Electric/Hydraulic Bale Spike - Solenoid Problem

If you are not the high voltage induced by the collapsing field will normally arc across the operating switch and will end up pitting or welding the contacts.

I’m not familiar with your unit but check and see if there is a little encapsulated unit connected across the Motor terminals (or maybe a Resistor and Capacitor in series).

Are you saying that there are 2 motor terminals and a separate cable from each solenoid runs to each motor terminal? Are you sure each is connected to the motor or is one going to a solenoid on the Power Pack? Are both cables going to the Power Pack the same size?

Can you read a Brand Name and Model number on the Power Pack?

Is the Cylinder a Single or Double Acting Cylinder?

Can you hear the motor run when both lifting and lowering?

There are so many configurations that these Electro/Hydro packs can have, that we need to know more about the power pack to draw any conclusions

My concern is that a 12 Volt Power Pack typically is in the 2-3 HP range and typically will pull 150 to 200 Amps if your solenoid is only rated for 85 Amps I would expect a problem there. Sometimes the Solenoid contacts are wired in parallel so that lesser rated Solenoids can be used, but from your description that doesn’t appear to be the case.

It you have a bad solenoid it could be beneficial to dissect it and determine if the contacts look burnt, arced and pitted, or welded together and if the pattern is uniform across the surface of the contact or if it appears to be worse on the edges or in the center. Let us know the answers to some of these questions and maybe we can narrow it down some.

With out knowing the exact amp draw on your unit I can only assume, but typically these type of Hydro packs pull in the 150 to 200 amp range.

You may have other issues but without further research that is an unknown. The 200 amp Solenoids may be the cure and would be a logical first move. Good luck.

I hope I can get this posted with out it posting 3 time like the last post did.

Are you saying that there are 2 motor terminals and a separate cable from each solenoid runs to each motor terminal? Are you sure each is connected to the motor or is one going to a solenoid on the Power Pack? Are both cables going to the Power Pack the same size?

Can you read a Brand Name and Model number on the Power Pack?

Is the Cylinder a Single or Double Acting Cylinder?

Can you hear the motor run when both lifting and lowering?

There are so many configurations that these Electro/Hydro packs can have, that we need to know more about the power pack to draw any conclusions

My concern is that a 12 Volt Power Pack typically is in the 2-3 HP range and typically will pull 150 to 200 Amps if your solenoid is only rated for 85 Amps I would expect a problem there. Sometimes the Solenoid contacts are wired in parallel so that lesser rated Solenoids can be used, but from your description that doesn’t appear to be the case.

It you have a bad solenoid it could be beneficial to dissect it and determine if the contacts look burnt, arced and pitted, or welded together and if the pattern is uniform across the surface of the contact or if it appears to be worse on the edges or in the center. Let us know the answers to some of these questions and maybe we can narrow it down some.

Are you saying that there are 2 motor terminals and a separate cable from each solenoid runs to each motor terminal? Are you sure each is connected to the motor or is one going to a solenoid on the Power Pack? Are both cables going to the Power Pack the same size?

Can you read a Brand Name and Model number on the Power Pack?

Is the Cylinder a Single or Double Acting Cylinder?

Can you hear the motor run when both lifting and lowering?

There are so many configurations that these Electro/Hydro packs can have, that we need to know more about the power pack to draw any conclusions

My concern is that a 12 Volt Power Pack typically is in the 2-3 HP range and typically will pull 150 to 200 Amps if your solenoid is only rated for 85 Amps I would expect a problem there. Sometimes the Solenoid contacts are wired in parallel so that lesser rated Solenoids can be used, but from your description that doesn’t appear to be the case.

It you have a bad solenoid it could be beneficial to dissect it and determine if the contacts look burnt, arced and pitted, or welded together and if the pattern is uniform across the surface of the contact or if it appears to be worse on the edges or in the center. Let us know the answers to some of these questions and maybe we can narrow it down some.