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Find AC leak

Best way to find AC leak

How to find AC leaks

If you’ve recharged the A/C in your car and it’s now blowing warm air, you’re probably wondering how to find AC leak. Pros use two methods: an electronic leak detector and AC leak detection dye.

How to use an electronic AC leak detector

To use an electronic detector to find A/C leak, first fill the system with

Find AC leak

Electronic AC leak detector

refrigerant. Then slowly pass the detector around the most common leak sites. The electronic leak detector will light up and beep to indicate a leak. The advantage of an electronic leak detector is that you can start testing as soon as you fill the system.

How to use dye to find an AC leak

To find A/C leak with dye you must inject into the system in one of two ways: when the system is empty, or using an injector tool. Your best bet is to buy an entire kit

The kit contains everything you need to inject dye and find the leak.

Tracerline A/C leak detection kit

The kit contains everything you need to inject dye and find the leak.

with the dye, injector, black light, and goggles. The injector tool screws onto a charging port and forces the dye into the system when it already has a refrigerant charge. After injecting the dye, operate the vehicle for several days to allow the dye to escape near the leak. Then use a black light to spot the glow emitted from the dye.

I’ve used both methods to find A/C leak. An electronic A/C leak detector can be fooled if you’ve used any spray cleaners recently. However, A/C leak detection dyes are pretty foolproof. If your black light spots a leak, it’s not lying.

Can you fix an AC leak with leak sealer?

AC leak sealer works in some cases. Read this before you install any AC leak sealer product.

©, 2015 Rick Muscoplat

Posted on by Rick Muscoplat

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