Car Diagnostics in Teignmouth

Teignmouth sits at the mouth of the River Teign, with a harbour, a seafront, the bridge to Shaldon and steep hills behind. In summer the visitors arrive, and the slow-moving traffic means a charging system has to cope with idling and heavy electrical loads.

Automaster is a garage at Longcombe Cross near Totnes, offering diagnostics and auto electrics for petrol and diesel cars. Teignmouth drivers come to us when the cause of a fault is unclear.

How can I tell if my Teignmouth car has a charging fault?

Signs include a red battery light, dimming headlights at idle, a slow-turning engine after a drive and a battery that keeps going flat. A car with a failing alternator may run for a while on battery power and then stop.

We test battery condition and alternator output together. If the alternator is the problem, replacing only the battery would give you a temporary fix. Our job is to identify what is really wrong.

Cars that spend long periods idling in summer queues, with fans, lights and air conditioning running, ask the most of the alternator.

• Red battery light
• Headlights dimming at idle
• Repeated flat battery
• Whining or burning smells

What is a diagnostic scan, and what are its limits?

A scan collects the fault codes stored by the car's control units and shows live data. It is a very quick way to see which system has logged a problem.

A code is not an instruction to replace a part. It points at a circuit. A code about a sensor could mean the sensor, a wire, a connector or something upstream. We use the scan to decide where to test, and then confirm the fault.

Why does my engine management light keep coming back?

If the cause is still present, the light returns once the car sees the fault again. Common causes include sensor faults, small leaks affecting readings, and wiring or connector problems.

A fault that appears only sometimes can be stored and cleared several times. We look at the stored data, then test the suspected circuits. Be ready to tell us when it lights up, such as on hills or after rain.

Do you look after cars from Teignmouth and Dawlish?

Yes. Our garage is at Longcombe Cross near Totnes, and we see drivers from Teignmouth, Dawlish, Stoke-in-Teignhead, Newton Abbot and nearby areas.

If you cannot tell whether your fault is something we deal with, describe it when you ask for a quote. We cover diagnostics, wiring, sensors, batteries, alternators, starters, alarms, immobilisers, cameras and parking sensors.

What will affect the time and cost of an electrical repair?

How easy the fault is to reproduce is a big factor. So is access, since some alternators and starters are simple to reach and others are buried. The parts required, and whether a wiring repair is possible, also matter.

We do not quote blind. Ask for a quote with the symptoms, and we will say if a diagnostic check is the right first step.

Parts such as an alternator or starter vary a lot between models, which also affects the quote.