Dye Injector

[airefresco]

I have a Renault Clio that´s got a decent leak on it somewhere, but my electronic detector not finding it. Anyway to try and find the leak I bought this dye kit,

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/UV-DYE-OIL-AIR-CON-CONDITIONING-IN-LINE-INJECTOR-NEW_W0QQitemZ280431990712QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_3?hash=item414b0c97b8#ht_1097wt_939
I didn´t buy of ebay, it´s just the same as that. Anyway, the thing doesnt come with instructions, so has anyone got ones of these? I can´t work out how you are supposed to get the dye in, without getting air in the system at the same time. Can anyone help please?

Thanks,
paul..

[thebigcheese]

you connect the injector on with the nitrogen or refrigerant and charge it in

[monkey spanners]

I'd vac the system out and break the vacuum to 1 or 2 psi, leave hose on car and disconnect from gauges.
Fit this hose onto the tap of the injector that you have already put the die in, tap shut. connect hose on injector onto gauges, vac out injector. connect R134a to gauges, open taps and wash in dye, liquid will work much better so maybe best to put into high side or wait a while before running system up.

[airefresco]

I'd vac the system out and break the vacuum to 1 or 2 psi, leave hose on car and disconnect from gauges.
Fit this hose onto the tap of the injector that you have already put the die in, tap shut. connect hose on injector onto gauges, vac out injector. connect R134a to gauges, open taps and wash in dye, liquid will work much better so maybe best to put into high side or wait a while before running system up.

That´s pretty much how I figured it worked, but does the dye get pulled into the vac pump or the gauge line going to the vac pump or does it stay in the dye chamber?

cheers
paul..

[monkey spanners]

It should stay in the injector, so long as you are vacing out the top of it, just like the oil stays in a compressor when vacing. Wear gloves and goggles, the stuff gets everywhere :D and clean off any spills on the car when you have finished or you won't be sure its not leaking when you check with the uv lamp later.

[sedgy]

hi all , I read somewere that you fridge lads used ofn or something for leak testing can you tell me what that is please.

[monkey spanners]

hi all , I read somewere that you fridge lads used ofn or something for leak testing can you tell me what that is please.

Hi Sedgy,

Its basically just nitrogen (which is mostly what air is made of) with no oxygen in it, so you can pressure and or leak test and then let it out with out harm to the enviroment. Be carefull though as if you are working in a confined space a lot of ofn can reduce the available oxygen and result in you passing out or worse :confused:

You can leak test by pressurising the sytem to a safe pressure and looking for a leak with your electronic leak detector if the system has any residual refrigerant in it or listening for leaks and using leak spray.

It is useful to use when brazing to prevent copper oxides forming inside the pipe by passing a small amount through the pipe as its brazed.

Once you've used it you'll wonder how you ever worked without it :D

Monkey ;)

[airefresco]

Cheers for the help. I´ll give it a go and see how much of a mess I can make. :P

[airefresco]

An update. Well I give it a go today and the good news is the leak was found within half an hour (on the condenser if anybody is interested), I didn´t spill any dye at all. I got a little drop on my hand (from taking the gloves off) and that was it. The bad news is the dye did pull back through my gauges and into the vac pump. My sight glass on my gauges and vac pump in now iluminous green, and the ends of my gauge lines are too. At least I found the leak.

[Clk320_Greg]

That die gets everywhere! I dont bother with it any more, mainly because most new cars now come with it added and when they get a leak it sprays the entire engine bay with the dye and you cant see where it started!

Normally Nitrogen finds any leak (perticularly if you do this some where quiet you can hear it) and the only time it didnt find it was on a compressor that was leaking from the seal, but would only leak when it was running!

[harrykica84]

how much did the dye kit cost?

[airefresco]

I think it was about 80€ for the dye and Injector tool.

[jcook1982]

I use the Dye injector tool to add pentane to the ULT Freezers I work on.. No Dye..

[Gingerair]

hi all , I read somewere that you fridge lads used ofn or something for leak testing can you tell me what that is please.

Sedgy, whatever you do, DO NOT PRESSURE TEST WITH OXYGEN !!!

It reeeally doesn't mix well with oil/grease under pressure, in fact standard PTFE shouldn't even be used on any connections for oxygen due to it's oil content..