Pump down solenoid valve going bad

[caheiman30]

I got a call from one of the stores saying that the coil for the walkin cooler was starting to build ice up on it. So I get there and flip the pump down switch to the off position and notice that it never pumps down all the way. Then it starts running again. At first thought it the the thermostat that was defective but come to find out that the pump down solenoid valve wasn't ever shutting off. So I went to one of the suppliers and got a new valve body and coil. The guts to the coil that was in there and the new one were the same so a senior tech came out the verify everything and so we replaced all the guts and now its working just fine and pumping down when its supposed to.

How often do the pump down solenoid valve's go bad? This is the first that I've had to replace and it looks like its been in there since the unit was new.

[Phase Loss]

I'm not sure there is an exact number anyone could offer as to how often they go bad.

But as all mechanical things. They will all go bad... one day.

[Snapperhead]

they last a long time ..... but yea they do have moving parts that eventually fail like anything else

[2sac]

Not all that common. If I run into 1 or 2 a year that's alot. They're more apt to leak than fail.

[Mike19]

About one a year for me too. Hot gas valves in ice machines will go bad, but that isn't all that common either.

[frio]

I guess it depends on the unit. I've seen units with the same solenoid valve that are over 20 yr old and some that are replaced every couple years.

[indy2000]

emerson had a silent recall, leaky diaphrams..............shhhhhh.

I believe date code was from 2009-2011

We had multiple failures in a matter of a few PMs.

[caheiman30]

the one that I had to replace was a Sporlan

[indy2000]

then it was time to be replaced/rebuilt

[Turtleman]

I can count on one hand the amount i've replaced.

[indy2000]

i'd run out of appendages.........be it liquid or hot gas solenoids.

[halsaydah]

They go bad after a while, anything with moving parts is going to go bad eventually.

[Capz]

I found an Emerson liq sol with a leak on the ss coil stem where it is flanged to the nut. I silver brazed (stainless) but than I discovered afterwards on reassembly the plastic coil was also cracked probably due to freezer temps. So, ended up replacing entire solenoid coil anyway with a Sporland. The evaporator unit is only bout 1 yr old.

[Fridge Repairer]

I had the same problem once... the problem was that the solenoid valve was over sized and it would not always close .

[Fridge Repairer]

The proper solenoid valve does not neccessarily match the pipe size.