Quote:
Originally Posted by rainman
Not to sure exactly what u are asking but here goes.
Most coolents contain a fluorescent die, when illuminated but uv light it glows, or fluoresces.
So when you shine a black light into the engine bay (esp at night)any leaks, still wet or even ones that have dried, stand out like the proveribal dog balls.
So all you need is a black light source, you can get light bulbs that will go in your inspection lamp, but a tourch for less than $5 bucks deliverd from China- seemed easiest and cheapest option- you do have to wait a month for it to arrive though.
Sometimes the ac system has a fluorescent dye in it to help with leak detection as well.
On a side note, Shining a black light around yr back yard at night can be interesting. Also if you have young boys, shining it around the toilet at night is a bit of a eye opener 😁.
http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/Camping-H...+torch&_sop=12
Hope that answers the question. |
Well I got my blacklight and was able to identify an overheating issue that has been bugging me for a month. Thanks for the tip rainman.
My problem was as follows:
Six weeks ago I went on holidays. I did the usual servicing and prechecks prior to leaving. I even rewired my twin electric fan system that only activated with the high temp signal, to the junglejuice two speed system.
So I'm 1500kms from home. 400kms from the nearest town where I could get spare parts. I've been traveling for four days with temperatures in the low 30's. Then one day it hit 42 when, pow! Out of the blue, on comes the check guages warning and the temp guage is off the scale. The radiator was boiling. So I waited for it to cool down. I was unable to identify a problem. Topped it up with water. Rewired both fans straight to the battery so they are always high speed and then drive slowly back to camp. When it cooled down, still unable to identify the problem, I removed the thermostat for the drive into the next town. I was thinking it might have been the radiator cap not holding the pressure. So I picked up a new one and installed it. Off I go to the next camp site and its boiling again!
Now things are getting serious. Not even half way into the holiday and I'm thinking I might have to limp home. Looking at the car again for possible problems, I decided that I would reconnect the fans to the dual speed system. It was then I discovered when I had rewired the system, I had reversed the polarity on one of the fans. Instead of pulling air through it was trying to push air into the radiator against the incoming air. Stupid!!! No wonder it boiled over.
So I fixed this and continued driving happy I had fixed the issue. Which was a good thing as we were heading for mid 40's up the road.
Alas, I hadn't fixed it. I suspected it was a leak - but where? I worked out that if I sat on about 80km/h, I could get home with no more boiling over.
Now that I'm home, I hosed off the motor and drove it around a couple of days getting it nice and hot. Last night I got out the blacklight and I confirmed a small leak around the water pump. Yahoo! I wouldn't have picked this up without a blacklight. I'm keeping one in the toolbox now!
Interestingly, the first thing I did was check the dipstick for water. It glowed green! Oh no. Water in the oil. But, when I was under the car, I knew of a small oil leak from the rear main seal, this also glowed green. So I got out some fresh motor oil and discovered manufacturers put something florescent in their oil. You learn something every day😃
I'm not fixing it, I'm improving it!
Really here we go again the transmission is 3000 k since a $3500 rebuild I have poured $$$$ into this Cherokee Stupid Me I suppose but never the less the Tranny is good and as far as trying to diagnose over the internet I have no choice out here in central Queensland the only mechanics in town are scared of anything more than a landcruiser hilux or a commodore its sad so I have to do it myself!
