Electrical diagnosis · mobile service
Cranks but won't start? That's electrical detective work.
Price
Starting at $75
starting price · final price confirmed with you before I start
Mobile service
I come to you
Serving Chattanooga and surrounding areas
The engine turns over. You can hear the starter doing its job — crank, crank, crank — and it never fires.
Or it fires when it feels like it. Or it starts fine all day and refuses to start in the morning. Or the battery is dead every single morning and nobody has found out why.
Crank-but-no-start with no obvious explanation is the classic electrical case, and it's the kind of problem that gets expensive when it's diagnosed by swapping parts.
Why there's often nothing to read
People expect a code. Often there isn't one — and that's not because nothing is wrong.
A no-start condition is frequently about the electronics that allow the engine to run rather than a fault the engine module has logged. Theft-deterrent status, a module that has stopped talking on the vehicle's network, a control signal that never arrives, power or ground that isn't reaching a module — the vehicle may report none of it as a code, because as far as that module knows, nothing it monitors has failed.
That's the difference between this and a check-engine read, and it's why I quote this one after I know what your vehicle is doing rather than pricing it blind.
What I actually test
- Module communication — whether every module on the network is responding, or whether one has gone dark. A module that's silent explains a surprising number of no-starts.
- Immobilizer and anti-theft status — whether the vehicle is refusing to start because the key or the system says no. This connects to the same factory immobilizer that programs keys, and a fault here looks exactly like an ignition fault from the driver's seat.
- Live data during cranking — what the vehicle reports while it's turning over: engine speed reference, sensor readings, fuel and ignition enable conditions where the vehicle exposes them.
- Parasitic drain — for the battery that dies overnight. I measure current draw with everything shut down, then isolate it circuit by circuit until the branch that's draining you shows up. Aftermarket accessories, alarms and remote starts are common culprits; then there are the ones nobody would guess.
What I need from you about the symptom
Tell me:
- When it happens — cold, hot, wet, after sitting overnight, only on Mondays
- How fast it happens — crank and no fire, one attempt then nothing, no crank at all
- Any recent work: battery, electrical, aftermarket alarm, stereo, remote start, key
- How old the battery is, and whether it's ever been load tested
- Any warning light or message on the dash when it refuses
Those answers save time, and time is what you're paying for.
The honest part
If it turns out to be a mechanical or component failure — starter, fuel pump, wiring, a component that needs replacing — I'll tell you plainly. This is diagnosis: I identify the fault, report it, and tell you where it goes next. I don't do mechanical repair or parts replacement.
Some intermittent faults are genuinely evasive, and I won't pretend otherwise. If I can't pin it down in the time we agree, I'll tell you that before the bill changes.
And to be clear: diagnosis identifies electronic faults; it does not guarantee that a specific mechanical repair will resolve them.
Price — confirmed with you first
Electrical diagnosis starts at $75. Electrical faults vary enormously: some isolate in twenty minutes, others take a couple of hours. I confirm the price with you after I know what your vehicle is doing. No surprises on the invoice.
I come to you, and you get the findings in plain English plus a digital report of what was tested and what was found.
Compatibility is verified first
What can be tested depends on the vehicle — module access and available data vary by year, make and model. The starting price is $75, and I confirm the final price with you before I start and before you spend a dollar.
Where to go next
I verify compatibility and give you the price before we schedule — if I can't deliver, you don't pay.
Prices are starting prices, not guarantees. Final pricing can depend on the vehicle, location and work involved; a travel fee applies beyond 10 miles. Compatibility varies by year, make and model and is verified before any appointment. This is an electronic diagnostics, coding and reset service — not mechanical repair. No dealership or manufacturer affiliation.