Due to compressor damage, which has been occurring with increasing frequency for some time, air conditioning experts Waeco have issued an urgent warning about using forming gas for detecting leaks in vehicle air conditioning systems.

One of the many drawbacks of the forming gas leak detection method, which is of little use in practice, is that it does not indicate leakage at normal operating pressures or leakage due to vibrations, and more often than not the cause of a known leak cannot be identified. Compressor damage is the inevitable consequence. 

As a preventative method, leak detection using UV additives has instead been proven to provide the best results. Says Waeco’s lead developer, Franz-Josef Esch: “UV leak detection functions cumulatively and is therefore practically the genetic fingerprint when searching for leaks in the vehicle air conditioner.

“Furthermore, the UV leak detection process is approved by all major vehicle manufacturers and is also approved for alternative coolants currently being debated.”