Battery testing
Load and conductance testing, plus the terminals and cables, where corrosion imitates a dead battery every winter.
Mechanical repair
Auto Electrical Repair in Hartville, Ohio
Electrical problems are the ones that make people replace the same battery twice. A dead battery, a dim headlight, and a window that only goes one direction are all circuits, and a circuit can be tested. Pete's Auto traces where the power stops instead of replacing parts until the symptom moves.
428 E Maple St, Hartville, OH 44632
Hours: Mon-Fri 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM. Saturday by appointment only
Electrical Systems for Hartville and the surrounding Stark County area
What's covered
What electrical systems covers at Pete's Auto.
Batteries, charging, starters, parasitic drains, lighting, and wiring faults traced circuit by circuit.
Alternators and charging output
Charging voltage under load, belt condition, and the wiring between the alternator and the battery.
Starters and starting circuits
A single click, a rapid click, or nothing at all, traced to the starter, the relay, the ignition switch, or a bad ground.
Parasitic draw testing
Finding the circuit that keeps drawing current after the vehicle is shut off and asleep, which is what kills a battery overnight.
Fuses, relays, and fusible links
A fuse that keeps blowing is reporting a short, so the circuit gets traced rather than the fuse being replaced again.
Grounds and connectors
Corroded ground straps and green connector pins cause symptoms that look like a dozen unrelated failures at once.
Wiring repair
Chafed harnesses, rodent damage, and previous repairs that were taped instead of soldered.
Exterior lighting
Headlights, tail lights, turn signals, and brake lights, including the brake light switch behind the pedal.
Power accessories
Windows, door locks, mirrors, wipers, washer pumps, and the horn.
Blower motors and resistors
Heat that only works on the highest fan setting is the classic symptom of a failed resistor.
Warning lights and gauges
Dash lights that flicker, gauges that read wrong, and modules that stop talking to each other.
Trailer and accessory wiring
Trailer connectors, added lighting, and aftermarket accessories wired into circuits that were not built for them.
Signs you need this
What drivers describe when they call about electrical.
You don't need the right words for it. Tell us what the vehicle is doing and when it does it. Call (330) 587-4311 or use the form at the bottom of this page.
It clicks when I turn the key but the engine will not crank.
It is dead every Monday morning after sitting all weekend.
The battery light came on while I was driving and the headlights got dim.
I have replaced the battery twice in a year.
The dash lights flicker when I go over a bump.
One headlight is out and putting in a new bulb did not fix it.
The power window goes down but will not go back up.
The heat only blows on the highest fan speed.
The trailer lights do not work on one side.
A fuse keeps blowing and I have to keep putting new ones in.
What to expect
What happens when you bring the vehicle in.
Tell us when it happens
Dead after sitting, dead after driving, and dead only in cold weather point at three different circuits. Tell us the pattern, including anything that was installed or worked on right before it started.
We sort out the battery, starter, and alternator first
These three get blamed for each other constantly. We load-test the battery and the charging output, which separates them before anyone buys a part.
We follow the circuit to where the power stops
Voltage drop testing, wiring diagrams, and checking grounds find the break, the short, or the corroded connector. We don’t just replace whatever is at the end of the wire.
We recheck the repair under load
We put the circuit back under load, and if a parasitic draw was involved, we let the vehicle sit and go to sleep so the fault has a chance to come back before you take it home.
Other services
The rest of what the Hartville shop does.
Mechanical repair and body work happen at the same address, so if the vehicle is here for one, we can look at the other while it’s up.
Engine Diagnostics in Hartville
Check engine lights, misfires, no-starts, rough idle, and drivability problems traced to a cause.
Brake Repair in Hartville
Pads, rotors, calipers, lines, fluid, and ABS faults, measured before anything gets replaced.
Steering & Suspension in Hartville
Struts, shocks, ball joints, tie rods, control arms, bearings, and steering that has gone loose or noisy.
Collision Repair in Hartville
Accident damage from the first estimate through panel work, paint, reassembly, and the claim paperwork.
Rust & Glass Repair in Hartville
Rust cut back to solid metal, scratches and chips corrected, and windshield and window replacement coordinated.
Pete's Auto handles electrical systems for drivers across Stark, Summit, Portage, and Mahoning Counties. See every city and township the shop serves.
Questions
Electrical Systems FAQs
How do I tell a bad battery from a bad alternator?
By what the vehicle does. A battery problem usually means it will not start but runs fine once it is jumped. An alternator problem usually means it starts fine but dies while driving, often with the battery light on and the headlights dimming first. We confirm which one with a load test and a charging test. It takes minutes.
Why does my new battery keep dying?
Most often it is a parasitic draw: something stays awake after you shut the vehicle off and drains the battery overnight. It can also be an alternator that is not fully recharging, or corroded cables that keep a good battery from delivering what it has. We find all three by measuring. Replacing the battery again fixes none of them.
Can wiring be repaired instead of replacing the whole harness?
In most cases yes. Chafed sections, rodent damage, and broken connectors are usually repairable at the damaged section. We replace a harness when the damage is spread through too much of it to repair reliably, and we tell you which situation you’re in.
I put in a new bulb and the light still does not work. What now?
That points past the bulb to the socket, the connector, the fuse, the relay, or a ground. Sockets corrode and melt, and a ground that has rusted will make one light dim or dead while everything else on that circuit works normally.
A remote starter or stereo was installed and now things act strange. Can that be traced?
Yes, and mention it up front. Accessories spliced into factory circuits are one of the more common causes of parasitic drains, flickering lights, and modules that drop offline. Knowing what was added and roughly when saves a lot of testing.
Is a fuse that keeps blowing something I can keep replacing?
The fuse is doing its job. It is telling you that circuit is drawing more current than it should, usually from a wire rubbed through to bare metal. Putting a larger fuse in is how wiring fires start, so the circuit should be traced instead.
Talk with the shop
Tell us what’s going on with your vehicle.
Call, stop by, or send the year, make, model, and a short description of the problem. We’ll call or text you back with what to do next.
Phone
(330) 587-4311Hours
Mon-Fri: 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday: By appointment only