Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Auto repair is always changing listeners, and it's a constant
battle in the Bays to keep up with just sometimes
the equipment and the procedures in the process. Air conditioning
in the last decade has gone through a renovation. You know,
it used to be one thirty four refrigerant and now
we've moved on to twelve thirty four YF and it's
(00:33):
been out there a little over a decade. And you know,
I've had some of my own trials and tribulations. You've
heard me talk about them here. And fortunately I have
a great relationship with the folks over at MALA Aftermarket,
and I've got my buddy Isaac Nielsen here with us.
Today's an engineer over there at MALA, and we're glad
to have him with us to talk about air conditioning
in twelve thirty four YF. Isaac, welcome back, sir. It's
(00:54):
a pleasure.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Yeah, thanks for having me Ron.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
You know, and full disclosure, right, my machine needed an
oxygen sensor and I got to talking to Isaac about it,
and I got a little bit of an education that
twelve thirty four YF machines, all of them in the marketplace,
have to have an oxygen sensor. And at first I
reacted to this like, no, wait, the car has the
(01:18):
oxygen sensor, not the machine. But yet it does talk
about a little bit about where how do we get here? Isaac.
You know, we've got AC machines now with oxygen sensors
and the need and this is a whole big conversation
where do we start.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
We really had started with the Y introduction and the
desire to limit the amount of contamination and cross contamination
of refrigerants and to ensure that the quality of the
refrigerants that are out there meet the specs that the
OEMs are looking for. So Neutronics back in the day
that they created a refrigerant identification device that was basically
(02:01):
a lab grade piece of equipment that could be put
into shrunk down to a small enough size, and put
into an our machine. So it actually identifies the not
only the types of gas that's passing through the system,
but the percentages of that gas to ensure the composition
(02:21):
is actually the right composition that it expects for that machine.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
So if someone were to and here's a scenario, if
someone were to try and charge their own air conditioning
and it's a twelve thirty four YF car, and chances
are there's a lot of there's a lot of them
out there now right. We talked about this before air today.
YF has been out there since twenty thirteen, and you know,
if you're driving something newer or something between since twenty thirteen,
(02:48):
chances are you've got a YF car. You've got to
be kind of picky about what sort of refrigerant you
go out and buy. If you're going to buy one
of those single use charge kits, what's the quality of
those is? Does that become an issue, Isaac? Is it
Are there different grades of twelve thirty four YF or
is it all just the same stuff.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
So the good news is that in the US we
have a pretty robust and quality supply chain for twelve
thirty four YF our counterparts. In Europe, though, we see
a lot of knockoff gases, stuff that's being cut with
non pure twelve thirty four YF refrigerant, and they definitely
(03:33):
have a lot of problems over there, the rejection of
the refrigerant altogether to polymerization of their system, you know,
completely destroying machines over there because of the polymerization. But
Luckily in the US we haven't seen that. However, there
is a lot of replacement gases that people can buy
(03:54):
in a can in the store that aren't pure yf
They might be a blend of maybe like a one
thirty four A or some sort of even I've seene propane.
And then also a lot of these have a lot
of extra dyes and oils in them, which is also
not great just because that can really come up systems
(04:14):
because there's oftentimes way more die or oil than what
the system really requires.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
So it's not like the old days. You know, when
people were buying I'm going to use the word bogus
bogus one thirty four refrigerant, there was you know, there
was an identifier, but they were able to fool it chemically.
It wasn't as stringent. But now we've got an oxygen
sensor built into this lab grade refrigerant identifier right in
the machine, and it'll pick up on not so great
(04:43):
quality twelve thirty four refrigerant correct.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
Correct. Yeah, And it is a very stringent check. It
has to be at least ninety eight percent pure bif
so that means only two percent of the refrigerant that's
passing through the identifier can be air or something else
other than why off.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
So for my shop owners out there, my technicians that
are listening to the show today, they've got a twelve
thirty four YF unit, you know, and and all machines
have it right, it doesn't matter what brand. They've all
got an oxygen sensor on there. They've all got some
sort of a refrigerant identifier built in. Can you give
them some tips?
Speaker 2 (05:22):
You know?
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Do they how do they prevent the problems with that
refrigeran ID unit? What are some good practices to get
in the habit.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Of Yeah, So the biggest thing is to ever before
ever use is to check the filter for that refrigerat
IDENTI fire. In most machines, that's visible on the outside
of the machine. Sometimes it's on the front control panel.
On our machines, it's actually on the backside by the
power switch. So by by far, the number one thing
(05:49):
to do is check to make sure that that filter
is clean. If you see any contaminants, there's a slight discoloration.
If it gets enough oil, it starts turning like a
pink color. So the first thing you need to do
is to replace that filter. But chances are if there's
something reaching that filter, there's also contaminants already in the
(06:09):
lines going from the like the manifold block to the
refriger identifier. So you should open up that machine and
also double check the lines going to that refrigerant and identifier.
A lot of times it's a clear plastic line. You'll
be able to see the contaminants right away, and you
should remove that along with the restrictor fitting and clean
(06:31):
that with isopropyle alcohol. Make sure that that's fully cleaned
of any disorder debris, and obviously make sure it fully
evaporates before reinstalling and attempting to use your machine.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
So you know, if I do this examination and I
see contaminants in the filter or other debris, you know
obvious I'm going to replace the filter. Is there something
else I can do to prevent damage to the machine
and allow me to continue moving forward to work on
the car?
Speaker 2 (07:02):
I mean, the other best practice would be to run
a hose flush on the machine, maybe like once a week,
just because there's debris that can build up inside the
low sideline. So at least of how our machines work
is that we always perform a refriger identification on the
low side unless someone selects a high side only service
(07:23):
for whatever reason, and then we normally charge only on
the high side hose. That means that typically there is
not refrigerant flushing that low side line out. So if
you collect quite a few vehicles that is especially have
recovered a lot of oil during that recovery, that can
(07:44):
build up and it can slowly migrate its way through
that restrictor fitting. So if you want to perform a
host flush every week, that's also a best practice to
try to keep that system clean.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
Maybe I'm a genius Isaac, and I don't want to
check the filter because I know better, and you know,
I've kind of just taken that perspective. So all of
a sudden, oil dye and you know, other stuff just
gets past the filter. I overload the filter and it
doesn't It doesn't do its job. It can't do its job.
What's gonna happen to the machine? Is it going to break.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
Well? It will stop functioning altogether. For the fact that
the sensors will get gummed up. There are three sensors
that are critical to the identifiers function inside that unit.
One of them we talked about was the oxygen sensors.
So if that gets gummed up and it can no
longer detect the presence of oxygen it's getting blocked by
some oil or something else like that, that'll fail it
(08:38):
from performing identification. There are some pressure sensors in there,
and if it can't detect enough pressure, it will again
fail the test because it needs to see a certain
amount of flow of refrigerant. And then the most critical
for the identification is the infrared sensors. And if there's
oil that are blocking lenses or dye that are blocking
(09:00):
the lenses where it can't read the gas, then again,
of course it's not going to see that it's ninety
eight percent per YF or better, and it's going to fail.
So you're not gonna be able to do any recoveries
nor doing any bottle fills on that machine until that's replaced. Really,
I mean, you pretty much have to send that unit
off to get referred or you got to buy a
(09:22):
new one. Wow expensive, Yeah, four hundred to one thousand
dollars out there on the market, right.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Right, Hey, Isaac, let's pull over. When we come back,
I want to talk a little bit about you know,
I want to go a little bit deeper into oxygen
sensors and refriger and identifiers, and they seem to be
a common and it's the industry does talk about it
a lot, and maybe we can talk about, you know,
how it works basically, and then what some of these
guys can do as a best practice. Maybe we can
save them some money in the long run. So sit tight.
(09:48):
I'm running any in the car doctor. I'm here with
Isaac Nilson of Mala Aftermarket. We'll both be back right
after this. Don't go away. Who's gone and got Okay,
(10:27):
the pressure's on. We're back. Rann An the car doctorate
your service here with Isaac Nielsen, Mala Aftermarket. We're talking
air conditioning machines. Isaac, we've got a little over four
and a half minutes to do this, so I want
to get this segment in for the listeners and the
text out there. Oxygen sensors, oxygen sensors for refriger and identifiers.
It seems like the industry is talking about. Boy, they
(10:50):
sure need to be replaced more than any other part
of the machine. Why is that? Can you give us
an O two censor, you know, lesson real quick?
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Yeah? Sure, the oxygen sensor that's used in these machines
actually have a finite life to them. There's actually they're
very similar to a lithium battery in the fact that
there is a cathode, anode, and electrolyte in there, and
it's actually a consumable or a sacrificial material that's inside
of these sensors that actually react with oxygen to provide
(11:25):
a small voltage like in the millivolt range, but they
provide an output at all times. So once these units
are assembled from the oxygen sensor manufacturer, time starts ticking
on its life. So the more oxygen it sees, the
quicker give up the ghosts, so they speak in its life.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
So I can't, you know, if I want to try
and extend the life of it, I can't just vacuum
CELO two sensor in a plastic baggie if I'm not
using the machine. That doesn't work.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
No, not in a complete vacuum. So what these two
sensor manufacturers will do is that they'll do either a
very partial vacuum, a very light vacuum, not without the
absence of oxygen. There's still some calibrated amount of oxygen
still in there. Or they apply a special red tape
over the end of them that allowed just the right
(12:14):
amount of oxygen to pass through the tape into the sensor,
because a complete lack of oxygen from this sensor in
a matter of a couple of hours could severely degrade
its life. And then even with a couple of days
of complete lack of oxygen will actually kill the sensor
and it won't recover it at all.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
Right now, the good news is a lot of a
lot of machine manufacturers, I know, Mala, does it right,
You'll tell us when the two sensor's life is coming
to an.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
End, correct, Yeah, Yeah, all identifiers should be monitoring the
voltage output of that sensor and they'll have a threshold
should be telling you and expiring soon timeframe in which
you know you should go buy a new sensor and
replace it. You know. The caveat being is that sometimes
(13:05):
that I'm between expiring soon and it fully expired. It
could be in that month or two that you set
the machine aside in the winter time and you might
miss the whole expiring soon, right port.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
Right, Yeah, So my last question then is you know,
it seems like they're going to last anywhere from two
years to seven years, depending on how it's used in
the environment. Do you buy a FRESHOW two sensor, you know,
leave it in the box and just let it sit
on the shelf, or you wait until you're fifty percent
used and then go and do that.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
You pretty much want to wait there are a couple
of years in and then maybe just preemptively just swap
out the sensor, or wait till it tells you that
it's expired. If you can get a hold of a
sensor quickly, you know, that's that would be your your
cheapest route. But buying a sensor, like I say, as
soon as it's manu factured, if you have it on
(14:01):
the on the shelf, it's it's burning through its life.
So uh, And that's what we're seeing out in the
field right now, is that people are buying oxygen sensors
either through a local parts store or through or online,
and they get them and they might only be good
for a couple of months because it's been a distribution
for a year or two already.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
Right, So, so you want to buy a fresh one.
It's kind of like a steak. You want you want
a fresh steak. You want a fresh oxygen sensor. Correct,
no indigestion on either part. So Isaac, always informative brother.
Where can we go get more information? Send the listeners
in the text there, because I'm sure they're going to
have questions and want to learn more about all this.
What's the website from Malaya?
Speaker 2 (14:41):
All of our products are available on Service Solutions dot
mala dot com.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Cool Beans as always, sir, a great pleasure. You have
a great rest of the weekend, and we'll talk again
real soon. All right, all right, thanks, Ron, You're welcome.
I'm ronning any in the car. Doctor. I'm back right
after this. I ain't ever been with one long use
(15:11):
more mopedo