He220a water not going thru solenoid

It sounds like the wiring for the humidifier may not be correct. The solenoid valve, which controls the flow of water to the humidifier, should be wired to the humidistat and the transformer, not to the furnace or fan. It is possible that the bottom wire of the solenoid is connected to the wrong terminal on the transformer or humidistat, or that the top wire is connected to the wrong terminal on the humidistat. I recommend consulting the installation instructions for your specific humidifier model, or consulting a professional HVAC technician to verify the correct wiring.

Hello. the first thing you need to determine is if the solenoid is getting 24 volts when the furnace turns on, you should be getting 24 volts at the solenoid valve. If not you need to start at the transformer and see if you are getting 24 volts there, if not then most likely the transformer is bad and must be replaced, if you are getting 24 volts at the transformer then check the wiring and make sure it;s tight. also check the humidistat and sail switch/ current sensing relay to make sure they are working properly. If you are getting 24 volts at the solenoid valve and is not allowing water thru than it must be replaced.

Open the waterline tap valve or may have to clean small orifice that is in line where 1/4" line meets humidifier. Need to shut water off and in screw nut holding copoet line to humidifier

Valves do go bad, but I had the same issue and it was the inlet orifice that was plugged.
To fix: Turn off the water supply. Disconnect the water inlet line to the solenoid. The water inlet line connect to ~ 1" long piece that goes into the solenoid. Unscrew the water inlet piece and remove it from the solenoid. Check it for water flow - water should slowly drip out the small orifice at the soleniod side. There is a pin-hole sized orifice on the solenoid side and it doesn't take much to plug it. There is also a narrow cone-shaped filter inside the inlet piece. You can use tweezers to remove the filter and & use a safety pin or sewing needle to clear the orifice. Check the filter, clean it if necessary, and reinstall the filter. Now check for water flow thru the part before reinstalling. Reconnect the water inlet line and turn on the water supply. Turn your humidistat to trigger the humidifier. You should see water flowing through the drain tube.

do you hear a clicking at the solinoid? grab the solinoid and turn it on to see if its getting voltage, you should feel it energize. you can turn off the water supply and disconnect the water line from the solinoid. there is a black pre screen inside the inlet if you have a tiny flat heat screwdriver insert it into the inlet and turn it out. clean it and retry. you can also make sure the orifice isnt clogged its located on the outlet side of the soliniod. when you remove you will probably have a stream of water come out of the feed tube thru the orifice, even if it has sat all summer. if water comes out you dont have a clogged orifice. donot try to **** out the orifice if its clogged you will need to get a new one fron www.aprilaire.com . you can verify it clogged by after cleaning the prescreen reconnect the water line inlet and turn on humidifier if water comes thru the solinoid with the outlet feed tube not connected then the orifice is clogged. If you clean the prescreen and the orifice is fine ,still no water then you will need a new solinoid you should also be able to purchase from aprilaire. here is links to the solinoid and orifice

http://estore.aprilaire.com/catalog/humidifiers/all-humidifier-parts/299

http://estore.aprilaire.com/catalog/humidifiers/all-humidifier-parts/267

hope this helps,
Mac

The furnace should be equipped with a #50 relay to turn the Humidifier on and off when only when the furnace blower is on. You should have a test mode on your humidistat. Do you have water coming up to the solenoid valve? Make sure that the saddle valve is turned on to supply the water to the humidifier. Is your humidistat set high enough to turn the humidifier on? Is it plugged in?
Good luch
HVAC Teacher

Thanks for your question,
Well thats the big problem with bypass Humidifiers, they use alot of water, is yours running all the time, even when the furnace is shut down ? if it is, its wired in wrong, if not then there is not much of a solution for ya, is the humidity level in the home comfortable to where you can actually turn the house t-stat down ? if not you may want to incress the amount of humidity to be able to turn your house t-stat down, you should be feeling about 3 to 7 degrees warmer with the right amount of humidity, sorry I couldnt be more help, but thats the nature of that unit, just a little FYI, if you ever decide to try something different, may cost a bit more, try a steam humidifier, alot less water usage, its filtered, and pretty reliable too, thanks again for your question, hope atleast part of this helped !
mr.grzz

The screw does turn and will open the valve, take the hex nut off and turn the screw to see if water leaks between the valve portion and the hexnut housing. They used that same valve on many models, including the newer models. Make sure you are getting water to the valve.

I am having the same problem. I have had my humidifier for about 5 years now and I just started having the problem where the water continuously flows through the solenoid. I took apart the solenoid by removing the fittings from both sides. When I did that, I noticed that there was a hole in the metal that allowed me to see through to the other side. Apparently, it had corroded and and broken through, allowing the water to pass through the solenoid without really going through the valve within the solenoid. There are several sites that sell replacements for about $70, which is not cheap, but cheaper than buing a new humidifier for $120. Here is one site I found: http://www.iaqsource.com/product.php/honeywell/32001639-002/?product=112783&category=1142

Easy fix: Check the solenoid. Turn off the power to your humidifier and the central air unit. On the side of your humidifier is a brass solenoid. It can get clogged with lime and calcium. Most videos and instruction manuals tell you to replace the solenoid. No need if you can turn a wrench.

1. After all power is off turn the water off to the humidifier and disconnect the top line water line at the nut.

2. Disconnect the bottom line water line that will go to your humidifier.

3. Take a Philips screw driver and remove the two screws that hold the solenoid on the side of the plastic housing of the humidifier.

4. Leave the wires connected unless you need more room to work. If you disconnect the wires then label them with tape (colored) so you put them back on correctly.

5. In the inlet or outlet water pip of the solenoid is a trainer that may be clogged. With a paper clip pull it out and clean it. If it’s clearly clogged then stop and put all back together. That may have been your problem.

6. If it’s not clogged then it may be clogged inside the solenoid.

7. The nut on the end of the solenoid is silver. Take it off and the magnet (main power unit) will slide off.

8. Notice the flat head screw post on the end of the solenoid. Turn it and remove. Be careful as a small spring loaded plunger is inside.

9. Take apart and clean all parts. You should be able to blow air in the intake water line tube and it go out the out water line tube as well as were the plunger hits in the center of the solenoid. If not then it’s clogged.

10. If clogged then just soak all but any parts with rubber or plastic in a small white vinegar solution for a couple of hours to eat away that lime. If it’s not clogged then you probably have a bad solenoid.

11. To check and see if the solenoid is bad just put it all back together but do not re-wire the solenoid to the humidifier.

12. Turn on everything without the wires going to the solenoid (turn on meaning put power back to the unit.

13. When the system is running as it should without the humidifier and solenoid wires attached check the two lead wires with a volt meter for 24v. If you have 24v then you have a bad solenoid and need a new one. If no 24v then you may need a new control panel.

Hope this helps you out.