Auto Electrician Job Description, Skills, and Salary
Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of an auto electrician. Feel free to use our auto electrician job description template to produce your own. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as an auto electrician.
Who is an Auto Electrician?
Auto electricians are experts in the installation and maintenance of electrical systems in automobile vehicles. They work primarily in auto service centers, where they inspect, repair, and maintain all electrical components within a vehicle.
An auto electrician is a professional in the automotive industry who installs, repairs, and maintains electronic and electrical systems in automobiles. An auto electrician works with all types of vehicles: private, commercial, and industrial. This includes cars, motorbikes, and vans as well as heavier vehicles like trucks, HGVs, and buses.
An auto electrician is responsible for repairs, maintenance, and upgrades to the electrical components of vehicles. They identify problems and use their expertise to fix them. They also have direct contact with their clients. They will ask the client questions to determine the cause of the problem, and then give them a quote to calculate the cost and time frame for the repairs.
An auto electrician works on only the automobile’s electrical systems. An auto electrician might spend time on headlights, diagnostic lamps, alarm systems, circuit boards, and alternators.
Many parts of cars use electronic components, such as ignition systems, lighting, and instruments. All of these are handled by automotive electricians. To inspect and maintain electronic equipment, they use meters and other instruments. They can also interpret technical diagrams and use welding tools to repair electronics. Sometimes they even speak with customers about repairs or maintenance.
Auto electricians have been specially trained to work on the electrical systems of cars, trucks, buses, and other vehicles. Although it is not necessary to become a licensed electrician to work with cars’ electrical systems, this depends on the employer and where you live. Although the work of an automotive electrician is similar to that of a residential electrician, it’s done in vehicles. They install and maintain electrical components and wiring in vehicles.
This role is typically performed by an employee who works in a larger garage team. They will diagnose any problems with the electrical system of a car. They’ll then use their expertise to fix the problem. They also assist customers with upgrading their car’s electrical components.
Auto electricians are trained to install, maintain, repair, and identify faults in electrical wiring and computer-based technology in motor vehicles and related equipment such as trailers, caravans, earthmoving and mining equipment, agricultural equipment, and marine applications.
Auto Electrician Job Description
Below are the auto electrician job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write an auto electrician job description for your employee. Employers can also use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.
The duties and responsibilities of an auto electrician include the following:
- Ensuring that all components work in harmony
- Repairing parts and equipment when necessary
- Employing a variety of diagnostic tools, mainly computer-based, to diagnose the problem and give the customer an estimate of the cost and time it will take to fix it.
- Replacing any damaged components that can’t be repaired.
- Performing checks and tests to ensure that repairs are successful and that the vehicle functions properly.
- Making upgrades and improvements to the vehicle’s electronic and electrical systems.
- Attaching accessories like car stereos and radios, GPS navigation devices and tracking devices, parking sensors and reversing cameras, as well as LCDs and chargers for smartphones.
- Inspecting a vehicle’s cold storage and thermostats.
- Performing maintenance on ticket validation machines, security cameras, and passenger counting systems.
- Performing maintenance on vehicle lighting systems, headlight beam alignments, anti-lock brake systems (ABS), engine controls units and circuits, as well as other computerized components.
- Testing charging and battery systems
- Repairing and maintaining various types of petrol and diesel motor vehicles
- Ordering parts and equipment
- Communicating with manufacturers and agents to ensure a successful repair.
- Completing all documentation, receipts, inspection sheets, and signatures.
- Recognizing any repairs that are required due to unfair wear and tear and advising the service manager or foreman mechanic.
- Completing the required training
- Working within a reasonable time frame
- Checking every malfunction in the vehicle.
- Repairing or replacing any part, including switches, wires, and fuses, as well as accessories such as air conditioners and radios.
- Installing new vehicle wiring systems.
- Troubleshooting alarm and immobilizer systems.
- Injecting new electronic components in vehicles
- Troubleshooting electronic components problems in vehicles
- Maintaining and repairing electronic components on clients’ vehicles
- Using a variety of tools to repair vehicle parts as efficiently and effectively as possible
- Offering customers a time and cost estimate for repairs
- Collecting information from customers regarding electrical system problems.
- Servicing of electric automotive parts.
- Servicing and repairing electrical systems on agricultural vehicles.
- Maintaining a clean work environment.
- Completing job reports and processing paperwork.
- Diagnosing electrical problems and proposing a course of.
- Providing customers with estimates of time and costs for repairs.
- RepariRepairingplacing damaged wiring.
- Performing electronic diagnostics to identify faults in cars and other vehicles.
- Repairing and replacing damaged or defective parts in motor vehicles and cars with electrical faults
- Verifying that repair work is successful, by performing checks and tests
- Installing electronic and electrical systems in motor vehicles
- Preparing time and cost estimates for customers
- Performing routine maintenance and revision of motor vehicles
- Troubleshooting and Repairing Equipment Failures
- Performing electrical maintenance on equipment and vehicles.
- Repairing or replacing equipment and vehicles.
- Checking battery condition, starter performance, alternator charging conditions.
- Fixing communication systems
- Making inquiries from customers about their car problems.
- Using diagnostic tools to identify electrical problems, and also trying to reproduce the problem yourself and repairing or replacing components like wires.
- Testing equipment used to detect electrical and electronic malfunctions
- Dismantling and removing electronic and other components
- Installing electronic equipment and components in motor vehicles
- Connecting power-operated vehicle accessories and equipment to the power supply
- Adjusting engine control systems and timing
- Testing and replacement of defective alternators, generators, or voltage regulators.
- Repairing and replacing defective ignition and electrical wiring
- Replacing defective parts like fuses, lamps, and switches
Qualifications
- High school diploma and certificate of auto-electric qualification.
- Demonstrated work experience as an auto electrician.
- Modern vehicular electrical systems require advanced knowledge.
- Good communication skills.
- Ability to stand or lie down for extended periods
- Capability to recognize subtle color variations.
- Ability to work in tight spaces.
- Complex problem-solving skills.
- The ability to operate an electrical diagnostic device.
Essential Skills/Qualities
- Attention to Detail: An Auto Electrician job requires you to be meticulous in the completion of your work tasks. Being careful and paying great attention to details will go a long way toward making a successful auto electrician.
- Integrity: An Auto Electrician’s job requires honesty and ethics.
- Dependability: An Auto Electrician job requires you to be reliable, responsible, dependable, and able to fulfill your obligations. The initiative is a key component of a job. You must be willing to accept responsibility and take on new challenges.
- Self-control: As an Auto Electrician, your job requires you to maintain your composure, keep emotions under control, control anger and avoid aggressive behavior in difficult situations.
- Cooperation: As an Auto Electrician, your job requires you to be friendly with your coworkers and have a positive, cooperative attitude.
- Persistence: Despite all obstacles, persistence is essential for the job of an Auto Electrician. It is an essential skill greatly needed.
- Analytical Thinking: This job requires you to analyze information and use logic to solve work-related problems and issues.
- Achievement/Effort: As an Auto Electrician, your job requires you to set and maintain challenging goals for yourself and work hard towards mastering your tasks.
- Innovation: To be a successful innovator, you must have the ability to think outside of the box and come up with new solutions to problems that are related to your job.
- Stress tolerance: An Auto Electrician’s job requires you to accept criticism and deal calmly and effectively in stressful situations.
- Respect for others: This requires you to be sensitive to the needs and feelings of others and to be understanding and helpful in your work environment.
- Independence: This job requires one to develop one’s methods of doing things and to be able to rely on oneself for success.
- Social Orientation: As an Auto Electrician, your job requires you to be social and willing to share your knowledge with others.
- Repairing: Repairing machines and systems with the right tools
- Operation Monitoring: Watching the dials and other indicators to ensure that a machine works properly.
- Active listening: Paying attention to the words of others, taking the time to understand them, asking questions when necessary, and not interrupting.
- Installation: Installing equipment or machines, wiring, and programs to meet specifications.
- Equipment Maintenance: Perform routine maintenance on equipment, and determine when and how much maintenance is necessary.
- Time management skill: Time management is the ability to manage one’s time and that of others.
- Complex Problem Solving: Identifying and reviewing complex problems to identify and then evaluating the options to implement solutions.
- Reading comprehension: Reading and understanding written sentences and paragraphs within work-related documents.
- Verbal communication: Communicating information to others by speaking.
- Service orientation: Actively seeking out ways to help others.
- Coordinating: Adjusting actions relative to other actions.
- Quality Control Analysis: Conducting inspections and tests on products, services, or processes, to assess quality or performance.
- Judgment & Decision Making: To choose the best one, you must consider the relative benefits and costs of each action.
- Operation and Control skills: Controlling the operation of equipment or other systems.
- Effective writing skills: Effective communication in writing, as appropriate to the audience’s needs.
- Monitoring skills: To monitor/assess the performance of you, others, or an organization to make improvements and/or take corrective actions.
- Active Learning: Understanding and interpreting the implications of new information to solve current and future problems and make informed decisions.
- Persuasion: Persuading others into changing their mind or behavior.
- Negotiation skills: The act of bringing people together and trying to resolve differences.
- Computers and Electronics skills: Knowledge of circuit boards and processors, chips, and electronic equipment. Also, knowledge about computer hardware and software.
- Mathematical skills: The ability to understand arithmetic and algebra as well as geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Customer and interpersonal Services: Understanding the principles and processes of providing personal and customer services. This includes customer assessment, meeting service quality standards, and evaluating customer satisfaction.
- Engineering and Technological skills: Knowledge about the practical application of engineering science and technology. This involves the application of principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to design and produce various goods and services.
- Administration and Management skills: Knowledge of business principles and management that are involved in resource allocation, resource modeling, leadership technique, and production methods.
- Sales and Marketing skills: Knowledge of principles and techniques for selling, promoting, and selling products and services. This includes sales techniques and control systems, marketing strategies and tactics, product demonstrations, and sales techniques.
- Designing skills: The ability to use design tools and techniques to produce precise technical plans, blueprints, and drawings.
How to Become an Auto Electrician
While not all employers require formal education for auto electricians, they should be able to complete a program in automotive electrical systems or get certified through a technical school. The typical course content covers electronics, mechanics, electrical technology, and IT. On-the-job training is essential to complement classroom training. An apprenticeship or traineeship is necessary to ensure that junior auto electricians have all the skills and knowledge they need to repair autos.
While their job may be focused on electronics and electrical systems, auto electricians must also understand the mechanics of motors and vehicles. Auto electricians need to have basic mechanical skills to be able to work with vehicles. Auto electricians must also be proficient in the use of computer diagnostics equipment to detect faults and analyze them. A key skill is also the ability to use auto repair tools such as connectors, multimeters, terminal removal tools, and starters.
Auto electricians must continue to update their knowledge to be able to repair and maintain newer vehicles and systems efficiently.
Where to Work as an Auto Electrician
- Mechanics and repair shops.
- Automotive parts manufacturers.
- Transport companies.
- Industrial companies.
- Auto repair shops.
- Garages
- Car dealerships.
- MOT testing centers and car service centers.
Auto Electrician Salary Scale
The average annual salary for an Auto Electrician is $48,757 per year in the United States. Top earners (90th percentile), make $94,000 annually. Many factors affect the average salary of an Auto Electrician.
A Nigerian Auto Electrician typically earns 221,000 NGN per Month. Salaries can range from 101,000 NGN (lowest salary) to 630,000 NGN (highest average, highest maximum)