Runs fine on test, fails under real load
A set that is only ever exercised unloaded proves nothing. Wet stacking on diesel units and fuel problems both hide until there is real load, which is what a load bank test exists to expose.
Electrical & LightingPriced as an emergency callout26,236 businesses licensed for it
Standby generator service and repair
A standby generator is insurance you only find out about at the worst moment, and the most common failure is a battery in a unit nobody exercised. Work covers scheduled exercise and service, batteries and charging, fuel condition and filters, automatic transfer switch faults, and load bank testing that proves the set carries the building rather than merely starting. It matters most where a power cut destroys stock or stops treatment: kitchens, vets, clinics and anywhere with a full freezer.
Enter your ZIP to see the businesses listed for this trade nearest to your site, with their phone numbers.
- Free to searchno account, nothing to submit
- Public registersevery listing names its source
- License numberswhere the state publishes one
- Directyou call the business yourself
- Our estimate
- $320-$6,000
- Time on site
- 2-10 hrs
- Fault patterns covered
- 2
- Businesses listed
- 26,236
What standby generator service and repair costs
Most of these jobs land near $780. The full spread runs $320 to $6,000, and the gap between those two ends is diagnosis against replacement rather than one business being dearer than another.
What moves it: how much of the job is parts, whether the fault is found in the first hour or the third, access to the equipment, and the hour of the day you call. We never speak to the businesses listed here, so there is no rate card behind any of this. It is our own band for the category, and there is no regional index: the figure does not change with your metro.
| How soon you need it | Typical | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled visitBooked in advance, no urgency multiplier applied | $780 | $320 to $6,000 |
| Same dayOur band multiplied by 1.12 | $875 | $360 to $6,720 |
| Emergency calloutOur band multiplied by 1.35 | $1,055 | $430 to $8,100 |
Our estimate from national cost bands, not a quote from any business. Every row is the same band with the urgency multiplier the site applies everywhere else, so this table can never contradict the headline number. Ask for a written price before the work starts.
Who is licensed to do this work
In California the classification that squarely covers this is C-10 electrical, and the register says who holds it. Every listing on this site shows the classification, the license number and the date we read it, with a link back to the register entry so you can check it against the state rather than against us.
One thing worth being plain about: CSLB classifications do not distinguish commercial work from residential. There is no separate commercial license to hold and no register field that would prove one. That is why this page describes the equipment rather than the contractor, and why nothing here says a business has been checked out. We read a public record on a stated date. That is the whole claim.
If it is down right now
Everything below is about our mechanism. We hold no hours for any business on this site, have never contacted one, and cannot tell you who is awake, so none of this is a promise that somebody answers.
- Enter the ZIP of your premises. We measure from that ZIP to the address each business filed with its licensing authority and keep everything inside 25 miles.
- The order is distance, nearest first. Nobody buys a position in it and there is nothing here to sell.
- If fewer than three businesses clear the filters, the ring steps out toward 75 miles and the page tells you it widened. The distances you then see are the real ones.
- Each listing carries the phone number the register publishes. You call it yourself. We have no phone line, take no fee and pass nothing on.
- Our band for an emergency callout is the category band multiplied by 1.35. That multiplier is ours and describes our estimate, not a rate anybody has quoted.
Before you pay for a callout
Two minutes of checks that sometimes end the problem
We would rather you did not need a callout at all. These are the checks that end the most calls for this fault.
Try a quick fix first
Some issues resolve without a truck roll. Two minutes now can save the callout.
- 1
Check the battery and the charger first. A flat or unmaintained battery is the single most common reason a standby set does not start, and it is the cheapest thing on the unit.
- 2
Look at the controller for a stored fault. Most sets log why they failed, and that log is worth more than a description over the phone.
- 3
Confirm the set is in automatic. Units left in off or manual after a service do not start when the power goes, and it is a routine and expensive discovery.
- 4
If it runs but nothing in the building comes on, the problem is the transfer switch rather than the generator, and that is a different part of the visit.
What the visit actually includes
- Controller fault log read and starting system diagnosis
- Battery, charger and connection test
- Oil, filter and fuel service to the manufacturer schedule
- Automatic transfer switch operation test
- Load test with a written record of what it carried
Diagnosis
How generator faults usually present
Written from how these faults actually present on a working premises, not from a manual.
Diesel that has been in the tank for years
Fuel degrades and grows microbial contamination, and filters plug at the worst moment. Fuel polishing and a service interval fixes it. Topping the tank up does not.
Listed for this trade
Businesses listed for generator
Read from public license registers, so there is no ranking here and no distance: this page has no location to measure from. Enter your ZIP to sort by who is nearest to your site.
By location
Standby generator service and repair near you
Local pages show which businesses are listed for that metro, how far out they sit, and the local conditions that drive demand.
Counted from the businesses we have imported for each metro center inside a 25 mile radius, and counting only those whose own license classification names this trade. General contractors licensed widely enough to take it on and subcontract it are excluded here, and still appear in a search. A metro reads “none yet” until we load a register that covers this trade there.
All coverage areasQuestions owners ask
Generator FAQs
Short, specific answers. If yours is not here, ask the business you call before you agree to the visit.
How often should a standby generator be exercised?
Manufacturers generally specify a run every week or month and an annual service. Where the generator is a life-safety requirement, your fire authority sets a stricter schedule and wants the records.
Do I need a load bank test?
If the set protects stock, patients or animals, yes, periodically. A start test proves the engine runs. A load test proves the building stays on.
Who is licensed for this?
The electrical connection and the transfer switch are C-10 work in California. The engine service is often done by a manufacturer's dealer instead, so a full service frequently involves both.
Related work
Often booked in the same visit
Batching jobs into one mobilization is the cheapest way to buy this kind of work.
Power lossPart of the premises dead, breakers that will not stay in, and no power at all.from $200PanelFailed breakers, hot panels, no spare ways and service upgrades for new equipment.from $280LightingDead fittings, flickering tubes, failed drivers, emergency lights and LED retrofits.from $160OutletsDead sockets, tripping GFCIs, scorched outlets and circuits for new equipment.from $160
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Ready when you are
Need generator sorted?
Search your ZIP to see the businesses listed for this trade nearest to your site, with the license numbers and phone numbers we hold, then call them yourself.
- Cost to search
- Free
- Account needed
- None
- Who you call
- The business