Faults: Troubleshooting and Rectification of Solenoid Valve

Many faults may arise due to the un-proper functioning of a solenoid valve.

Hence To avoid this fault, the solenoid valve used in the control system must work properly.

A solenoid valve is the most sensitive part used for loading/unloading Air compressors.

To obtain the best result from the solenoid valve, it must install in the proper way.

So, first, you have to know the installation procedure. Every instrumentation engineering people must have information about this.

faults-solenoid valve troubleshooting rectification
  • To Avoid Faults, Install with Below Points

01) Solenoid Valve must be mounted inside the control panel.

02) Before starting the valve ensures that the air supply to the valve is filtered & lubricated. Even momentary testing of a valve with dirty contaminated air may cause malfunctioning of the valve for the rest of its working life.

03) Ensure that an adequate quantity of air supply is connected to the inlet port. Minimum air pressure of 15 to 20 PSIG is required to start with the proper operation because this is a pilot operated the valve. Hence Air pressure to the inlet port should not fall below the required limit.

04) Connect the electric supply marked on the solenoid valve without any loose connections. The solenoid is designed for the voltage drop plus or minus 10%. Ensure 230Volt supply to the coil.

05) Always take care to connect the cylinder port (outlet) of the valve, to a suction valve.

If the valve is tested without connecting this port to a closed chamber, then due to a heavy pressure drop, the pilot mechanism will not have enough pressure to operate the internal mechanism & valve fails to function.

After proper installation, the solenoid valve works properly (without faults). But Due to the long working span, some faults may occur in the solenoid valve.

So, here are the Faults and Its Rectification

  • COIL CHATTERING

This may happen due to the below reasons.

01) This type of valve requires a proper voltage. A voltage drop or gain, of more than 10 % affects the functioning of a coil.

02) A clean inlet air is required, if dirt enters the plunger housing, the coil chattering problem starts.

03) A very low differential pressure range of load /unload will create the problem. Hence, Keep differential pressure ranges minimum of 08 PSIG.

  • LEAKING VALVE

This may happen due to the below reasons.

01) The valve is being tested with the cylinder port kept open to the atmosphere. The defect can be rectified by connecting the cylinder port to the closed chamber. (Suction valve)

02) Inlet pressure is so low that the pilot mechanism cannot be actuated. Keep minimum air pressure above 15 PSIG.

03) Pipeline connected to any of the valves is so narrow that the cylinder connected to the valve gets starved of air causing a severe pressure drop-hence starving the pilot mechanism from getting minimum pressure.

To remove this fault, connect the valve to an adequate supply of compressed air.

04) Air leaks through the solenoid plunger housing when the coil is not energized.

A replacement of the plunger or plunger plug will rectify the problem.

05)Air leaking through the exhaust port, this defect may take place either due to dirt entering the valve or due to wear out of sealing components.

Clean the valve or replace the sealing elements and rectify the problem.

Besides this information, you are suggested to read something more from below engineering books

So, Here you find the Best Engineering Resources for further details

To get the more details about the topic, I further recommended reading

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