CD Industrial Group Hydraulic Solenoid Valve Failure

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Hydraulic Solenoid Valve Failure

Jun 11, 2009

Posted in Electrical

You know the story. The operator has reported that a hydraulic solenoid valve is not operating. Whose problem is it - the electrician's or the millwright's? In this edition of NEWSLETTERS THAT TEACH we'll discuss how a maintenance team can take a few extra steps to determine whether the problem is electrical or mechanical.

OK, here we are. The electrician and the millwright have both gathered at the suspect valve. The electrician applies his trusty voltmeter across the solenoid terminals and measures the required working voltage. "Not my problem", he states to the millwright. He goes on to say "the correct voltage is here, but the valve isn't moving, so it's your problem... see ya later".

It seems to make sense. If the voltage is present across the solenoid, it will obviously operate. Unfortunately, not so. Maybe the solenoid is defective. Perhaps the valve spool is sticking. The millwright should operate the mechanical override on each end of the valve to see if the spool is free to move inside. Careful! Do you know what systems motions will occur when you do this test? Make sure everyone is safely out of the path of any motion. Now, let's back up a bit. First of all, a solenoid is a coil of wire wound in such a way as to create a magnet. The magnetic force moves an armature which in turn moves the valve spool. Due to the internal wire length, the coil has resistance. As all solenoids are not identical, there isn't a fixed value of resistance which we can consider the norm. A typical range of resistance

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CD Industrial Group Hydraulic Solenoid Valve Failure

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values which would certainly include most solenoids is anywhere between 5 ohms and 250 ohms.

Unfortunately, solenoids and temperature extremes dont necessarily get along. When a solenoid is exposed to various temperatures, its operating characteristics change dependent upon the temperature. What can change? You guessed it..the coil resistance. As the temperature goes up, so does the resistance.

Not being convinced that the solenoid is functional, the electrician carefully removes one of the leads and measures the resistance of the solenoid with his ohmmeter. If he measures an infinite resistance, then the coil is burnt out and it's time to replace the solenoid. (He might be able to smell it too! A burnt coil gives off a very pungent odor) (An easy alternate test for AC solenoids is the current level which is picked up inductively on many test meters.) But if he measure a resistance of let's say 400 ohms, then the mystery continues. Perhaps the ambient temperature is so high, the coil's resistance has increased to such a high value that the normal pick up voltage will not move the armature?

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There's no way around it. It's time to for the electrician to head to the parts warehouse. If a spare valve is on the shelf, its coil resistance can be measured. Comparing the two resistance values will help the electrician to make a decision. If there isn't an extra valve on the shelf, then it's time to dig out the data sheets for the proper solenoid resistance value.

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