How to find leak when the A/C system is empty
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 มิ.ย. 2024
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What a great no-nonsense video! No loud music, right to the point! Thank you!
i see u are getting better after your stroke. im in the same boat. progress is slow but progress is seen. never give up never surrender
May you both bless good health.
Hello Vinny, You are exactly right, it is hard, slow, and frustrating, but we as techs are used to that aren't we. FYI, I'm now at 3 years post and still making improvements. Stay strong friend
@@realfixesrealfast stroke ? oh,man, hope you make it ok for many years from now on; control that blood pressure,low salt bla bla bla; i'm no doctor,just 67 yo; we love your videos,the most professional there are; and we love your way of explaining things;
** OUTSTANDING** thanks ,gretings from Porto,Portugal,Europe, my old home town (after 20 years cheaply fixing Jags -XJ6, XJS,XJ40- for the drug boys in NY and NJ lol ).
@@josepeixoto3384 Thanks for your comments. I am 4 years post stroke now and doing well. I will probably never be the same physically, some of that is stroke and some of it is simply age. I'm retired now from working at my shop but I still teach at the local college. Thanks again.
@@realfixesrealfast Good to see you again in action, always you have something to teach us,I appreciate your time and knowledge.
I just use a rubber-tipped air nozzle directly on the manifold feed (yellow hose) inlet to put about 70 PSI in the system, close the manifold valves, then spray the hoses and connections with soapy water. Where you see bubbles is where you got troubles.
Great tip
Unless you’re using nitrogen that’s a quick way to introduce noncondensables into the system, causing head pressure issues.
@@levigreen9562 Once I've found and solved the leak, I just pull a vacuum on the system for 30 minutes and proceed as normal. That's introducing ZIP into the system.
@@JohnnyTalia unless you’re removing the refrigerant oil and pulling down past 300 microns you’re definitely introducing noncondensables into the system. All of that will settle in the condenser causing high head pressure, which in turn will cause high suction pressure and raise the overall supply air temperature of the system. You might not notice it the first time but if you do it that way multiple times you will eventually have a total loss of cooling capacity.
I saw someone using compressed nitrogen instead of shop air, to avoid introducing moisture, etc., then use the soapy water. He was a home mechanic but did AC servicing often enough for friends, etc. to make it worth having a small-ish bottle on hand. His N bottle was charged to around I think 2,000 psi and regulated down to ~180 psi to hook to the manifold.
I really appreciated the amount of words you used. You didn't talk excessively but you definitely included enough detail to understand completely what you're saying. You also didn't have a long involved introduction and started the substantial parts of your video quickly. This is a skill that TH-camrs with a million subscribers do not have. I will definitely watch more of your videos, as needed.
Thanks for noticing, welcome to my channel
Great video Duane 👍. Here is another tip you could use a long hose to hear 👂 to pinpoint where the air leak is coming from. 🙏👋
Dear Mr. Duane, alternatively, technicians in the middle east use a small bucket with soap water and sponge where they use the sponge to spread condensed soap over all potential AC leaking places while the system is under about 150 PSI air pressure. Thank you for such a wonderful videos. Take Care and Enjoy Your Heaven. John Jack Kaplanian.
If like me you are a welder and have a CO2 bottle and regulator, you can tap off the regulator into the 1/4" threaded female port with a 1/4 MPT X refrigeration flare fitting, then you hook the gauge hoses directly to it use the regulator to control the flow and pressure.
Never never use oxygen to pressurize anything that has oil in it, it can cause a serious explosion, that is why on oxygen gauges it says Use no oil.
Using compressed air is not a great idea because compressed air contains moisture, moisture is not good in refrigeration or AC systems.
I am also a Refrigeration tech I would use CO2 and soapy water to check for larger leaks, we flow it through the system when brazing connections it prevents soot from forming in the lines and also does not contain moisture like compressed air so it does not contaminate your oil with moisture and is easier to evacuate with a vacuum pump. Most people do not know this, but when you pull a vacuum on a system, it lowers the boiling point of moisture or water and the water will actually boil at room temperature , not only will it boil, but if you could touch it while it was boiling, it would be boiling at 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
When I went to HVAC/ Refrigeration school our teacher had a jar with a HVAC gauge port brazed to the lid, inside was a Nyquil plastic does measuring cup with water in it. He asked any of us if we wanted to bet he could not make water boil at room temp, he then hooked up the vacuum pump to the jar, after about 20 minutes the water started bubbling to a boil, He asked someone to come up and put their finger in the water right after opening the jar, I remember the guy was shocked because the water was freezing cold. It was boiling with the heat from the room around 72 degrees Fahrenheit and the boiling temp of the water was 32 degrees. Crazy huh.
That is physics, lower the pressure on a liquid and it lowers the boiling point. That is why they pull a vacuum on any AC system if it has lost it's Freon, otherwise moisture will mix with the refrigerant and the oil in the system which creates an acid that eats the windings and all the moving parts in the system and if moisture is inside a refrigerator or freezer sealed system, when the moisture hits the metering device, it can freeze and cause a restriction. Pulling a vacuum sucks out air moisture and all non condensables.
Great insight nd knowledge. Thanks for adding your knowledge.
@@realfixesrealfast I wish you good health, you are kind sir.
@@melfrank8379 thank you
@@realfixesrealfast You're welcome, you are the good in the world! Helping others
" Crazy huh. That is physics, lower the pressure on a liquid and it lowers the boiling point. " That's why you have to boil food longer when you're up on a mountain--lower atmospheric pressure--lower boiling temperature..
I want to thank you for such a helpful video. I installed a new evaporator core in my 2005 Avalon last week. When I vacuumed the system it would not hold pressure. Using your method I found that the leak was coming from the new evaporator core! I returned it and when I installed another new one it’s sealed up perfectly.
I never would’ve guessed the brand new part had a manufacturing defect but obviously it did. Thank you so much.
you are welcome, glad it helped, thanks for commenting
Always love your videos Duane. Your experience is unmatched! Thank you for sharing.
Thanks, I appreciate your comments
Duane you’re a real hero. The fitting to use into your charging hose is 1/4” flare by 1/4” npt. This channel saved me a few times thanks for everything you do.
Mark, thanks for your comments.
Great! Glad to see you making a new video. Keep them coming Duane...
Sir, among all the 'professional mechanics' out there, only you provided a workable solution. I found my AC leak in seconds after applying the shop hose. Bravo!
Glad it helped, thanks for commenting
Thanks for this. I went so far as to machine my air fitting with 7/16 20 threads for a leak free connection. It took no time to find my Suburban rear a/c line was leaking back at a mounting bracket at the rear wheel. I'm in the rust belt so it was of little surprise. It took minutes to find the leak. I repaired the line, vacuumed it down, and refilled. Fixed the a/c in a few hours. Thanks!!!!
good work, thanks foe adding your comments
Thanks Duane. I always enjoy your videos and learn something.
I've been watching you for many years, Ive always appreciated your skill. Keep them coming
Thanks, I appreciate you taking the time to comment
Mr Duane, you are AWESOME always enjoyable learning from u thank you and appreciate the time it took to do this. cheeeeers
Thank you for the information but the way glad to see you recovered very well.john
Thank you for saving me $35 for dye, the air was free and it worked. I used a few of your videos for other repairs , as always they are easy to understand
Absolutely awesome. Love the old school way of doing repairs. I would listen to you any day!
That's exactly why I go to his channel. The most thoughtful and resourceful way of doing things are here. This man is a true blessing!!
There are good mechanics & then there are "great" ones. You are one of them mister!!👍
Thanks, I appreciate your comments
Thanks for your help and videos good luck on your recovery 👍
Yes, I've had a system hold perfect vacuum but fail the pressure test. The system runs with pressure, test it that way! Great video!
Once again thank you very much for All The tips you given ...bless you.
Really like your very straightforward, simple approach. No fancy dancy stuff. Just practical stuff that works. And you explain it in terms I can understand. Thank you
Thanks for your comments
Thank you for all your hard work and sharing your wealth of knowledge: You make learning interesting and fun , Thank You
Every time I watch, I learn something new. Can't express my appreciation for the content.
thank you for your great wisdom and common sense approach to this problem !!! greatly appreciated !!!!!!
Great video Duane, thank you! I bought the tool too.
I am from Russia and I just love this channel. I hope you will be better and better after the stroke. Keep moving and keep working. Wish you everything good.
Thanks, I appreciate you taking the time to comment
Great video, and a good straight forward way to find a leak! I like to light a cigar or cigarette, though I rarely smoke, they are in my toolbox. Take and blow smoke into the charge port, then simply look for where it comes out. It works well for vaccum leaks as well.
Lol, I just use some smoke bombs.
Common sense approach, thank you Sir for sharing.
Great tip, thanks for sharing with us! Look forward to putting it to use!
Well well
This was the quick method I was looking for. Thanks. Godspeed to you
GREAT VIDEO, Duane ! I had replaced my compressor, but couldn't get the system into a vacuum. Using this technique I QUICKLY found a loose fitting on my gauge set ! BLOWING COLD NOW ! THANK YOU !!
I like your critical thinking and how it worked for you
Duane, you are the ultimate teacher 🧑🏫 your videos are always a learning experience. Nice job.
Great as always thanks for sharing your knowledge
Mr fix it ....u probably know this but u can get a 1/4 npt male thread to male schrader fitting ....works great for what your doing....
Got two family (extended) members .....dad n daughter had a stroke at the same time....tough to watch....comeback is not easy...your a great teacher...
I just did this exact thing on my Expedition and found my leak. Perfect trick - thanks for sharing!
Think I could use snoop
(Soapy water)
As a tech in this beautiful yet challenging field I can say we never stop learning and you sir have shown this old dog s few new tricks, thank you for that and Keep the videos coming.
you're welcome, and thanks for commenting
@@realfixesrealfast great video!!...I didn't see the link in the subscription for the tool. Please put it there. I would LOVE to get one! Thanks!!
@@joebrone here is the link. steelmantools.com/products/engineear-stethoscope
@@realfixesrealfast I am so sorry. It was there. I am blind...Thanks again!!
Thank You Sir ! I been doing A/C systems for years. now thanks to your video I'll be saving time and money. i will discontinue the use of nitrogen to find a/c system leaks.
WHY? Nitrogen is the GO TO accepted tool for pressure testing and DOES NOT INTRODUCE WATER OR OTHER CONTAMINANTS. EVER DRAIN A COMPRESSOR? EVER LOOK AT WHAT COMES OUT?
Good tip I always wondered if I could do this safely. By the way...those birds wanted to be famous on TH-cam
I just finished the job on my 2008 Honda Fit! I did exactly what you said and aired up the system into the green zone on my A/C gauge and when it was getting close to the red zone I unhooked it and carryed my air compressor to the back side of my house, so I wouldn't hear the air hissing. I crawled around the engine compartment with a bottle of windex. I could hear a slow his and sprayed windex on it and it turned out that my condenser had a leak right in the middle of it. My system only held pressure for 5 minutes. I then filled the system back up with air until it was in the green and started my car and turned on the A/C. The A/C clutch engaged then and then I knew my low pressure switch was working. After the system lost pressure the low pressure switch disengaged the A/C clutch. Thank you so much!
good job, thanks for commenting
An absolute pleasure to listen to... thank you, SIR~
Great video and troubleshooting! Thank you for posting
Great video. I learned several good concepts! Thanks for your insights!!
Excellent video! Thank you!😀👍
Smart guy you are mr. Thank you by you video and tricks about the AC.
Worked for me found a leak in the condensor, i knew the threads would be wrong but didn't think about just trying anyway, really only needed to get air into the system, then i disconnected and listened. prefect.
Very professional and clear. Thank you.
This is exactly the information I needed. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks.... I always learn something
You sure saved me a bunch of time and money. Thank you sir!
you're welcome
Now that is a fantastic idea! Thanks, Duane! 👍🏻 🍻
Glad it helped, thanks for your comments.
Great tricks as always thank you so much sir
Thanks for all your videos they are always on point all real
Good to see you again. Thank you for helping me with my AC
Thank you for making this video!!!!🙇🏻♀️
Thanks a lot for this film. I also need to check most likely empty AC system. I even thought it is not possible. What a brilliant idea. I have one car in which AC stopped blowing cold air. It is our back up car, and since the attempts to repair it at dealer failed, we let it go like that without AC. It was 10 years ago, so most likely the AC system is empty, if it was a leak there. Dealer was complaining w/leak on the compressor seal they installed. They replaced the compressor like 2-3 times, but again it failed. Last time they wrote that the compressor is leaking at the central seam. Probably they had defective compressors or smth. I plan to attempt to repair that AC, since learned a bit about cars.
Thank you for another great video.
Good morning family and thank you very much for the valuable information and for your time 🙏👍🏼👍🏼.
I discovered my truck AC had a pretty major leak when one day it worked and the next had nothing It was a pretty bad leak as vacuum applied was lost in a few minutes of leakdown time.
Thought of how could I pressurize the system w/o wasting refrigerant. Thought of using my air compressor, searched internet, found your video and your video did the rest. One suggestion, somewhere along the line I got a cheapo plastic ac can valve/adapter and used that to connect to the air compressor and since it was plastic I used a bit of thread tape and screwed the air compressor adapter in hard cuz did not care about ruining the threads since I have 2 other can valve/adapters that are both brass. Used long fuel funnel as my hearing aid, found the leak fast, lol. Thank you again for good ideas. Wish I could post a pic of the refrigerant can valve I screwed the compressor fitting into, it worked a treat, including having the ability to turn the air on or off.
thanks,happy to see you well .
amazing educational video, keep it up!
Thank you Duane. Glad to see your doing ok. Richard's Mobile Auto and Air. Thumbs up. Great Video
Thanks, I appreciate it
Great tip there. Thanks for sharing!!
Love his work
thank you sir for making this great video.
Excellent! Thank you for the great video!
So simple I never would have thought of it. Took me all of 3 minutes to find my leak. Thank you soooo much
And you ruined your system inserting compressed (moist) air into it. Not the way to go. One should use nitrogen instead.
@@hilkolieberwerth3495 just pull a proper vacuum after and before recharging it
Wonderful explanation. Great video as always.
Not supposed to put air into Ac system to fine leak. Why? Because it has moisture. You use nitrogen.
Not supposed to put air into Ac system to fine leak. Why? Because it has moisture. You use nitrogen. .
Ray Charles could’ve seen that leak point! But very good technique. Love your videos they’re very informative thanks!
That's hilarious I had an HVAC/R instructor in the Air Force who would use that. "Ray Charles, Clarence Carter and Stevie Wonder could clearly see..." haha
I'm sure he saw where it was leaking before applying air and decided to use this as a teaching tool.
Great video, good ole air trick👍
Great videos sir! Keep it up brother!
I don't know what my A/C problem is just yet, but I must say...outstanding video!
Thank you
Excellent video…creative and cheap!
cool little black tape and I’m in the money ! $475 + tape ! I meant parts ! I’m kidding your born to teach - keep it coming.
Thank you for this brief and top notch presentation.
real life experience is very refreshing in a youtube full of 20 year olds that think they know everything. Thanks for this priceless knowledge.
Thanks for your comments, I appreciate them
Just what I was looking for! Your my kinda guy!
Thank you sir!
Good video Duane!
Thank you sir. 20 PSI out of the compressor was plenty for me to hear and see soapy bubbles from a spray bottle to find leaks
I dont know why I didnt think of this! Thank you!
now that is a good tip or trick. I have a leak in my darango, now i know how to find. don't know if i have any kind of pressure, but will find out. if no pressure now i know what to do.. thank you so much. have a great day
Thank you so much! I was able to find my leak right away with this method!! 😊
Very helpful video.
Thank you Sir 👍
Nice. Just what i needed. Thanks.
Good video Duane keep safe
Thanks buddy. found out the evap was leaking using your trick with my compressor. Time to tear into the dash
Thank you so much for posting this!
I love that the old school guys call the refrigerant freon it makes me smile :)
You got that right lol Dupont
I'm 21 and I call it freon, lol
I call it "that cooly stuff". I am old.
I bought a yellow hose that had the correct fitting on it to take a QR connector. Seemed worthwhile to allow cheap and environmentally friendly testing. Other than that minor difference, this is a great technique for leak diagnosis. The system will be full of moisture if it has a cracked pipe so I don’t see the issue with using shop air.
May I know where to find that yellow hose? I have one car in which AC stopped blowing cold air. It is our back up car, and since the attempts to repair it at dealer failed, we let it go like that without AC. It was like 10 years ago, so most likely the AC system is empty, if it was a leak there. Dealer was complaining w/leak on the compressor seal (or gasket) they installed. They replaced the compressor like 2-3 times, but again it failed. Last time they wrote that the compressor is leaking at the central seam. Probably they had defective compressors or smth. I plan to attempt to repair that AC. Thank you for your comment, I also thought it should be a direct fitting.
@@olenaerhardt7725 - The hose mentioned above is a 1/4bsp to 1/4sae flare vacuum pump hose fill bleed hose adaptor, which was bought on eBay. But it’s no use on it’s own. You’ll also still need the a/c manifold, the vacuum pump, the compressor, etc as well as this. The hose that I’m describing just allows the system to be pressurised with compressed air to pressure test it all before vacuuming it and refilling with refrigerant gas.
@@daveys Thank you for your replay. I have all those devices, Sir. I do a lot on our cars, just never worked on AC, though bought some equipment a while ago. I think I need NPT (National Pipe Thread), bcs I'm in US, and BSP is for British Standard Pipe. So actually I need just an adapter, since I have all three hoses in my Pittsburgh AC Manifold Gauge Set. I think I would need to use Smoke Machine though, since the dealer couldn't fix the leak in the compressor, so that leak will be small I assume. They found the leak in the compressor seal, put a new compressor, then again compressor seal leak, new compressor, new leak in the central seam of the compressor this time. New compressor, AC stopped blowing cold air again, I lost hope and didn't go back anymore. It was our back up car, so we just forgot about that AC. All that happened 10 years ago, so I think the system is empty. I'll try to check today w/the Gauge kit I have. Thank you again for the explanations. Now I see the picture clearly: Pressurized Test, Vacuum, Refill.
Thanks for the tip sir.
Your videos are the best
Great tip. I bought a new delphi compressor. It was missing the back brass nut. found it easily with your method, thanks
The old skill never die. Thanks to recall my memory.
This in a great video! Thank you, sir.
I stuck a schrader valve (from a bicycle tube) in a hose that I cut off of a can of AC Pro®. Then I held it together with a hose clamp.
Putting air into the system was as easy as filling your tires.
Very good sir. I was trying to think of a way that check for a leak without charging with refrigerant/dye.
Thanks you sir. Very useful information.
Good job 👍, thanks for the tip.
Just recently had one that held vacuum perfectly.
Held 125 psi perfectly.
Leaked at 175 psi
Never any dye anywhere.
Heater hose makes a good stethoscope.