These guides are written for the way vehicles are used in and around Canberra. Each one explains what goes wrong, why it happens here and what to do about it, whether you are doing the job yourself or booking an auto electrician.
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Choosing a Mobile Auto Electrician in Canberra
How to choose a mobile auto electrician in Canberra and Queanbeyan: callout areas, ACT vs NSW licensing, apartment car parks, quotes and complaints.
Dashcams and Reversing Cameras in Canberra
Dashcams and reversing cameras in Canberra: ACT screen and view rules, audio recording, hardwiring without flat batteries and sending footage to police.
Driving Lights and Kangaroo Season Around Canberra
Kangaroo risk at dusk and dawn around Canberra, the ACT rules for driving lights and LED light bars, and how to wire and aim extra lights properly.
Frosty Mornings and Flat Batteries in Canberra
Why Canberra's sub-zero winter mornings flatten car batteries, what the BOM figures show, and the checks that help your car start on a frosty morning.
Hail and Storm Checks for Canberra Drivers
What Canberra's January 2020 hailstorm taught drivers, and the electrical checks to do after hail or a summer storm: lights, sensors, water and wiring.
Hybrids, EVs and 12V Batteries in Canberra
Why Canberra hybrids and EVs still rely on a small 12V battery, the signs it's failing, safe jump starting, and which jobs are for licensed HV techs.
Towing From Canberra to the Coast and the Snowy Mountains
Towing electrics for Canberra trips over Clyde Mountain to the coast or up to the Snowy Mountains: trailer brake rules, controllers and cold-weather power.
Tradie and Fleet Electrics in Fyshwick and Hume
Auto electrics for utes, vans and fleet vehicles based in Fyshwick and Hume: inspections at Hume, power for tools and fridges, lighting and downtime.
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Before you work on vehicle electrics
- Disconnect the negative battery terminal before working on wiring, and reconnect it last.
- Replace a blown fuse only with one of the same rating. If it blows again, there is a fault to find, not a fuse to upgrade.
- Many newer vehicles have a battery management system. After a battery change, some need the new battery registered with a scan tool so it charges correctly.
- Hybrid and electric vehicles have high-voltage systems, usually with orange cables. Leave anything near them to a qualified technician.
When to call an auto electrician
Book a professional for warning lights that keep coming back, faults that come and go, anything involving airbags or high-voltage parts, and new circuits such as dual battery systems, brake controllers or extra lighting on a 4WD or caravan. Find one in the Canberra directory.