High school project help

Thread Starter

mfishbein

Joined Dec 31, 2010
5
I wish to use a 12vdc lead battery to drive a 12vdc miniature push solenoid.

Here are specifications of solenoid.
Ledex™ 12VDC tubular solenoid pushes a 1" long plunger pin. Size of solenoid about 1" long x 0.5"Dia. Has 3/8" threaded bushing for panel mounting. Our tests indicate the pin can push out about 0.4". Has 1" long insulated leads with mounting nut.
Coil resistance is 48 ohms and it requires about 250mA to operate.

The battery is 12vdc with 5Ah.

My first attempt at direct wiring produced no movement of plunger.

Please help with detailed advice. The project is due shortly.

Thanks.
 

CDRIVE

Joined Jul 1, 2008
2,219
Uh... dead battery or defective solenoid comes to mind. Did you check the coil for continuity (48 Ohms) and the battery for 12V?
 

marshallf3

Joined Jul 26, 2010
2,358
Something as simple as a battery to a solenoid is hard to mess up. I assume you have or have access to a multimeter? Check your battery voltage and verify continuity of the solenoid and your wiring.

When you energize the solenoid the battery voltage should remain almost perfectly the same considering the specs you gave us.
 

Thread Starter

mfishbein

Joined Dec 31, 2010
5
Ledex™ 12VDC tubular solenoid
Coil resistance is 48 ohms and it requires about 250mA to operate.
G16333

The battery is new and I tried four different solenoids with same result.
The battery is 12 volts and 5amh.

Is it possible that I need a different battery?
 

beenthere

Joined Apr 20, 2004
15,819
Can you give us the diagram of the connections you make? Do you have a meter to confirm the continuity of the wiring and the solenoid coil?
 

Thread Starter

mfishbein

Joined Dec 31, 2010
5
I have not set up the complete wiring yet. I am just hooking the solenoid directly to battery with each wire from the solenoid hooked up to a different pole of the battery to denote response (or lack thereof). I don't have a meter in my home.
 

hgmjr

Joined Jan 28, 2005
9,027
Ledex™ 12VDC tubular solenoid
Coil resistance is 48 ohms and it requires about 250mA to operate.
G16333

The battery is new and I tried four different solenoids with same result.
The battery is 12 volts and 5amh.

Is it possible that I need a different battery?
I can't seem to correlate the part number you have given with any of the relays in the Ledex product line. Is it possible that this is not the part number but rather a serial number or UL registery number?

hgmjr
 

jpanhalt

Joined Jan 18, 2008
11,087
Very odd problem may have very simple answer. Can you post a picture of the actual battery you are using? If possible, have the solenoid connected.

John
 

wayneh

Joined Sep 9, 2010
17,496
Do you have any other 12v devices handy, eg. auto light bulbs, garden tractor light bulb, auto accessory meant to plug into cigarette lighter, etc.? Try making same connections as your solenoid.
 

CDRIVE

Joined Jul 1, 2008
2,219
Just a guess but is the solenoid plunger spring loaded? If it isn't then reverse whatever position the plunger was in when you tested it and test again. You may be expecting it to push out when it's supposed to pull in, or visa versa....

Edit: Come to think of it, and I could be very wrong, but, without checking to verify this, I think they're all pull_in when energized. CYA!
 
Last edited:

bertus

Joined Apr 5, 2008
22,270
Hello,

From the specsheet you can see solinoid is 27 Volts in stead of the claimed 12 Volts:



You will propably have to use a higher voltage to activate it.

Bertus
 

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Thread Starter

mfishbein

Joined Dec 31, 2010
5
OK. I brought solenoid to radio shack and tried several different voltages (up to 30) without any success. At the higher voltage, I felt solenoid heating up.

This is very frustrating.

I'm not sure what to do next.
 

CDRIVE

Joined Jul 1, 2008
2,219
The 12vdc battery with 5mAh was purchased from Radio Shack with information on website.

Many thanks!
This is a mute point.., but instead of posting a statement like that, post the link so we don't have to go digging. Your first post stated that it was a 12V@5AH battery. 5mAH is a far different animal.
 

CDRIVE

Joined Jul 1, 2008
2,219
OK. I brought solenoid to radio shack and tried several different voltages (up to 30) without any success. At the higher voltage, I felt solenoid heating up.

This is very frustrating.

I'm not sure what to do next.
While you were there you should have used one of their DMMs to measure the resistance of the coil.
 

tracecom

Joined Apr 16, 2010
3,944
If the plunger is free floating, that means it does not withdraw after being pushed out. Is it possible that the plunger is already pushed out? If so, the solenoid would get hot under continuous power. Try pushing the plunger back in and then applying a short pulse of dc. With no mechanical resistance, it wouldn't surprise me if 12vdc would operate it.
 

CDRIVE

Joined Jul 1, 2008
2,219
If the plunger is free floating, that means it does not withdraw after being pushed out. Is it possible that the plunger is already pushed out? If so, the solenoid would get hot under continuous power. Try pushing the plunger back in and then applying a short pulse of dc. With no mechanical resistance, it wouldn't surprise me if 12vdc would operate it.
I suggested same earlier but he didn't reply.
 
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