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Showing results for tags 'finding ac leak'.
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2010 Dodge Grand Caravan. I have never needed to add refrigerant before, but this Spring it was HOT in there. Added a can, and it was cold again, but not for long. Maybe a week at most. This vehicle has the rear A/C controls, and I assume that it also has a second condenser back there too, although not sure of that. Years ago I saw the refrigerant that includes dye, and I tried it out, but I apparently didn't read the part about needing a UV light to see the dye, so never saw anything, and didn't find the leak. I had already had some bad experiences with re-built A/C systems shelling out again pretty soon after the bill was paid, so that one I just drove it w/o A/C, like it was in the old days. (Except that modern cars are not built to drive with the windows down, so they are noisier than the ones from when A/C was still a luxury.) So, the question: How do you all go about finding a severe leak like this? I just watched a video this morning where a guy ran compressed air into the A/C system, then listened for the leak. (He had a headset and a microphone on a wand, so he could stick it down into hard to reach areas.) He just threaded an air chuck male connector onto his A/C gauge set, which, as he said, is not the same thread count, so he just had it on one or two turns, then wrapped a wide rubber band around the fitting area to reduce the air leak at that point. Gave me the idea of using an empty refrigerant can. I was about to use a drill to make a hole in the bottom when I thought about how much damage one little spec of steel could do, once it got into the compressor, so I used a punch. Started with a small one, then worked up to one that made a hole large enough to thread in the air coupler. That works fine for the low pressure requirements for this test. BUT, would you do it? I'm hesitant, because I've never heard of this idea before.
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- finding ac leak
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