Patent ID: 8661875

Claim:
A method for detecting a leak in a gas precharged hydraulic accumulator having an initial gas charge, in a hydraulic circuit associated with a hydraulic pump, the method comprising: activating the hydraulic pump to charge the hydraulic circuit and the hydraulic accumulator when the hydraulic circuit and the hydraulic accumulator have a temperature that is substantially equivalent to an ambient temperature; monitoring a hydraulic pressure in the hydraulic circuit; detecting a step in the hydraulic pressure at a first time based on the monitoring; generating a measure of an amount of precharge gas remaining in the hydraulic accumulator based on the hydraulic pressure at the step, the ambient temperature, and a maximum gas volume of the hydraulic accumulator; and comparing the amount of precharge gas remaining in the hydraulic accumulator with the initial gas charge and determining that a gas leak exists in the hydraulic accumulator if the amount of precharge gas remaining in the hydraulic accumulator is less than the initial gas charge by greater than a predetermined extent.