vac line HELP pls

[Tx_Atty]

well I dont have a volt meter but Im certain the grouund is good. Same ground point as my guages and the switch. The switch light works. it did occur to me the solenoid may be lacking power but I cant check yet. I also would be surprised - it was just a straight wire with female paddle connectors. Even I couldnt screw that up (I think). That is, unless the wiring points dont go the way I set them up.

I'll ask if any of my neighbors have volt meters. Would there be an easy way to test it without a meter?

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Edit - called the store and they said if the solenoid is getting power and still not working it is defective. Im going to stop by Autozone on the way home and borrow a volt meter and see what I get.

 

[stroke_smoke]

simple way if you have a test light. attach the + from the witch to one end of the test light and the - ground to the other end. if the light works chances are your solinoid is bad if it don't you got an elec. problem. either ground, which if your gauges work isnt likely, or the positive. maybe even the switch bad. i had one from Ace that would light up when turned on but would not put power out to the load.

 

[Tx_Atty]

ok, odd things happening. Checked volts - they are good. Thought solenoid bad but no. One end (going to water valve) has 2 prongs. I had one capped. Removed cap and now the solenoid works and I saw the water valve operate. Here is weird part:

Water valve closed (allegedly) but I turn the temp control to hot and it gets HOT. On every setting I can blend in heat with the water gate closed. I turn the switch off to "open" the gate (allowing water into heater core) and I still can blend in heat. Obviously the water valve is not working just right even though I can see the vac powered gate operating.

Any ideas on that one????

 

[powerboatr]

ok, odd things happening. Checked volts - they are good. Thought solenoid bad but no. One end (going to water valve) has 2 prongs. I had one capped. Removed cap and now the solenoid works and I saw the water valve operate. Here is weird part:

Water valve closed (allegedly) but I turn the temp control to hot and it gets HOT. On every setting I can blend in heat with the water gate closed. I turn the switch off to "open" the gate (allowing water into heater core) and I still can blend in heat. Obviously the water valve is not working just right even though I can see the vac powered gate operating.

Any ideas on that one????

can i be a smart arse??
try connecting the hoses in a different way or take out the valve and verify which positions really stop flow and which nes dont get pushe dopen from hot coolant flow, you did check which way was really off on the valve befre you installed it right? I may have forgot to mention that earlier
sorry dude, i owe you a beer

 

[Tx_Atty]

Ha, yes you can be a smartie arse. I did what you suggested earlier and ran a hose through the valve and closed it to see what happened. I also read Baz's directions a couple of times to make sure I did what he says. BUT, you raise an question - Baz's directions could be clearer - the hose on the driver's side goes from the thermostat to the firewall; the passenger side hose connects to the block on the passenger side below the valve cover. which way is the water flowing? from thermo to cab to block or block to cab to thermo?

 

[dpantazis]

pete-

since i have a SD, i was looking at the webshots photos and the like. i cut the red line and tried to get the T into it. like you, i could not get it over the barb. so i shrunk wrapped them together. i wired the valve in the right position.

valves are not precision. if you look inside, the butterfly does not have a seal- its like a throttle butterfly in a carb so it will leak some coolant in the closed position. its more like a diverter.

 

[Tx_Atty]

ok, I had noticed it wasnt a total close when I tested it with the water hose. So what you are suggesting is that the water valve is working but that small amount still flowing is why Im feeling the heat?

If so, that is ok and I'll finish it up this weekend. I am going to repair the black line and move to the red. I think I will disconnect the red and put the T where the red line attached and not cut any more lines.

Basically, for those interested, this version of the mod works but slightly different from how I anticipated - I have mounted a dash switch to control the solenoid so I can turn off/on the water valve regardless of air control dial setting. The unexpected twist is that my solenoid, when the switch is in the Off position, is Open, thus allowing the vacuum to draw the water valve closed and activating the mod. To shut off the vac to the valve you have to turn the switch On. Reverse of what I had wanted but still an improvement over the original design IMO.

I suppose you could get some sort of small manual valve to put into the vac line that would let you turn on/off vacuum to the water valve and skip the solenoid altogether.

THanks for all the input. If there is any interest, I can post pictures of this and a description of the process. I think probably, though, everyone here already understands what I've done.

 

[bushpilot]

its my understanding that the factory "water" valves didnt ever completely close...until 2004...

its why i thought THESE were made by DIESEL SITE.com