Car Diagnostics in Dawlish

Dawlish is known for the railway running along the sea wall, with steep hills inland. Visitor traffic on the A379 can be slow, and a car with an ageing battery or alternator can start to show it in queues.

Automaster is a garage at Longcombe Cross near Totnes. We carry out diagnostics and auto electrical repairs on petrol and diesel cars, and Dawlish drivers come to us when a fault is hard to explain.

My light came on in Dawlish traffic. What now?

Check which symbol it is and whether it is steady or flashing. A steady engine light with the car running normally is not usually an emergency. Red lights, a flashing engine light or a car that loses power need more care.

If the symptoms are worrying, pull over safely and do not push on. Once the car is with us, we read the codes and look at the live data.

It also helps to note whether the light appeared after fuel, after heavy rain or after a long idle in traffic. Those clues often shorten the search considerably.

What is the difference between a fault code and a diagnosis?

A fault code says a control unit noticed something out of range in a certain circuit. A diagnosis is the answer to why. Between the two lie tests, inspection and some experience.

A misfire code, for instance, can come from a spark plug, a coil, an injector, a vacuum leak or a wiring fault. We do not guess. We test until the cause is clear.

• Code: which system complained
• Live data: how it is behaving
• Testing: where the fault lies
• Repair: fixing the cause

Is it the battery, starter or alternator?

A clicking noise, a slow crank, a car that starts then dies and a battery light each suggest different things. We load-test the battery, check starter draw and measure charging output.

We replace batteries, alternators and starter motors, but only after the tests show they are at fault. Sometimes the problem is a loose cable or a corroded earth.

A battery that is several years old and has spent a lot of time in slow traffic is a common culprit, but the tests decide it, not the age alone.

Do you cover Dawlish, Teignmouth and Newton Abbot?

Yes. We are at Longcombe Cross near Totnes, and drivers from Dawlish, Teignmouth, Newton Abbot, Heathfield and Stoke-in-Teignhead bring cars to us.

When you ask for a quote, tell us the make and model, the lights showing and how the fault behaves. If we think a diagnostic check is the right first step, we will say so.

Can you sort wiring faults, sensors and immobilisers?

Yes. We do electrical fault finding and wiring repairs, sensor replacement, alarms and immobilisers, and we repair reversing cameras and parking sensors.

A fault that comes and goes is the hardest to pin down, because the car may behave while we are testing. Tell us if it relates to rain, temperature or road bumps. That detail can save time.

Where a wiring fault is found, we repair or replace the damaged section and the connector, then check that the original symptom has gone and no new codes have appeared.