Smoke in the Wires February 2017

sense of detached professionalism. My car may be mid-century modern, but my diagnostic gear is allbusiness,
21 st century business at that.
So what do you get in this kit besides the stylish goggles? While the original elements were earth wind
and fire, in the automotive world they are oil water and refrigerant. The complete kit comes with three
containers of marker dye for petroleum-based liquids, water-based liquids and refrigerant dye. With the
oil dye, you can test gas and diesel fuel systems, oil
systems, brake circuits, transmissions and power
steering systems for leaks. The water dye lets you test
cooling systems and even windshield washer systems.
Finally, the refrigerant dye helps determine whether it
will take hundreds or thousands of dollars to fix the air
conditioner. NAPA’s scientists have not left British cars
out in the cold with respect to their unique leaks. Their
new liquid smoke dye is almost consumer ready and
will surely help us quickly isolate where the smoke is
escaping from the wires. In addition to these items, a
super-cool anodized aluminum UV flashlight is the
central tool to actually finding the leak.
How does it work? Just select the bottle with the dye
for the type of fluid you are testing and pour it into the
system. Start the vehicle and run it up to temperature
or even drive it for a couple of days if you are chasing a
really slow leak. When you are ready for the
examination, find some shade, don your goggles and
start shining the UV flashlight around the engine bay.
You’ll know when you find the leak, the leak will light
up the color of a yellow highlighter marker. The dye
lasts for months, so it will help find subsequent leaks
as well. Once applied, you don’t need to remove the dye from your system; just change your oil, coolant
or whatever fluid on its regular maintenance cycle.
There are noteworthy alternative uses for elements of this kit. The UV flashlight is useful for hunting
scorpions as they also glow in UV light. Similarly, most body fluids fluoresce as well, so the flashlight can
track down a misbehaving pet’s dirty deeds. For your sanity, I don’t recommend using the light in the next
hotel room you stay in. Some things are better unknown. The dye itself can be used in testing drain
systems or for pranks. I won’t say how I know this, but a tiny bit spilled in a shoe will create a lasting
green foot. Telephone earpieces and eyeglass nosepieces are also good candidates, as well. The
possibilities are endless! Or, you could stick with auto repair.
Smoke in the Wires February 2017 Page 23