-
Hey Guest!
British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!**Upgrade Now**
(PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
-
When posting a classified ad, you MUST select a prefix from the drop-down next to the subject line. If you don't you will get an error and your ad will not be posted!
Hey - did you know if you click on the title of a thread it will take you to the first unread post since you last visited that thread?
but were afraid to ask: 
STOP!! Never post your email address in open forums. Bots can "harvest" your email! If you must share your email use a Private Message or use the 
smilie in place of the real @
Pretty Please - add it to our Events forum(s) and add to the calendar! >> 
How best to test an A-type O/D solenoid
- Thread starter tdskip
- Start date
Share this page
TR3driver
Great Pumpkin - R.I.P
Offline
For an A-type solenoid (very different than the J-type):
With the plunger out (or blocked from going all the way in), current draw at 12v is roughly 20 amps. Obviously you don't want to test this for long, as the solenoid will quickly overheat and burn up. But the roughly 0.5 ohm DC resistance is a bit hard to check as well.
With the plunger fully seated, current draw should be about 1 amp, or DC resistance about 12 ohms. If you are checking resistance, you'll probably have to hold or clamp the plunger against the cutout contacts. Otherwise, they'll push the plunger back out just enough to let them close.
Personally, I just install it on the OD and hit it with 12v from a battery. But I always have had a propensity towards running "smoke tests" (and it has gotten me in trouble more than once) :laugh:
With the plunger out (or blocked from going all the way in), current draw at 12v is roughly 20 amps. Obviously you don't want to test this for long, as the solenoid will quickly overheat and burn up. But the roughly 0.5 ohm DC resistance is a bit hard to check as well.
With the plunger fully seated, current draw should be about 1 amp, or DC resistance about 12 ohms. If you are checking resistance, you'll probably have to hold or clamp the plunger against the cutout contacts. Otherwise, they'll push the plunger back out just enough to let them close.
Personally, I just install it on the OD and hit it with 12v from a battery. But I always have had a propensity towards running "smoke tests" (and it has gotten me in trouble more than once) :laugh: