I have a question about my solenoid sticking and I’m sure it has to do with the cold weather. Are there any tricks to help with this or am I stuck with the long blasts until the weather gets warmer again. Lately the weather has been varying between teens to the 30’s for the temperatures around St. Louis.
hey ive been having the same problem lately. sounds like yours is staying open too long…? my problem is that mine won’t open enough sometimes.
i sprayed wd40 in the valve and cycled it a few times and that worked really well… only for so long tho. wd40 isn’t much of a lubricant. you really need a lightweight oil that won’t gunk up in the valve.
Try a air tool oiler/filter thats what i use keeps the solenoid from stickin and keeps water out of the solenoid and ur horns. Harbor freight sells them cheap.
I use truck brake line de-icer and it works well
Honduhh, I wonder if “3 in 1” oil or something like a white lithium grease would work. But when you put it in there did you just undo one of the fittings or did you take apart the solenoid.
We need to know what solenoid you have first. Air line antifreeze would be a much better option. If you have a piston type like honduhh’s then you may need some grease.
If you have a cheapy valve there may not be much to do.
I have the one that came with the 540 xl kit. The hornblasters 1/2 in. high flow
Ok take it apart, 4 allen screws and inspect it, make sure there is zero debris in there. Clean the diaphragm with wd-40. Spray a little where the plunger is as well. Assemble.
Be diligent with your tank draining. Also if easy add some air line antifreeze in the tank. If all else fails your pretty much stuck with it doing that.
Otherwise try a Gc valve. Im lazy in draining my tanks. So far with the car sitting for 2 days in low 20 degree air, I drained both 8.5 gallon tanks down from 150 psi to 90 valves held open. Turned them off and back on with no sticking.
Below 20 I have had one of the valves stick once. But if I drained my tanks everyday it prob wouldnt have.
I have been trying to think of a way to use a low voltage heater to keep the solenoid warm. My thought is to use a wire type heater hooked in to the compressor switch. That way I can turn it on or off. Any thoughts?
try wrapping the valve with fiberglass pipe insulation
i tried the fiberglass pipe insulation didnt work the best but maybe you’ll have better luck. my only thought would be to put the solenoid in the cab of the truck where it will be somewhat warmer. i know its a pain to run airlines then but when its cold for 9 months out of the year that might be the only option. That is going to be my summer project.