Car Road Trouble: Troubleshooting

One of the worst things that can happen to any driver is for his or her car to break down, or threaten to break down through some unexpected signal or noise, while on the road. An article by Brian Turner in Driving.ca advises drivers to first get away from traffic if this is possible. If not, Turner says it is best to stay in the car if the traffic is light, or get out and stay along the side of the car if the traffic is heavy, with all the warning lights turned on.

The next thing you may try doing to avoid expensive towing services is to troubleshoot and try to get your car going again, at least until you reach the nearest garage and have Perth mechanics do proper repairs. Some of the most common roadside problems drivers encounter include failed batteries, flat tires, and electrical failures.

You may try charging a sputtering battery using a boost; if you don’t have one of your own, perhaps you can borrow from a nearby motorist. This is usually sufficient to breathe a short life into your battery until you can get it to a mechanic for a recharge or a replacement.

Every driver knows what to do with a flat tire, of course, and it will help to always have a spare and a jack handy. Electrical problems often come as a failure of the alternator or starter, and Turner has this to say about them:

The first symptom of failure is usually the battery warning symbol lighting up on the instrument panel. When this happens, if your vehicle is still running, turn off all unnecessary electrical accessories and head to the nearest repair centre, highway exit, or road-side stop.

Electrical problems, unfortunately, are harder to fix than other types of vehicle trouble, and would need to be serviced by reliable Perth auto electricians. This is especially true with the latest car models which have more complex electrical systems than older models. The most capable auto electricians may be found only in reputable auto service shops like AME Automotive.