Failing Red Hat Solenoid(s)

[Rick Vyncke]

I had posted previously that the fresh water  autofill on our 2004 Marquis was not working.  Turns out that the Red Hat Solenoid had failed.  We had the local repair shop replace it.  It worked one time and has failed again.  It is getting power but fails to open.  The failed Red Hat solenoid is the second such failure in only a few weeks time.

We are now getting ready to have the third Red Hat valve installed in less than two months and each failure is similar.  The Aladdin system seems to be applying power appropriately but the valves seem to fail as quickly as we replace them.  The odds of getting two new valves that failed this quickly seem highly unlikely.

Has anybody heard of this before?  Is it possible to have an electrical issue that is burning them out?  I'm at a loss as these are simple 12 volt solenoids and should last years rather than days. Any advice would be appreciated.

[Ron Langdon]

Rick, I don't have any advice, but I had the same problem in our 2008 Patriot Thunder. Like you, we replaced the red hat and that took care of the problem. Ours, however, has been working fine since then.

[Edward Buker]

Rick,

I would measure the voltage at the coil when it is on and while you are plugged in with the house charger on and see what it is. If it is 12-14V I would think that is a normal operating voltage range. Check with Red Hat and see if they require 12V with less of a tolerance for voltage then the 14V that is conceivable with our charging system. It is not clear from what you have posted if the coils are failing and become open or if the mechanicals of the valve are getting stuck. This may be luck of the draw, but you should rule out voltage issues.  If the valve is sticking, you could have some sand or other contaminant in the line. You might have them flush it before putting in the new valve. If you find that the coils are "burning out" you could only power the Red Hat with the charger off and allowing the battery voltage time to settle out of charge mode which takes maybe half an hour. That would put you at maybe 12.7V or so and a little less at the solenoid with wiring voltage drop. That should be easier on the valve coil and very close to 12V.

Later Ed

[Gerald Farris]

Rick,
The auto-fill valve will fail if you leave the switch on when you are not hooked up to water. This will keep the valve powered-up at all times with no water flow and cause the solenoid to overheat. This overheating and possibly the voltage issue that Ed referred to are the only reasons that I can think that would cause solenoid failure.

Gerald