meter, the wiring diagram for your vehicle, and the patience to follow the circuit to the actual fault.
Out here, a fair share of electrical faults are rodents. A mouse in the engine bay over winter can chew through a harness in a week. That's a repair, not a new harness.
Texting is best — I'm usually mid-job and can't pick up. Stranded or an emergency? Call.
- No fix, no fee diagnostics
- Quoted price is the final price
- 12 mo / 12,000 mi parts & labor
- I come to you
What it's doing, and what it usually is
The most common cause first. It's a guide, not a diagnosis. That's what the visit is for.
- A fuse that keeps blowing
- A short to ground somewhere in that circuit. Putting in a bigger fuse is how wiring fires start. Find the short.
- Battery drains overnight
- A parasitic draw. A module that won't go to sleep, a stuck relay, a glovebox light, or an aftermarket stereo or alarm wired badly.
- Lights flicker or dim
- A bad ground, a failing alternator, or a corroded connector. Grounds are the first thing I check and the last thing most people think of.
- Works when it feels like it
- Intermittent faults are almost always a chafed wire, a corroded pin, or a connector that's lost its grip. Wiggle-testing with a meter finds them.
- Gauges dead, or the dash lit up like a Christmas tree
- Often a single ground or a failing battery upsetting every module at once, rather than a dozen separate faults.
- Trailer lights not working
- The plug, the ground, or the converter. Usually a quick fix, and worth doing before you're stopped for it.
- Something dead: wipers, horn, seat, locks
- Fuse, relay, switch, motor, or the wire between them, in roughly that order.
What I do in your driveway
- Parasitic draw testing, done properly, one fuse at a time until the draw disappears.
- Wiring repair: chafed, broken, corroded, or chewed. Soldered and sealed, not twisted and taped.
- Grounds, connectors, fuses, relays, and switches.
- Lighting, from a headlight that's out to a tail light circuit that's shorted.
- Trailer wiring: plugs, converters, and the harness to them.
- Removing aftermarket accessories that were wired in badly and have been causing trouble ever since.
How the money works
- $150
- Flat, to diagnose it. It's separate from the repair. If I can't find what's wrong, you don't pay it.
- Quote
- Before anything comes apart. The price I give you is the price you pay. If I find something else, I stop and ask you first.
- 12 / 12k
- Months and miles, parts and labor. If the repair doesn't hold, I come back and fix it free.
Travel is free within 30 miles of Bastrop. Further out, there's a flat travel fee. The full warranty terms spell out what's covered.
Questions I get asked
The parts store scanner said it's the sensor. Why won't you just replace it?
Because the scanner only knows the sensor's reading is wrong. It doesn't know whether the sensor is bad, the wire to it is broken, or the ground it relies on is corroded. I've seen the same sensor replaced three times for a wiring fault. Testing first is cheaper than that.
Mice chewed my wiring. Can it be repaired?
Almost always, yes. I repair the damaged sections properly rather than replacing a whole harness, which is a dealer-price job. Then we talk about keeping them out.
Can you find why my battery goes flat when the truck sits?
Yes. That's a parasitic draw test: measure the current with everything off, then pull fuses until it drops. It takes patience, and it's the job that gets skipped when a shop just sells you a battery.
Can you wire in a trailer plug?
I can fit one, or sort out one that's stopped working. Trailer wiring is one of the most common things I'm asked about, and one of the cheapest to put right.
Do you work on hybrids or EVs at all?
The 12-volt side, yes: lights, accessories, the ordinary battery. Nothing on the high-voltage system.
Often goes with this
All servicesBattery & Charging
Dead every morning, dies again after a jump, or a battery light that won't go out. Usually the battery, sometimes the alternator.
Windows & Doors
Windows stuck down, doors that won't lock or latch, handles that come away in your hand. Motors, regulators, locks and latches — not body work.
Diagnostics
Warning light on, odd noise, or something that just feels wrong. I find out what it is before anyone spends money on parts.
Based in Bastrop, free travel within 30 miles. Where I go, and what it costs further out.
Let's look at the electrical
Flat $150 to diagnose it, and you get a price before anything gets taken apart. Mon–Fri 9am – 6pm.
Stranded or an emergency? Call (512) 980-4368 — for anything else, a text gets to me faster.