Electronic leak detectors are very useful tools for locating refrigerant leaks. These very sensitive devices should be used when available to pick up traces of refrigerant on and around the AC components. These tools should be used in an area with low airflow and with the engine and the AC system turned off. The key to using these tools is to allow the tip to pick up vapors of refrigerant, and if the shop had lots of airflow or if the engine and AC system were running, the leak would likely be hidden from the tool.
Electronic leak detectors are useful tools to find refrigerant leaks in the AC system. These tools have improved a great deal from the early days of electronic leak
The electronic leak detector tip should be slowly moved along the components of the AC system. The detector has an audible tone that will sharply increase when the tip picks up refrigerant
An electronic leak detector can often be used to find small leaks in the condenser assembly. It may be necessary to remove covers and shields to access challenging condenser
The electronic leak detector can be an effective tool to find leaks on AC system components that are in an area and can be reached with the tip of the tool. The disadvantage to this leak detection method is that some parts of the AC system are not able to be reached with this
The manifold set is a tool that is used to connect to the AC system to measure pressures. The left side of this tool has a quick-connect coupling attached to the blue hose, which is used to attach to the low side of the AC system. The right side of this tool has a quick-connect coupling attached to the red hose, which is used to attach to the high side of the AC
The operator of these electronic leak detectors should be very careful to keep from exposing the tip to dirt and grease. Foreign materials near the tip would cause the device to give false and inaccurate readings. It should also be noted that the operator of these devices should move very slowly throughout the AC system in order to not overlook very small leaks.
Another key strategy for using electronic leak detectors is to check each connection and component that was opened or worked with after each repair is made. This is an example of checking the quality of each repair that is performed. This is an important concept to remember because the AC system is always under pressure and the repair techniques need to be finished with high levels of accuracy and expertise.
