Roadside mechanical breakdown
Most stoppages are not catastrophic failures — they are wear parts giving up a long way from a workshop. We replace drive belts and tensioners, water pumps, hoses and radiators, alternators and starter motors, and trace diesel leaks in the fuel circuit. We work on DAF, Volvo, Scania, Mercedes, MAN, Renault and Iveco.
A roadside mechanical failure is rarely sudden: it is the last link in a short chain (a weep, a dirty sensor, a belt at the end of its life) that had been warning for days. That is why the first job on the hard shoulder is not dismantling but reading: fault codes, fluid levels, visible belts and hoses.
The van carries full HGV diagnostics, a stabilised power supply so the ECU keeps its configuration while we work, and the spares this corridor actually consumes: belts, filters, thermostats, sensors and cab air-conditioning hoses.
What never to do
- Do not top up the coolant circuit with the engine hot
- Do not keep cranking — you will burn out the starter
- Do not pour in additives to seal a diesel leak
- Flashing warning light. A flashing engine light demands immediate derating: stop before something expensive melts.
How it works
First a full code read with truck-specific tooling, then hands-on inspection of everything around the flagged point: leaks, brackets, belt tension. If the fix is possible at the shoulder or in a nearby estate, we do it there with new parts, clear the memory and road-test to confirm nothing returns.
- 1Code read
HGV scanner across engine, brake and gearbox ECUs.
- 2Hands-on inspection
Leaks, belts, clamps and connectors around the reported fault.
- 3On-site repair
New parts fitted at the shoulder or a safe layby where feasible.
- 4Road verification
Memory cleared and drive test confirming the repair holds.
Item
Callout & diagnosis. 24 h dispatch + fault reading with proper truck equipment.
Never ignore an amber light: the gap between reaching a workshop and sitting on the hard shoulder is often exactly that warning ignored two hundred kilometres back.
AP-7 · La Jonquera
This is the first Spanish section of the AP-7: drivers coming down from northern Europe cross the border and within a few kilometres can go from French soil to a breakdown on the Le Perthus climb.
Border crossing and Spain's busiest heavy-freight point. Km 0-5: border access, La Jonquera service areas N/S. Dense traffic 24h.