pacbrake leaking air .... somewhere??

[Dieselfitter]

i have a pacbrake thats about 18 months old .

if the truck sits more that 6 hrs and compressor will run as soon as i start the motor .

i know i have an air leak but have sprayed all the jionts and found no leak . . it must be internal either leaking back through the compressor or maybe passed the soleniod . anyone know if the compressor has a ck valve built in ?

i have an e-mail into pac brake but no reply yet.



it seems some where in the pass i read that you could disasemble the soleniod to clean it , but i think that was to fix a sticky one .



any one have this before with a pacbrake ??



thx for any solutions

dug

 

[wcjp]

Did you use a mild soap? A lightly mixed soap will bubble. Too thick or too thin will leave no bubbles. Try Windex.



Mine does something similar. However, my Pacbrake Air Control solenoid just died. One of the two electrical wires found at the black donut shape came off. This part isn't cheap. Luckily I'm still under warranty.

 

[JGheen]

Mine does this too at times but I noticed it more as the recent colder months/beginning of fall just started coming on. I have checked all the air line connections as well with "leak check" soap and have found nothing. I believe it is due to the temperature change the 1/2 gal. air tank sees. When I would return home from work the outside air temp would be in the 70s to 90s at times. Overnight it would cool down to almost 50 which would cause the pressure to decrease. Turn the key on in the morning and the compressor would fire up raising the pressure in the tank from the cold temps over night decreasing the pressure in the tank. I would not hear the compressor turn on again all day until the next morning cuz the outside temp would raise during the day expanding the tank pressure. I called a PAC brake tech as well as someone @ Pacific clutch where I purchased the kit and they mentioned it was normal.



Joe

 

[dan.poitras]

Install a check valve at the compressor outlet

 

[SSalzer]

Mine just started to have the same problem. I have air horns installed in my system too. It only lost about 5 psi overnight during the summer months. But as soon as it got cold it seems like the compressor comes on about every 7-8 minutes while driving. Then if the outside temp gets up around 50 it seems to stop. I sprayed all of my joints with windex and no leaks.

 

[CDonaldson]

I'd install a check valve at the compressor as well. It does seem as thought the cold affects air tanks in general.



CD

 

[Dieselfitter]

yes the air temp will decrease the pressure ,

but this happens when i start the truck at work to come home . 3:30 in the after noon

i had the key on one sat. to listen to the radio while i was working outside on the house and the compressor ran when i turned it on then within 2 hrs the compressor ran again , so i know i have a leak .

i 've search for a check valve , but can't find any that are 1/4 " pipe thread

i'm gonna call pacbrake this wk to see if they can sourse me one .



thx for the replies



i 'll let you know what i find out

dug

 

[KaiHartman]

Wow... . these are cheapy compressors IMHO..... they work, but perhaps some people are expecting to good of a pressure decay rate for what they really are... .



I installed mine, checked for leaks (found none on the plumbed lines) and the compressor will still run at least once every hour in warm weather with just the ignition on. Obviously there is leakage in the system... . but who cares? From what I learned when I called Pac Brake the first time, this is just normal operation.



Of course the less you can get it to run the more life you'll see out of the componenets, but in the end it's just a cheapy little compressor. If you want the real deal, you'd probably have had to step up to their next package (for something like $500 more?) or get a mil-spec compressor.