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What This Guide Helps With
Troubleshooting circuit-leak or checkout failures caused by breathing-circuit connections, absorber assembly, reservoir bag, sampling accessories, vaporizers, or incorrect test setup.
Step-by-Step Troubleshooting
1. Ensure Patient Safety First
Do not perform a checkout, leak test, or extended troubleshooting while the Carestation 600 Series is supporting an active patient.
If a circuit leak is suspected during clinical use:
- Notify the anesthesia provider immediately.
- Confirm whether ventilation, airway pressure, delivered volume, and gas monitoring remain reliable.
- Transfer ventilation and anesthesia delivery to another verified anesthesia machine or approved backup method.
- Maintain appropriate independent patient monitoring.
- Follow the facility’s anesthesia-machine failure procedure.
Expected outcome: Patient care no longer depends on equipment with an unresolved breathing-system leak.
Continue troubleshooting only after the machine has been safely removed from patient use.
2. Confirm the Exact Failure
Review the displayed checkout results, alarm history, and clinical report. Determine whether the problem involves:
- Circuit Leak test failure
- Full Test failure during the circuit-leak portion
- Inability to build or maintain airway pressure
- Low delivered or exhaled tidal volume
- Reservoir bag failing to inflate
- Bellows failing to rise or refill
- Leak occurring only with a particular circuit or accessory
- Failure after cleaning, reassembly, or accessory replacement
Record the complete displayed message and any reported leak value.
Expected outcome: The affected test and failure condition are clearly identified.
3. Verify the Checkout Setup
Set up the machine exactly as directed by the on-screen checkout instructions.
Confirm that:
- A complete patient breathing circuit is connected.
- The patient end is properly occluded using the correct test plug or approved method.
- The Bag/Vent switch is in the position requested by the test.
- The APL valve is set as directed.
- Required gas supplies are connected and within their normal pressure range.
- The scavenging system is connected without restricting the breathing system.
The Carestation 600 Series clinical reference material identifies the leak-test plug as the component used to occlude the breathing circuit during checkout.
Expected outcome: The test is performed with the correct configuration and no false failure is caused by setup.
If the test passes, return the device to service only after completing the entire manufacturer-required checkout.
4. Inspect the Patient Breathing Circuit
Examine the complete circuit from the inspiratory and expiratory ports to the patient connection.
Check for:
- Loose connections
- Cracked or stretched tubing
- Split corrugated hoses
- Damaged elbows or adapters
- Loose Y-piece connections
- Open accessory ports
- Incorrectly fitted test lung or test plug
- Water traps or accessories that are not fully seated
Reseat every connection securely.
Expected outcome: The circuit is complete, undamaged, and sealed.
If damage is found, replace the affected component and repeat the checkout. Stop if the test passes.
5. Test With a Known-Good Circuit
Remove the suspect disposable or reusable breathing circuit and install a compatible known-good circuit with minimal accessories.
Repeat the Circuit Leak test.
Expected outcome:
- If the test passes, the original circuit or an attached accessory was leaking.
- If the test still fails, continue checking the machine-side breathing system.
Do not return the original circuit to clinical use unless the leak source is identified and corrected.
6. Check the Reservoir Bag and Bag Arm
Inspect the reservoir bag for:
- Punctures
- Cracks around the neck
- Loose attachment
- Hardened or deteriorated material
- Incorrect size or incompatible fitting
Verify that the bag arm, hose, and connection points are fully seated and undamaged.
Expected outcome: The reservoir-bag pathway is sealed and can build pressure in manual ventilation mode.
Replace a questionable bag and repeat the test. Stop if the checkout passes.
7. Check Sampling and Monitoring Connections
Inspect all gas-sampling components connected to the patient circuit, including:
- Sampling line
- Water trap
- Airway adapter
- Spirometry connections
- Auxiliary pressure-monitoring lines
- Capped diagnostic or accessory ports
Look for disconnected tubing, cracked adapters, loose water traps, or uncapped ports.
Temporarily remove nonessential accessories and cap approved ports correctly before repeating the leak test.
Expected outcome: No leak is introduced by an external monitoring or sampling accessory.
8. Inspect the Absorber Canister Assembly
Verify that the absorber canister is:
- Fully installed and locked
- Correctly aligned
- Free of cracks or physical damage
- Assembled with the appropriate seals and components
- Not overfilled or obstructed by loose absorbent material
If a disposable canister is installed, confirm that it is compatible and seated evenly. If the breathing system was recently cleaned or serviced, confirm that the canister and associated components were correctly reinstalled.
GE’s checkout guidance specifically instructs the operator to check the absorber and absorbent as part of circuit-leak preparation.
Expected outcome: The absorber assembly is properly seated and sealed.
If reseating or replacing the canister resolves the failure, complete the full checkout and stop.
9. Inspect Accessible Breathing-System Components
Without performing internal disassembly, inspect externally accessible components for incorrect installation or visible damage.
Check:
- Inspiratory and expiratory flow-sensor assemblies
- Breathing-system module seating
- Bellows housing and visible seals
- Exhalation-valve area
- Condensation drains
- Removable covers or components disturbed during cleaning
- Pinched or displaced seals visible from the exterior
Moisture, contamination, or incorrect reassembly after cleaning may prevent components from sealing correctly.
Expected outcome: All user-removable breathing-system components are clean, dry, correctly oriented, and fully seated.
Repeat checkout after correcting any external assembly problem.
10. Check the Flow Sensors
Verify that the inspiratory and expiratory flow sensors are:
- Installed in their correct locations
- Fully seated
- Dry and visibly clean
- Free from cracked housings or damaged connectors
- Properly connected
Perform the approved flow-sensor calibration if prompted and permitted by facility procedure.
An apparent circuit leak combined with inaccurate or unstable tidal-volume measurements may result from flow-sensor contamination, installation errors, or sensor failure rather than a large physical leak.
Expected outcome: Flow sensors calibrate successfully and volume readings remain stable.
If calibration fails or the leak indication remains, continue troubleshooting.
11. Evaluate Vaporizers and the Low-Pressure System
Confirm that each vaporizer is:
- Compatible with the mounting system
- Fully seated
- Locked in position
- Turned off unless the on-screen test requests otherwise
- Free of visible damage or liquid contamination around the mounting interface
Remove and reinstall vaporizers only while the machine is out of clinical use and according to approved procedures.
The Carestation 600 Series Full Test evaluates vaporizer and circuit leakage, while a separate low-pressure leak test may be available for configurations using the ACGO.
Expected outcome: Vaporizers and their external mounting interfaces do not cause the test failure.
If the machine passes with a particular vaporizer removed but fails when it is installed, remove that vaporizer from service for evaluation.
12. Isolate External Accessories
Disconnect nonessential accessories one at a time, repeating the leak test after each change.
Possible external sources include:
- PEEP valves
- Circuit extensions
- Humidification components
- Specialty airway adapters
- Gas-monitoring adapters
- Test lungs
- Auxiliary common gas outlet connections
Do not bypass required components or alter the machine’s internal pneumatic configuration.
Expected outcome: A leaking accessory can be identified by the test passing after that accessory is removed.
Replace the defective accessory and complete the full checkout.
13. Repeat the Complete Checkout
After correcting any connection, component, or setup issue:
- Restore the machine to its normal clinical configuration.
- Reinstall all required accessories.
- Run the complete manufacturer-required checkout.
- Confirm that the Circuit Leak test passes.
- Verify manual and mechanical ventilation with a test lung.
- Confirm stable pressure, volume, alarm, and gas-monitoring performance.
Expected outcome: The complete checkout passes without recurring leak indications.
Do not return the machine to service based only on one isolated passing test.
If the Problem Persists
If the Carestation 600 Series continues to fail its Circuit Leak or Full Test after the circuit, reservoir bag, absorber, sampling accessories, vaporizers, flow sensors, test setup, and accessible breathing-system components have been checked, common external causes have been ruled out.
The remaining fault may involve an internal valve, seal, pressure-sensing pathway, pneumatic connection, breathing-system interface, or electronic control component. The Circuit Leak test may assess several machine functions in addition to the disposable patient circuit, including pressure measurement and manual breathing-system operation.
The device should be:
- Removed from service
- Labeled Out of Service
- Sent for qualified repair or bench evaluation
- Evaluated using the current GE Healthcare service documentation and specified test equipment
Do not continue repeated checkout attempts or perform unapproved internal pneumatic disassembly. Knowing when to stop and escalate is proper troubleshooting.
Clinical Use Tip
Never troubleshoot an unresolved anesthesia-circuit leak on an active patient. Move the patient to verified equipment first, then evaluate the machine using a test lung and approved analyzers in a controlled environment.
Work Order Documentation (CCR Method)
CCR = Complaint, Cause, Resolution
Complaint
What was reported by the clinical staff.
Example:
"Anesthesia staff reported that the Carestation 600 Series failed the Circuit Leak portion of the pre-use checkout and would not maintain test pressure."
Cause
What was observed during troubleshooting.
Example:
"Inspection found a loose reservoir-bag hose connection that allowed pressure to escape during manual-circuit testing."
Resolution
What action was taken.
Example:
"Reseated the reservoir-bag hose, inspected the breathing circuit and absorber assembly, and completed the full system checkout with all leak, ventilation, alarm, and monitoring tests passing."
Helpful Details to Include (If Known)
- Complete displayed failure message
- Failed checkout stage
- Reported leak value
- Pipeline and cylinder supply status
- Circuit type and manufacturer
- Circuit swapped with known-good set
- Reservoir bag inspected or replaced
- Absorber canister seating and condition
- Sampling line and water-trap condition
- Flow-sensor condition and calibration result
- Vaporizer configuration
- Whether the issue followed cleaning or reassembly
- Manual and mechanical ventilation test results
- Unusual sounds, heat, odor, or visible damage
- Full checkout result
- Final device status
Final Thought
Circuit-leak troubleshooting should proceed from patient safety and test setup through external circuits, accessories, absorber components, sensors, and vaporizers. A machine that cannot pass its complete checkout must remain out of service until the leak is located and verified repair testing is completed. Clear CCR documentation preserves the troubleshooting logic and supports safe follow-up.
That is successful troubleshooting.