Question for anyone with a Seal 400 (or 600?) laminator

[Steenland]

Problem with an older (circa 1998) pneumatic Seal Image 400 laminator. Either the air control solenoid is bad, or I'm missing a plug.

I'm hoping someone can send a photo of the inside of the left interior, or at least tell me whether a plug is missing from the threaded socket circled in green. (If it's missing, it has disappeared into thin air!)

See photos for location reference.

Thanks!

 

[Steenland]

...also, does anyone know what the resistance should be on this solenoid? I'm reading 5.36 at 20k ohms. Thanks!

 

[Lux]

I have the 600. Will measure the resistance when I am in on Tuesday. Have you measured the voltage going to the solenoid to confirm it is getting power? I am almost certain the seal instructions have a wiring diagram and a pdf can be found online.

 

[MarkSnelling]

email me your cell number and I can put you in touch with some old Seal techs who can help you and may also have the parts to help.

 

[Steenland]

Have you measured the voltage going to the solenoid to confirm it is getting power? I am almost certain the seal instructions have a wiring diagram and a pdf can be found online.

Thanks Lux!!

Before you bother taking resistance and voltage readings, let me know if you have a plug in the threaded socket that I circled in green. From the appearance of the threads, it looks like there used to be a plug there. Air is escaping through this hole.

If you don't have a plug there, then it's something else. Now, I really don't know much when it comes to electricity, but here's the voltage readings I'm getting.

The solenoid has three wires going to it. The back one is ground, and I'm calling the other two LEFT and RIGHT.

There's a switch that raises and lowers the top roller. When the roller switch is down, the voltage between the LEFT wire and ground is 118v. When the roller switch is up, the voltage is 0v.

Voltage between the RIGHT wire and ground is always 118v, whether the roller switch is up or down. (In fact, it reads 118v whether the machine is on or off.)

Again, I don't know much, but since the solenoid is rated 230v, it seems that the voltage may be correct, since it's always getting 118 volts (not enough to activate it), but when the roller switch is down, the solenoid now gets 236 volts which would activate it. Does that seem right?

 

[Steenland]

email me your cell number and I can put you in touch with some old Seal techs who can help you and may also have the parts to help.

Thanks Mark! I will PM you.

 

[Lux]

Problem with an older (circa 1998) pneumatic Seal Image 400 laminator. Either the air control solenoid is bad, or I'm missing a plug.

I'm hoping someone can send a photo of the inside of the left interior, or at least tell me whether a plug is missing from the threaded socket circled in green. (If it's missing, it has disappeared into thin air!)

See photos for location reference.

Thanks!

View attachment 166914 View attachment 166915 View attachment 166916

I just checked. No plug in mine, same as yours. I got resistance of 5.49K on the solenoid, close enough to your resistance to be the same. Measured 211 volts across the terminals with the pressure activated. The solenoid has a nice distinct click if I hold my finger on the side. I had an issue with a jammed air solenoid on other piece of gear that was fixed by cleaning the path the plunger follows. probably was not supposed to but I sprayed electrical contact cleaner in the plunger path and wiped it down. Are you able to move the plunger by hand? Is it possible dirt or water made it's way past the filter and is inside the valve? MarkSnelling's suggestion is probably the best way to go. It has been years since I had to talk to anyone at Seal, but they were always helpful and solved problems.

 

[Steenland]

Thanks Lux! This is very useful info! I'm also hearing a click from the solenoid. Time to dig deeper. I'll disassemble the valve and see if it needs cleaning.

 

[Steenland]

Narrowed it down to the valve.

Shoutout to Lux who helped identify the issue, and to Mark Snelling who connected me with Bill Moxley. Bill is a super nice guy and he's sending the part I need.