A/C SMART TECHNOLOGY
How SMART CLIPS Work
PLACE BOTH SMART CLIPS
INTO CENTER AIR VENT.
TURN A/C TO MAXIMUM
COOLING. ADD AVALANCHE
REFRIGERANT.
FIRST SMART CLIP CHANGES
TO BLUE TO SHOW A/C IS
APPROACHING CORRECT
REFRIGERANT FILL.
i
SECOND SMART CLIP
CHANGES TO GREEN TO
SHOW A/C HAS CORRECT
REFRIGERANT FILL. (IF
OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE IS
ABOVE 95°, ONLY THE BLUE
SMART CLIP NEEDS TO
CHANGE COLOR.)
How SMART CAN Works
1
2
AVALANCHE LOGO CHANGES COLOR TO SHOW THAT REFRIGERANT
IS FLOWING INTO THE AIR CONDITIONER.
WHY USE A/C SMART TECHNOLOGY
SMART CLIPS make adding refrigerant
To identify which SMART CLIP is which,
easier. Simply add refrigerant until SMART
a “B” blue and “G” green has been added
CLIPS change color. NO LONGER IS
to the side of the SMART CLIPS.
THERE A NEED TO USE A GAUGE.
Vent temperature, not pressure, is the best
SMART CLIPS use vent temperature to
measure of how an air conditioner is supposed
determine correct refrigerant fill. Using
to cool. It is what car and compressor
thermochomic technology, the first SMART
manufactures use to determine optimum cooling.
CLIP will change from white to blue indicating
that your getting close to the correct fill. The
AVALANCHE logo uses the same ther-
second SMART CLIP changes from white to
mochromic technology to change color as
green, indicating the correct fill. (If the outside,
refrigerant leaves the can. This prevents the
ambient temperature is above 95°F, only the
time lost by someone thinking they are adding
blue SMART CLIP needs to change color for
refrigerant when it is not leaving the can.
then correct refrigerant fill. Leave SMART
CLIPS in the vent and recheck when the
temperature falls below 95°F to make sure
the system is fully charged.)
WHY SMART CLIP TECHNOLOGY REPLACES A GAUGE
SMARTS CLIPS prevent possible overcharging caused by using a low side gauge
on vehicles with a TXV valve.
OVERCHARGE PROTECTION
Auto air conditioners have always used an
fill. They evacuate the system and use the
erant, the pressure as measured on both the
charge. The TXV valve does not directly
orifice tube or expansion valve. Because it is
simply a fixed valve with free flow of the refrighigh and low side is a function of the amount
of refrigerant and the ambient temperature.
Starting several years ago many new car
manufactures started using a Thermostatic
Expansion Valve (TXV), designed to meter,
or restrict, the flow of refrigerant into the
evaporator. This gives better and more effi-
cient cooling by controlling the Super Heating
at the evaporator outlet.
With a TXV valve, the metering is controlled
at the outlet of the evaporator. It uses the
evaporator’s outlet temperature to regulate
the TXV expansion valve. This meters the
refrigerant flow and sets a maximum operating
pressure at the evaporator outlet. This same
pressure flows through the low side service
port where it is measured by a low side gauge.
Long ago, almost all professional mechanics
stopped using gauges to determine the correct
vehicle manufacturer’s recommended refrigerant
weight to determine the correct refrigerant
affect them when charging a system.
However, many do-it-yourselfers continue to use
a low side gauge to determine the correct fill.
For systems using a TXV valve, as refrigerant
is added, the pressure on the low side rises
until it reaches its maximum operating pressure.
If this pressure level is below the gauge’s
established correct fill range, even though
the system is fully charged, adding additional
refrigerant will not show on the low side pressure
gauge but will build up on the high side and can
only be measured using a high side gauge.
In these cases, using only a low side gauge can
potentially cause too much refrigerant to be
added and result in damage to the compressor
or other problems associated with overcharging.
T X V V A LV E - R E L AT E D S I T E S
http://www.4s.com/Upload/Four%20Seasons/documents/Confirming_TXV_System_Charge_Level.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_expansion_valve
https://www.google.com/search?q=txv+valve&biw=1030&bih=572&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=u
niv&sa=X&ei=tZ7TVMmOHImZNtrRg6AJ&sqi=2&ved=0CDIQsAQ
http://www.doityourself.com/forum/air-conditioning-cooling-systems/263519-what-does-thermal-expansion-valve-really-do.html
http://www.parker.com/portal/site/PARKER/menuitem.de7b26ee6a659c147cf26710237ad1ca/?
vgnextoid=fcc9b5bbec622110VgnVCM10000032a71dacRCRD&vgnextfmt=EN&vgnextcatid=2
566316&vgnextcat=THERMAL+EXPANSION+VALVES-H+SERIES
https://www.gaoi.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/TXV-Theory-and-Fundamentals.pdf