Customer Reviews

Actron CP7838 Professional Fuel Pressure Tester

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The modern fuel injection systems are great! Untill something goes wrong. Then you find out that the problem can be caused by any of the many parts involved. In my case, bad start caused by: clogged or leaking injectors, faulty pressure regulator, clogged fuel line and/or filter, fuelpump pressure and more.

I will not write down my experiences with the local stealership, suffice to say that if they touch a vehicle I own ever again I will call de cops!

After eliminating electronic causes I replaced the fuelfilter (cheap, easy and about time anyway). When that didn't do the trick I checked out the carforums online for my model/year and found a host of possible causes for the problem. I also found that the single one thing needed for a proper diagnose of the fuel system was a fuel pressure tester.

Found this one at a price below that of any of the fuel system parts.

It absolutely worked for me. I was able to pinpoint the problem within minutes and after replacing the fuelpump I could see exactly what effect my repair had!

It has saved me a lot of money, time and aggravation!

The tester is certainly worth 5 stars. It does what it is supposed to, is solid enough to last a lifetime and very affordable.

The only negative I can think of is the manual, which gives very limited instructions.

Get a good manual for your model/year vehicle or go online and find what you need to know (or, preferably, do both). Read up!

Remember, you will be working on your cars FUEL system. You need to know what you are doing!!! Knowhow and common sense are absolute musts!!!

So are the proper tools. This is one of them. Be Safe!

This is a good guage for the home mechanic. Kit has adapters for just about any vehicle out, you can even splice into a rubber fuel line if the fuel rail adapter you need isn't in the kit. My particular vehicle is a Lexus RX300 which is basically a V6 toyota with Lexus decals, this kit came with the proper banjo bolt adapter and sealing washers for me to do the pressure test. The guage is encased in rubber so you can lay it face down on the windshield and check the pressures from inside the vehicle without it sliding down the windshield. The guage also has a pressure relief button which is nice to have when your done with your testing. Two things I would want you to do before using the guage for the first time. 1 remove the black test line atached to the guage and wrap the threads in teflon tape. It's worth 25 seconds of your time to prevent a leak. 2 At the other end of the same black line is a brass fitting, look inside it and you will see a rubber o-ring give it a shot of WD-40. It's worth another 5 seconds of your time. The extra 30 seconds of prep Gave me a leak free test first use. Happy testing.

The first one I bought started leaking raw gasoline from the gauge while I was testing the pressure on a running car! Very scary. My son was just coming out into the garage and I yelled to get back in the house while I ran to turn off the engine. Luckily, nothing happened but it could have been a disaster. It may have been a rare manufacturing defect but who knows how good the quality on these things really is? I ended up getting a replacement for free and that one has been just fine. No problems. However, the first experience still haunts me. So when you first use one of these things, have someone in the car ready to kill the engine and keep a very close eye on the tester for at elast the first 10 mins of use.

Got the job done for me. Confirmed I was leaking fuel pressure after shutting off the engine (causing hard starting) and allowed me to determine where it was going, which turned out to be the last place I would have expected. It cost half what the dealer's diagnosis did, who mis-diagnosed the problem. Did not have the problem of leakage around the pressure release button that another reviewer mentioned. However, if you use the T hose adapter I'd recommend putting a wrench on the fitting to make sure the two brass parts are tightly screwed together before using it. I had a bit of a leak from there that disappeared once I cranked up the tightness a turn or so. If you use the T fitting take a look at it and you'll understand what I'm talking about.

Good quality. Worked well for me. Used to test fuel pressure on GM Suburban with TBI. GM adapter with Schrader valve fit properly.

The item, despite being called a Proffesional fuel pressure tester is not so in my mind. While its construction is fine for the occasional user, the person troubleshooting their own car or motorcycle, or even light duty commercial use (like a small shop using it once every few weeks) it is not built to take the hard life of a busy commercial shop.

Having said that, for the price it is really one great setup. It comes with all the connectors hoses fittings etc one could reasonable need, seems pretty damn accurate, certainly passes the repeatability test, and just does the job.

The only shortcoming i had with the unit is the hose clamps that come with it are total [...]. since every car built in the last ten years or more uses high pressure fuel injection systems, a crappy clamp poses a serious fire risk if it allows fuel to be sprayed at as much as 80 PSI.

many users wont even need to use the hoses and clamps, but for those that do, just be sure to spend a few extra dollars on some good quality hose clamps.

by the way, as best as i can tell this is the same exact unit Bavarian autosport (premier BMW on line parts retailer) sells for 90 bucks.

This one has the banjo bolt for foreign cars such as my car, a Honda civic.

Previous trail says the manual is a little skimpy, so the following is a great site for diagnoses.

[...]

A must have for fuel diagnostics.

Worked just fine for me. I was able to find problem which I was fighting with for a while.

I've not used all adapters, but this kit has an adapter for Toyota Camry 1999 4 cylinder. No leaks, no problems.

The added length of this hose let me drive the vehicle and watch the gauge at the same time. The gauge itself could be a little better quality but it gets the job done with ease.

Actron seems to have changed the storage bag for this product. I could probably get 2 gauges + acc into the bag I got and there is a clear window on the bag so you can see what's inside.

I have several Actron test products and they are far superior to the junk you find in the chain auto parts stores. No flimsy plastic parts that break off at the slightest provocation.

P.S. If you have an import you can get 3 additional banjo adapters sold directly by Actron. I found 2 of them here on Amazon. And they don't gouge you on the accessories price like many other manufacturers.