Water is getting to my solenoid valve and the valve is activated as it is warm to the touch. No water on the back side of the valve to the humidifier. It is on sometimes and other times is doesn't work. 99% sure that the humistate is workng too. Do these valves go bad? Thanks!

if you hear the solenoid click then you may have a clogged orifice or prefilter. these are both located near the solenoid. the orifice is usually in the feed tube and the filter is in the inlet of the solenoid. Try the orifice first to see if it is clogged. If that is clear the try loosening the compression nut before the solenoid to see if you have water coming to the humidifier some times if a needle valve was used they get bad also. I would recommend changing the needle valve out and putting in a proper side stop valve. Most municipalities do not allow needle valves per there codes.

Is there 24 volts at the solenoid valve when blower motor is running? If there is water at the inlet side of valve then either the solenoid is bad or it is not receiving 24 volts.

Hello, first check the strainer on the inlet side of the solenoid valve, if there is sediment built up clean it and reinstall, if the strainer is clean and you are getting 24 volts to the solenoid valve and it is not allowing water thru replace it.

Hello, The best thing to do is just replace the solenoid valve because it is stuck open. if there is any mineral deposit or sediment the strainer on the inlet side of the solenoid valve will trap it. Best thing to do is replace solenoid valve, change water panel, clean strainer on inlet side of solenoid,

The first thing to check is if you are getting 24 volts to the solenoid valve, if you are and it is not opening to let the water in then u need a new solenoid vlave. If you are not getting 24 volts check to see if you are getting 24 volts at transformer, if not then turn off power to to the transformer and check itls continuity on the secondary side, if no continuity then the transformer must be replaced. Also make sure the saddle valve is open and that the inlet strainer at the solenoid valve is clean and no sediment is built up in it restricting water flow.

The solenoid valve unit will work upside down however, I am concerned that the tech that installed the unit might have installed it backwards. Look on the side of the valve the solenoid is connected to and you should find an arrow. Thats the direction of the water flow.A strainer helps keep the valve clean however if there is dirt in the valve it would be stuck opened not closed. Make sure the solenoid is getting power via float valve. If the solenoid is getting power you can tell by touching the top of the solenoid with a metal non magnetic screw driver. It will pull the screw driver like a magnet. Good luck

I would first check to make sure you have water to incoming side of the solenoid valve. Most inlet and outlet fitting are compression type so you can carefully loosen nut on incoming side to see if you have water there.You don't want to take the nut off just back it off a liitle to see if you have pressure there.If so then retighten nut on incoming side and loosen nut on leaving side. Turn up thermostat to actuate solenoid valve.You should be able to hear a slight click when the valve opens.
If you have water on incoming side and you can tell that valve is working but you are not getting water flow then shut off water supply to humidifier and remove inlet nut and and slip pipe back to see if there is a blockage there. Clean as needed or replace solenoid if it's not working.If you have flow into unit but not out then check outlet side for blockage. I hope this helps . Thank you.

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1. No click at the solenoid valve indicates an electrical problem. Contact your heating and air conditioning dealer to further check the electrical components of your Aprilaire Humidifier.

1. The click sound at the solenoid valve indicates there is electricity to the solenoid valve. By turning the dial of your humidifier control to a setting above the “click point” you should see water coming out of the drain line within a few minutes which would indicate your humidifier is working.

1. If the solenoid valve makes a click sound and there is no water draining from the unit, this would indicate the flow of water is being obstructed.

1. To determine if water flow is being obstructed, turn the dial of your humidifier control to the off position. The first location you would want to check for an obstruction would be at the saddle valve located on the water line supplying water to the humidifier. When checking the saddle valve, you want to make sure it is completely open. This can be done by turning the valve all the way to the left. If anything is clogged, it can be dislodged by turning the saddle valve all the way to the right and back to the left. Once this is done, turn the humidifier control dial above the click point and you should see water coming out the drain line.


If water is still not coming out of the drain, check the orifice and in-line strainer to make sure they are not clogged. The orifice is located in the tube on the discharge side of the solenoid valve and the in-line strainer is located on the inlet side of the solenoid valve. You may clear the orifice by inserting a needle through the small opening. Clean the strainer by running it under warm water to dislodge deposits or replace. After clearing and re-installing the orifice and strainer (be sure to double wrench all water connections), turn the humidifier control dial above the click point and you should see water coming out the drain line.

you should have a humidistat that should shut it off when set to zero. if the water solenoid is stuck, water will keep coming out even when the system is not heating. all humdifiers will have a water line ran to them. yours is most likely a 1/4"copper line that runs from the water solenoid on the side or bottom of the humidifier to a saddle valve on one of your water lines. this saddle valve is usually installed very close to the water heater. follow the line to the valve and shut the water off. sometimes you have to loosed the nut on the water valve to get it to turn easily. do not loosend the nut more the 1/4 turn and then make sure you tighten it back down after shutting the water off.

That is not a 'motor' on the side of the humidifier housing, it is a solenoid valve. The water feeds in to one side and exits the other side to a tube that feeds in to the top of the humidifier unit. The valve opens and allows water to flow when electrical power is applied to the valve

The valve electircal requirement may be either 120 vac or 24 vac. Power typically is switched on and off by a Humidistat control. The power feed to the Humidistat may come from a small transformer if the valve is a 24 vac unit, or directly from a furnace connection if the valve is a 120 vac unit. There are many variations, though.

A qualified licensed eletrician should check the power feed to the valve. If there is no power feed to the valve then he can trace back to the point of failure and correct the issue ... but he must also check for additional issues with the valve itself, as noted below.

Other possibles reasons for solenoid valve failure:

If power feed to the valve tests ok, then the coil inside the solenoid may be 'open' (bad, no continuity). The electrician can test the coil by checking resistance or continuity of the coil.

A non-electrical problem is that the valve path may be blocked by hardwater mineral build-up or other foreign material that flowed through the water line.

The solenoid valve must be replaced if either of the above is true with your valve.

Remember, use only a quailified licensed electrician!