Check for system power, pressure, flow, correct components, and correctly attached hoses.
How to Troubleshoot a Hydraulic System
- Know how the system is supposed to work.
- If the system is not working correctly:
- Check the power unit.
- Is it turned on?
- Is it hooked up to the system correctly?
- Are there any broken components in the power unit?
- Check hoses.
- Attached to the right components, in the right order, in the right direction.
- Attached properly. (Locked correctly, tight.)
- Check that components are hooked up properly.
- In the right order, in the right direction, to the correct other components.
- Check pressure into the system.
- If the system is set up with resistance, the system should have pressure.
- If the system is not set up with resistance, the system should not have pressure.
- Check pressure throughout the system.
- Know about what pressure you expect.
- If the pressure is drastically different than expected, it indicates there may be a leak, a broken component, or something is not hooked up properly.
- Check flow throughout the system on the non-pressure side.
- Flow meters go on the non-pressure side of the system.
- Know about what flow you expect.
- If flow is drastically different than expected, it indicates there may be an issue with the pump, the oil, or a component.
Common Failure Problems
Use pressure gauges and flow meters to identify where in a system there is an issue.
- Power unit is broken.
- Pump worn out.
- Electrical power to power unit damaged or an issue.
- Filter clogged.
- Not enough oil.
- Hoses are hooked up incorrectly.
- Components are hooked up incorrectly.
- Wrong components are being used.
Related Pages
Troubleshooting A Hydraulic System Overview
Troubleshooting Step-by-Step Example
Unless specified otherwise, any and all work on this page is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.