Smoke Pro Overview

locating leaks with smoke is not a new technology it's been used for hundreds of years for a variety of purposes it was not until about eight years ago that this technology was adopted by automotive technicians across the globe as the fastest and most accurate way to locate common leak sources found in today's automobiles smoke machines save time because they locate leaks fast finally there's an affordable smoke machine that is simple and inexpensive to operate redline detection is proud to introduce the smoke Pro total tech the smoke Pro is simply the finest smoke machine available to the automotive technician today with only one button and one knob it is the smart choice for any shop and can perform evap vacuum exhaust and many other types of testing because of its compact design it can be hung under the hood when testing for vacuum leaks or evaporative system leaks or it may be hung from the chassis when looking for under car leaks and when you're done finding leaks with your smoke Pro it stores easily out of your way because the smoke Pro operates on common medicinal mineral oil or baby oil there is no need to purchase expensive smoke compounds the bright halogen inspection light illuminates the smoke exiting the leaks and is an essential aid the smoke Pro utilizes a zero to thirty inches of water pressure gauge to verify the output pressure of the machine this gauge is also helpful while performing pressure decay testing and verifying an evap repair the smoke Pro also features a flow control valve flow control valve serves two purposes first this valve allows the operator to adjust the amount of smoke exiting the leak making it easier to pinpoint its exact location second the flow control valve allows the operator to perform pressure decay testing by simply closing the valve to isolate the system and then reading the pressure drop on the gauge this feature is very helpful in testing the evap system for leaks if a leak too small to show up on the flow meter ever trips a code or causes other problems in the future it can be detected using this pressure decay method this means your smoke Pro will not become obsolete the smoke Pro has an internally fixed pressure of 12 to 14 inches of water column this is the approved evap test pressure the smoke Pro can never exceed this pressure another valuable feature of the smoke Pro is the integrated flow meter at a glance the operator can verify of smoke is flowing into the system under test the smoke Pro incorporates a tamper proof in-line regulator that regulates the input air pressure to the flow meter at 90 psi at this pressure the operator can quickly verify the size of a leak in the evap system point zero twenty leaks will register about 0.1 liters per minute a point zero 40 leak will register at about 0.5 liters per minute the smoke Pro is simple to hookup and easy to operate just connect the machine to compressed air and clip the power leads to the vehicle's battery the green light indicates you are hooked up to the car battery the red light indicates you are in a smoke cycle push the silver button to start a five minute smoke cycle and press this button again to stop the smoke cycle at any time and that's all there is to it we're ready to start testing let's take a look at a few typical leaks and how to find them the most commonly found in automobiles is a vacuum leak a vacuum leak can range from a leaky intake manifold to a rotten or broken vacuum line or fitting to a climate control leak under the dashboard let's go over the basic hookup of the smoke probe to locate vacuum leaks first we must find the source to introduce the smoke into the system a good choice is the brake booster vacuum supply line because every car has one and it doesn't disturb anything else in the system we must also seal the intake so that smoke cannot escape back through the open intake path the yellow cap plugs provided will seal most applications in the event that the intake is troublesome to seal a piece of saran wrap or a latex glove and a rubber band will do the job in most cases a quick tip to seal the intake is to cover the sealing surface of the air filter with plastic wrap and reinstall the air filter this method will not seal airtight but is sufficient to create a positive pressure within the car's intake system don't forget to remove the plastic wrapped after the test another good choice is the air inlet tube using the exhaust cone adapter provided plug this tube and introduce the smoke through the small hose in the center of the exhaust cone this method is simple and should be the first choice whenever possible it's not uncommon to find oil leaks above fluid level while looking for vacuum leaks but think about it these oil leaks are vacuum leaks until now exhaust leaks have been difficult to pinpoint because they had to be located with the engine running small exhaust leaks tend to go away as the engine warms up due to thermal expansion the smoke Pro will find even the smallest leak in the exhaust system with the engine off and the system cold exhaust leaks are simple to find with the smoke probe using the supplied exhaust cone adapter simply install the exhaust cone into the vehicles tailpipe and insert the smoke supply nozzle into a toes now just turn on the smoke supply and look for the leak using the supplied halogen lamp about 20 million cars today are driving around with check engine lights on a large percentage is evap codes caused by leaks which can be fixed easily with a smoke probe these repairs bring big profits to your business some of the most common trouble codes confronting technicians today are related to a leaking condition in the evap or a fuel vapor recovery system until now these leaks have been difficult at best to locate and repair let's go over how easy it is to locate these troublesome evap leaks with the smoke Pro first locate the evap service port most 96 and newer cars have one and it usually has a green cap remove the Schrader valve using the tool provided note that the Schrader valve has left hand threads and must be turned clockwise to remove if the vehicle does not have a service port it may be necessary to remove the vent line to the gas tank at the charcoal canister another way is to tee into the evaporative emissions a door near the purge valve without bypassing the purge valve next install the service port adapter provided and insert the smoke pros nozzle into the short hose leading from the service board adapter we're now ready to begin testing the evap system if the vehicle is equipped with a vent solenoid that's normally open it is necessary to close this Silla node using your scan tool before pressurizing the evap system sometimes it is also possible to pinch or plug the lines near the vents to seal the system with the smoke Pro connected to the vehicle's battery and a compressed air source simply open the flow control valve and watch the pressure increase on the pressure gage take a look at the flow meter to see if air is flowing through the system remember a leak rate of 0.2 m/s trol valve and look at the pressure gauge if the pressure in the system is decreasing a leak exists and we will now find it with smoke be sure that the smoke Pro is connected to a fully charged battery to produce smoke press the silver button on the front of the machine smoke Pro will produce smoke for five minutes or until the button is pushed again stopping the smoke producing cycle while the system is being filled with smoke remove the fuel cap and wait until thick smoke is visible exiting the fuel net you may need to depress the flapper valve inside the fuel neck to get good flow now reinstall the fuel cap and look for the smoke exiting the leak source if smoke does not exit the fuel neck in a minute or two access the evap system through the vent line to the gas tank at the charcoal canister the bright halogen lamp provided will illuminate the exiting smoke making it much easier to see follow the flow path associated with the evap system until the leak source is located once the leak is located and repaired recheck the system to verify that the repair is solved the problem do a quick pressure decay test using air only to confirm if the needle doesn't drop you can verify the system is airtight and fixed properly remove the service port adapter and reinstall the Schrader valve and protective cap to find wind and water leaks around windows and doors this test is performed using smoke from the outside of the car roll up the windows and turn the fresh air fan motor to the max setting make sure this is not set to recirculate from the outside of the car using a diffuser which is any short piece of hose with a diameter of about five-eighths placed over the nozzle to create a thicker flume of smoke move the smoke around the area where a leak is suspected hold the smoke a few inches from the test area and search for the disturbance caused by the leak now mark the area and make the repair this test must be conducted in still air you may want to close the doors in the shop for this one repairing leaky headlamp or tail lamp housings are a snap insert the smoke pearl nozzle into the bulb hole and use a little silicone to make the repair the smoke Pro can easily find leaks resulting in big tickets for your shop and commonly find damaged or disconnected vacuum lines leaking gaskets and fittings cracked or broken plastic components leaking diaphragms and seats worn throttle shafts leaking or cracked exhaust or intake manifolds especially plastic intake manifolds engine blocks catalytic converters under - climate control and central locking system leaks idle motors and sell annoyed z' brake boosters charcoal canisters intercoolers and turbochargers wind and water leaks around doors windows and Sun roofs and leaky headlamp and tail lamp housings lean codes drive abilities evap codes and many other repair opportunities can now be fixed in a fraction of the time it took before a tool once reserved for the big dealerships is now being used by service facilities and national chains across the country aggressively competing for the profitable diagnostic repairs made fast and simple with smoke machines by the smoke Pro total tech now and join the thousand of technicians dealerships and shop owners who use it just for these reasons we are confident this will quickly become an essential tool you can't be without ask your dealer for one today or contact us at red line detection calm you

Channel: Redline Detection

Views: 14,058

Rating: 4.8518519 out of 5

Keywords: Smoke Pro, Leak Detection, Diagnostic, Smoke Machine, How to, Setup, Exhaust Leak, Wind and Water Leaks, Oil Leaks, Vacuum Leaks

Id: ztKF5Xz5dWk

Length: 11min 27sec (687 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 16 2011