When

  • Liquid droplets appear at a viper connection

  • Liquid droplets appear at the drain hole

Figure: Drain holes at the autosampler valves

Tools required

Torque screwdriver with Viper bit and needle seat bit

Follow these steps

  1. Liquid droplets appear at the drain hole of a valve:
    Wipe the droplet away and observe the valve. If liquid droplets still appear at the drain hole, contact Thermo Fisher Scientific Technical Support. Otherwise continue with next steps.

  2. As leakage usually occurs at a connection, visually inspect all connections in the flow path.

  3. Loosen the capillary connections at the affected valve and retighten them with the torque screwdriver using the Viper bit.

NOTICE

  • Tighten or loosen Viper capillaries only with your fingers and the special torque tool. Do not use tools others than those provided by Thermo Fisher Scientific for this purpose. Use the tool only for the connections for which it is intended.
  • To avoid damage to the capillary or connection, tighten and loosen the Viper capillaries only when the system pressure is down to zero.
  1. If the injection valve with the needle seat is the affected valve:
    Loosen and retighten the needle seat with the torque screwdriver with needle seat bit.

NOTICE

Needle seat can get damaged when using other tools

The torque screwdriver with needle seat bit is intended for tightening the needle seat. With the help of this tool the needle seat is tightened correctly and will not be overtightened. Do not use any other tool.

NOTICE

The torque screwdriver with needle seat bit can get damaged if not used correctly.

  • Insert the needle seat bit completely into the torque screwdriver.
  • Insert the torque screwdriver with needle seat bit straight on the needle seat.
  • Never push or pull the tool with unnecessary force.
  1. Tighten all connections in the flow path with the torque screwdriver using the Viper bit.

  2. Run the script: D02 - Test System Tightness (What Should Be Tested = Sampler) if the leakage still occurs.

  3. Liquid droplets continue to appear on the injection valve:
    Replace the needle unit and the needle seat. See Replacing Needle Seat and Needle Unit.