3
INTRODUCTION
1.0 General Service and Safety Precautions
WARNING
Never service, repair, or troubleshoot this system unless you are a professional air
conditioning/refrigeration service person. Improper servicing can lead to serious injury or death from fire,
electric shock, or explosion.
Refrigeration and air conditioning devices are extremely complicated by nature. Servicing, repairing, and
troubleshooting these products should be done only by those with the necessary knowledge, training,
and equipment.
1.1 Refrigerants and Other Chemicals
Contact with refrigerant, mixtures of refrigerant and oil, or other chemicals can cause a variety of
injuries including burns and frostbite. For example, if refrigerant contacts skin or eyes it can cause severe
frostbite. Also, in the event of a compressor motor failure, some refrigerant and oil mixtures can be
acidic and cause chemical burns.
To avoid injury, wear appropriate protective eye wear, gloves, and clothing when servicing an air
conditioning or refrigeration system. Refer to your refrigerant supplier for more information.
If refrigerant or mixtures of refrigerant and oil come in contact with skin or eyes, flush the exposed area
with water and get medical attention immediately.
1.2 System Flushing, Purging, and Pressure Testing for Leaks
Failure to properly flush, purge, or pressure test a system for leaks can result in serious injury or death
from explosion, fire or contact with acid-saturated refrigerant or oil mists.
Webasto recommends that the system be serviced using a flush and purge station such as a Robinair®
unit or similar equipment designed for R134a refrigerant systems.
Follow these precautions when flushing/purging a system or pressure testing a system for leaks:
• Use flushing products according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
• To purge a system, use only dry nitrogen.
• When pressure testing for leaks, use only regulated dry nitrogen or dry nitrogen plus trace
amounts of the serial label refrigerant, in this case, R134a.
• When purging or pressure testing any refrigeration or air conditioning system for leaks, never use
air, oxygen or acetylene. Oxygen can explode on contact with oil.
• Acetylene can decompose and explode when exposed to pressures greater than approximately 15
PSIG.
• Combining an oxidizing gas, such as oxygen or air, with an HCFC or HFC refrigerant under
pressure can result in a fire or explosion.
• Use a pressure regulating valve and pressure gauges.
Commercial cylinders of nitrogen contain pressures in excess of 2000 PSIG at 70°F. At pressures much
lower than 2000 PSIG, compressors can explode and cause serious injury or death. To avoid over
pressurizing the system, always use a pressure regulating valve on the nitrogen cylinder discharge. The
pressure regulator must be able to reduce the pressure down to 1 or 2 PSIG and maintain this pressure.
The regulating valve must be equipped with two pressure gauges:
• one gauge to measure cylinder pressure, and
• one gauge to measure discharge or down-stream pressure.