GEDDES AUTOMOTIVE LTD

are

AUTOMOTIVE DIAGNOSTIC

&

AUTO ELECTRICAL

FAULT FINDING

SPECIALISTS:

AUTOMOTIVE & MARINE BATTERY STORE

for

CARS, VANS

& TRUCKS

If you have reached this page by searching the internet and wish to link to our full web site, then please click here -

GEDDES WEBSITE

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THE FOLLOWING SERVICES ARE FREE

1

FREE Courtesy cars available:

2

FREE Inspections, Estimates & Quotes:

3

FREE Coffee or Tea provided in our waiting room.

THE FOLLOWING ARE LINKS TO THE BATTERY, AUTO ELECTRICAL & TROUBLESHOOTING SERVICES WE PROVIDE:

1

ABS Error Light Codes Faults Diagnosed & Repaired: ABS Pumps; Brake Sensor Testing:

2

Battery Costs (Lead Acid, Deep Cycle, Marine):

3

Car Electrical Problem, Computer / Dashboard Error Light Codes , Check Engine Light Error Code Diagnostics:

4

Car Hard Starting Batteries Load Tested, Alternator Output Testing (Flat batteries are usually caused by a faulty battery or faulty alternator charging. Geddes can test both & repair or replace either for you):

5

How To Change, Charge, Or Maintain A Car Battery:

6

How To Jump Start A Car / Vehicle:

7

Spark Plug & Spark Plug Lead Testing; Fuel Injector Testing, Engine Sensor Testing; Cam & Crank Position Sensor Testing:

8

Starter Motor Testing, Cleaning & Repairs, Replacements New & Second Hand:

9

Temperature Gauge & Temperature Senders Tested & Replaced:

11

Trailer & Car Wiring & Lights Replaced:

12

Window; Electric Window Repairs & Replacement:

13

Opening Hours:

Opening Hours

OPENING HOURS

Monday to Friday 8 am to 5 pm.

Saturday Mornings 8 am to 12:00 noon.

For a speedy service, we recommend you arrange an appointment for your brake job. Phone 636-7064.

ABS ERROR LIGHT CODES DIAGNOSTICS & REPAIR SERVICE: DIAGNOSIS From $55.95

If your vehicle has failed it's WOF check because your ABS dashboard warning light is staying on, then we can help you.

The computer has most likely received an electrical fault signal from a faulty part or there is an open circuit fault on your vehicle, it could be a wiring fault, a relay fault, a wheel sensor wiring or sensor fault.

Our computer scanning diagnostic tool can scan your vehicle's computer and record what is causing the error. Sometimes it is just a minor fault like a damaged wire and relatively easy to repair.

A simple diagnosis may cost as little as:

$55.95 + GST

Our test equipment will show us the output signals your ABS system is sending your vehicle's computer. If necessary we can connect the scanner to various parts of your vehicle, test drive your vehicle then replay the information after the test drive. This can help locate an intermittent fault.

Geddes belong to a number of organizations that can locate hard to find replacement parts. We can supply and fit new or second hand relays or sensors. Secondhand parts have a shorter warranty period.

Sometimes the vehicles computer will provide a fault code but once that fault is fixed and cleared the vehicle's computer will locate another fault. These types of faults can be more difficult to estimate likely costs.

Diagnosis and a simple repair could be as little as:

$95.95 + GST

If your ABS pump has stopped working, this could be a simple fault that can be easily cured.

BATTERY REPLACEMENT COSTS:
LEAD ACID, DEEP CYCLE & MARINE BATTERIES:

BATTERY TYPES

There are a large number of different qualities and size of each car battery.

In order to quote a price on a Battery for you we need to know: The Application - Type, model and year of Car, Boat, Truck etc; The Voltage; Which side of the battery the -ve terminal is on; What type of terminal, bolt/post; The Length & Width; The Height; Cold Cranking Amps required; The Reserve Capacity.

Or if you cannot give us this information just tell us the vehicle's Manufacturer, Make, Model, Year, and Chassis Number. We can work out what type of battery you require from this.

ECONOMY
AUTOMOTIVE BATTERY

A very popular type for automotive use is the ECONOMY AUTOMOTIVE BATTERY.

These range in price from:

$69.95 + GST

Full 6month written warranty.

PREMIUM
AUTOMOTIVE
ULTRA BATTERY

Full 2 year written warranty. Photo of battery is of NS40.

PREMIUM
COMMERCIAL
ULTRA BATTERY

Full 2 year written warranty.

Larger Sized Battery range, more volume (size) / capacity (cold cranking amps and residual capacity). Photo of battery is of NS70U.

HIGH PERFORMANCE
ULTRA
PLATINUM
SERIES

Full 2 year written warranty.

HIGH PERFORMANCE
UNIGY 1
AGM High Rate Discharge

Full 2 year written warranty.

UNIGY HIGH RATE DISCHARGE BATTERIES

BATTERY FEATURES: The absorbed glass-mat construction with Hovosorb separators lowers internal resistance for superior high, short term discharges.

The tank-formed plates optimise cell voltage balance and the flame arresting low pressure, self-sealing vents prevent gassing.

Reinforced case construction.

MARINE
ENGINE
STARTING
ULTRA
Low
Maintenance

Full 2 year written warranty.

MARINE
ENGINE
STARTING
ULTRA
Marine Maintenance Free

Full 2 year written warranty.

BATTERY FEATURES

HOW TO CHANGE, CHARGE, OR MAINTAIN ULTRA BATTERY:

BATTERY CARE
&
MAINTENANCE

1. Ensure battery is always kept charged. Without use batteries discharge up to 10% of their capacity each month. If connected to your vehicle, items like your clock will have a small draw. Faults in your electrical system can flatten a battery very quickly.
2. Failure to charge or use a battery will cause sulphation leading to poor life and performance.
3. Check battery levels at least monthly. Ensure they are at the upper level indicator (cover the plates). Top up using distilled water (recommended), tap water and even rain water will reduce the batteries life. If topping up is required more than 3 times a year contact Geddes your Ultra Battery Specialist.
4. Ensure battery terminals are clean. If corrosion occurs, pour boiling water over terminals (treat areas of vehicle with a mixture of water and baking soda (approximately 0.5kg to 4 litres water) this will help to neutralize any spilt acids. Allow to dry and paint with an acid proof paint and cover battery terminals and cable clamps with either vaseline or a grease based applicant.
5. Only use a battery for its designed application. i.e. Engine Starting (cold cranking amps), Deep Cycle, Marine etc...

BASIC RULES FOR
BATTERY CARE & MAINTENANCE

BE CAREFUL!

The lead-acid automotive battery is an electro-chemical device for converting chemical energy into electrical energy.

WARNING: Batteries produce explosive gases. Keep sparks, flames and cigarettes away from batteries at all times. Protect your eyes at all times. Never lean over a battery when jump starting or performing other maintenance.

WARNING: Batteries contain sulphuric acid, this can cause blindness and/or severe burns. It can destroy clothing. If you come into contact with the acid wash yourself immediately with fresh water and get medical help quickly.

WARNING: Keep out of reach of children. Do not tip the battery, keep level. Keep battery vent caps closed tightly.

IN VEHICLE SERVICE TIPS

REMEMBER TO ALWAYS WEAR SAFETY GLASSES WHEN WORKING AROUND BATTERIES!

VISUAL INSPECTION: Start with a visual inspection of the battery and battery cables. Look for: corrosion, loose connections, a cracked battery case or cover, loose hold down clamps and deformed or loose terminal posts. During a Geddes Medium Service or better service, Geddes will service your battery for you.

If the battery is cracked and/or leaking replace it immediately. Place in a plastic bag and if possible carry in a plastic box. Remember battery acid will damage carpet and upholstery. Bring it to Geddes and we will have it recycled.

CONNECTION: Most modern cars are connected negative earth. If in doubt check your service manual.

LOAD TEST: During some services Geddes will load test your battery and test the condition. We can also test your alternator is charging at the correct rate.

CORROSION: To remove the battery from your vehicle (see removal procedure). Most vehicles are negative to earth. Disconnect the earth cable first then the positive, remove the battery clamps, protect the painted surfaces with a protective cover, remove the battery.

CLEAN & NEUTRALISE: Wash the battery with boiling water. Check the battery tray for corrosion. If required, Geddes can repair these for you. Use a mixture of water and baking soda (approximately 0.5kg to 4 litres water) this will help to neutralize any spilt acids. Allow to dry and paint with an acid proof paint.

FLUID LEVEL: Check the electrolyte (cell fluid level), lift the caps from the top of the battery. Some have a screw cap - remove those. Check the fluid is covering the lead plates. Most batteries have a fluid level mark on the side. Top up with distilled water ( if you use filtered or tap water this will reduce the life of the battery).

BATTERY REMOVAL PROCEDURE: Wear safety glasses. Use a computer memory saver to hold the vehicle's memory and avoid reprogramming procedures.

Follow the manufacturer's directions carefully to avoid damage to the computer and/or electrical system. If the cables are not clearly marked then mark them.

Remove internal, hood and boot light bulbs, turn off all accessories so that nothing is taking current from the battery.

Remove the ground (normally negative) cable first and reconnect last. During this process, if sparking occurs damage can result. Remove positive terminal. Remove hold-downs - clamps, protect the vehicle with suitable covers and if possible use a lifting battery strap or lifting tool.

BATTERY REPLACEMENT: Use the reverse procedure to removal. Check the battery will clear all objects such as the bonnet and body panels etc. Clean the battery posts and the terminals, open the lug so it will slip onto the post without force, coat with a non metallic petroleum jelly or Vaseline. It is a good idea to use special corrosion retarding fibre washers around the terminals to help extend the battery life. Do not over tighten the hold-down lugs.

Coat the terminals and exposed metal parts around the battery with a good quality protective spray.

NOTE: Make sure you use a battery equivalent to the manufacturers specifications.

CHARGING A BATTERY

MANUFACTURERS DIRECTIONS: Follow the vehicle manufacturer's directions carefully to avoid damage to the computer and/or electrical system.

CHECK THE SPECIFIC GRAVITY: For this you need a hydrometer. Suck up sufficient battery liquid from one cell, if the battery is properly charged and in good condition, the reading should be between 1.265 and 1.299.

Below 1.175 and a charge may not bring it back up, and probably will not start your engine. Check each cell.

DANGER: Do not short any clamps / leads together - damage and/or an explosion may result.

Make sure the battery charger is turned off before connecting it to a battery. Check the area is well ventilated. A hydrogen gas build up could explode. Use safety glasses. Leave the vent caps in place while charging. Place damp cloths over the vent caps on both batteries.

CONNECTION: If you reverse the connection it could cause the battery to explode and/or damage your vehicle. Connect the RED battery charger lead to the positive (+) terminal of the battery. Connect the BLACK battery charger lead to the negative (-) terminal of the battery. There should not be any sparking.

Switch on the power to the battery charger. Check the charger meter is registering a charge.

DO NOT CHARGE FOR MORE THAN 48 HOURS. DO NOT CHARGE A FROZEN BATTERY. STOP CHARGING IF THE BATTERY IS FEELS HOT.

JUMP STARTING

DANGER: This process can cause damage to either vehicle. Sparking can cause high voltage spikes. High voltage spikes can cause damage to your electrical system, computers, diodes, circuits. Jumper leads with an anti spike device should prevent this. Sometimes it is cheaper to pay for professional assistance.

Batteries MUST be connected POSITIVE to POSITIVE and NEGATIVE to NEGATIVE.

1. Switch off both engines.
2. Connect the RED jumper lead to the positive terminal of both batteries, one end to one, the other end to the other.
3. Connect one end of the BLACK jumper lead to the negative end of the good battery.
4. Connect the other end of the BLACK jumper lead to a good ground point such as a bracket on the engine block of the vehicle that has the dead battery. Use a point away from the battery, this reduces the possibility of sparks and explosion, stand back as you make the final connection.
5. Start the engine with the good battery and hold the engine revs at about 1500rpm.
6. Start the engine with the bad battery usually using approximately quarter throttle.
7. If the engine with the bad battery will not turn over fast enough then there may be a bad connection. Turn off both engines and check. Run the good engine for say quarter of an hour and try again.
8. Disconnect the cables in the reverse order and discard the rags.

ALTERNATOR CHARGING

FLAT BATTERY

ALTERNATORS: Alternators are fitted to almost every modern vehicle. They are used in preference to generators as they can produce a far greater current and charge the battery far quicker and at lower engine revs.

Geddes have testing equipment to load test the alternator and check it is producing the correct output voltage and current. If it is not performing then we can remove it and repair or replace it. We have a number of sources for alternators and often it is cheaper to replace them with a new one.

STARTER MOTORS

STARTER MOTORS: These are as the name suggests the unit that turns the engine to get it started. Modern vehicles are fitted with a pre-engage starter. These engage the gear on the starter with the gear on the flywheel before they begin to turn. This prolongs the life of the ring gear on the flywheel and the gear on the starter.

If your starter is more noisy than it normally was then the pre-engage unit may not be functioning correctly. It is best to have your starter serviced before it stops working, there will be less damage to repair.

It is difficult to give any indication on a cost to repair a starter as some are easier to remove than others. An easy repair could be as little as:

$92.50 + GST

AUTOMOTIVE ELECTRICAL PROBLEM TROUBLESHOOTING:

ELECTRICAL FAULTS

Before computers were added to car management systems, most electrical faults were easier to diagnose. The earlier computer systems are more difficult to learn the error codes.

Every make, model and year of vehicle have a different wiring system, relay system, computer system etc. The combinations of faults is huge. One organization we belong to has over 1,000,000 members all feeding information into a central data base. If we have a problem we have difficulty with we can access all that knowledge.

One of the diagnostic tools we have is a Carman Scanner VG. We can connect this to various points on your vehicle to scan and access the fault code. It provides us with wiring diagrams and explanations of where to check your vehicle.

If your vehicle has a fault code light displayed on the dash board the scanner will check why the light has come on. It may be an Engine Check Light which on most vehicles is a small sketch of an engine. The reason this has come on could be to warn you your oil or water level is low, it could be a faulty relay, it could be the engine timing has changed.

The fault may be something that will not cause immediate damage, BUT it could be something that should be attended to immediately before damage occurs.

If the fault code is a service light this may mean the cambelt is due for change. Turning this light off can be just a matter of our scanner tool sending a message to your computer to reset or switch this off.

Since 1998 car manufacturers brought in computer code standards. Since then most have changed over to a system called OBD2.

A simple diagnosis may cost as little as:

$55.95 + GST

SPARK PLUG & SPARK PLUG LEADS

If your vehicles engine is miss firing and lost power, chances are the plugs and maybe the leads need changing. A set of leads can be very expensive. Most times we diagnose the fault to be something different so spending all that money on leads is a waste.

The most common faults can be the injectors, the distributor module, lack of fuel pressure or coil. We can scan these to check they are performing correctly.

TEMPERATURE GUAGE & SENDER

TEMPERATURE GUAGE SENSOR: Engines managed by computers rely on the signals received from the sensor. They have more duties than just regulating the temperature gauge on your dash board. Most vehicles now have more than one sensor. Each sensor has a separate function.

The sensors can manage functions like: The engine cold starting revs, the mixture of fuel and air ratios, the cooling fans, the shut down of your engine if overheating occurs.

Some are easy to access and test.

A simple diagnosis may cost as little as:

$55.95 + GST

TRAILER WIRING FAULTS

TRAILER WIRING: Most faults on trailers are due to stone damage of the wiring being jammed. Fittings suffer from corrosion. Simple test equipment will locate the fault. Costs depend on whether can can repair the wiring looms, the light or connector fittings or if parts need to be replaced.

We need to investigate and test sections and parts before we can provide an estimate or quote. Most repairs range from $15.00 to $100.00 + GST.

WINDOW OPERATION REPAIRS

ELECTRIC WINDOWS: We find the most common fault is in the switches. Most times we can repair these for as little as:

$89.95 + GST

If your vehicle is displaying a window error code fault we can diagnose this fault for you.

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GEDDES AUTOMOTIVE FULL WEBSITE:

Geddes Web Address

www.geddesautomotive.co.nz

LINKS TO INDIVIDUAL GEDDES WEB PAGES: