Repair Lane

Intermittent Electrical Diagnostic

Dedicated hunt-down of electrical gremlins that come and go — flickering lights, random warning lights, accessories that fail sometimes.

Difficulty: hard~11.5 hrsHalf a day
Estimated total
$115–180
Parts$0
Labor$115–180
Labor time11.5 hrs

Diagnostic pricing covers testing and identification of the problem. Repair parts and labor are quoted separately.

Repair costs are not included unless separately selected.

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What's involved

What this repair actually is.

Faults that only appear sometimes are the hardest electrical problems to catch, because the car often behaves perfectly at the shop. We use scan-tool data logging, wiggle-testing of harnesses and connectors, and moisture and heat simulation to force the fault to show itself and trace it to a specific wire, connector, or module.

Symptoms

How you can tell.

  • Warning lights that come and go randomly
  • Windows, radio, or gauges work sometimes but not always
  • Problem shows up in rain or on bumps
  • Car occasionally will not start, then starts fine
  • Flickering interior or exterior lights
Educational estimate. Real pricing depends on your vehicle, the inspection, parts availability, taxes, and shop rates. Use this as a guide while you shop quotes.
Related

Often done together.