Does anyone know about motorised valve zones, my honeywell heating has 3 motorised valves v4043h, one for heating and the other two for heating upstairs and for downstairs, upstairs can be on why downstairs is off and vice versa. On turning on the honeywell thermostats downstairs came on and upstairs came on for 5 mins and failed, tried again nothing upstairs and today it did the same as first turn on rads started to heat up and then failed after 5 mins. Does anyone know if its the switch maybe got a bit sticky or the motor in the powerhead. Or something else, assuming its not pump or boiler failure as downstairs is still working. I am also guessing the powerhead itself is getting power due to attempting to start.
Raylea: BY FAR, the most common cause of Honeywell zone valves not to work is because the motor is stuck and needs a shot of a light lubricating oil like WD-40.
I have 21 Honeywell V8043C zone valves in my building, and they're similar to yours in many respects. The cifference between a V8043 and a V4043 is that the 8043 operates on 24 volts AC, whereas the 4043 operates on a different voltage; either 120 Volt 60 Hz in North America or 220 V 50 Hz in Europe.
Your zone valve should look like this: [image:
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You'll find that under the cover stamped "Honeywell", there will be a small electric motor that looks like this:
[image:
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You'll notice that motor itself has a cover with the word "Synchron" stamped on it three times. If you look closely, there will be a bit of a dimple on that motor cover, and you can see it in the image directly under the "ro" in the closest "Synchron". There will in fact be three such dimples around the circumference of the motor cover. You need to put something sharp (like a paint scraper blade) under that little dimple and lift up to pop the cover off the motor. When re-installing the cover, try to reinstall it with a dimple on the cover fitting into a similar dimple on the motor housing.
Now, for every zone valve in your house you will have a thermostat controlling the power to that zone valve. The thermostat for the upstairs zone valve will be upstairs and the thermostat for the downstairs zone valve will be downstairs, etc.. What you need to do is take the cover off the zone valve and then pop the cover off the zone valve motor and have a helper turn the thermostat for that zone valve up and down as high and low as it'll go in both directions. Watch the zone valve motor to see if it turns. If it turns, spray the motor with some WD-40. If it doesn't turn, try turning the motor manually with a popsicle stick or pencil or something. You have higher voltage in your zone valves than mine, so don't touch anything inside the motor with your fingers. 99% of the time when a Honeywell zone valve doesn't work, it's because the motor was stuck. All you need to do is give it a shot of a very light lubricating oil to get it to start working again.
You don't need to know the rest...
The reason why zone valves will often stick is because people don't turn their thermostats down in the summertime. Instead, they leave the thermostat set to the same position it was during the winter. The problem is that even in the summer with the windows open, it can get cool enough at night that the thermostat could actually be calling for heat. That means it's sending power to the zone valve motor to keep the zone valve open all night long. That won't provide any heat because the boiler is shut off for the summer, but what it does do is cause the zone valve motor to get warm and stay warm all night, every night all summer long. And, that just makes the oil thicker so it's harder for the applied voltage to get the motor to start turning.
If you turn your thermostats all the way down at the end of every heating season, you're zone valves won't stick when you need them to work at the start of every heating system.
Raylea wrote the following on 10/19/2012 5:04 PM (ET):
I am not a heating or plumbing professional. Just last week I had the same problem. One zone was not getting heat while the other two were heating OK. All I did was to manually push the tab that stuck out of the bottom of the regulator all the way to the right. You will find that it feels like it is spring loaded. After that and since, the heat is working and the regulator is working. It opens and closes as designed. Someone else has mentioned that it might need some oil. I didn't use any.
That tab is the manual open lever on Honeywell zone valves. Since most Honeywell zone valves are normally closed and require electrical power to open them, the manual open lever is provided so that you can open the zone valve manually if there's a problem with the valve or the wiring to it.
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To open the zone valve, you simply slide the lever as far as it'll go to the right, and then lift up on it as the spring pulls it back. The lever will catch on that notch in the zone valve body, and remain in the open position. The picture above shows the valve set in the manually open position. Erie zone valves have a similar feature.
You are correct that the lever is spring mounted. Operating that lever also spins the zone valve motor, so if your motor is stuck, operating the lever could very well un-stick it.
If the lever doesn't move smoothly, the probable cause is broken teeth in the transmission of that one piece motor/transmission pictured in my first post. You can buy those Synchron motors at any plumbing wholesaler if you pay cash. I don't know if home centers carry them, but they should because they're used on both Honeywell and Erie zone valves, so they're very common.
You should also be aware that all Honeywell zone valves made since about
1980 allow you to replace what you're calling the "regulator" (typically called the "head") without having to drain any water out of your heating system. There will be two screws holding a brass plate to the valve body, and two other screws holding the head to the brass plate. You simply remove the screws holding the head to the brass plate and put a new head on. The head will only go on one way, so you can't put it on backwards. Honeywell zone valves are quite DIYer-friendly that way.
Is there a lube that can be applied to the valve shaft?
'Tis the season... I have a few of these valves where the valve itself (the shaft I believe) has a lot of drag... the motor won't crank the valve the last little bit and it never closes the switch, and in some cases the valve won't quite close all the way.
I have replaced a few of the motors over the years, and have at times removed the motor assembly and turned the valve by hand to see how much resistance ther was, so I know it is the valves being 'draggy'.
I have gone so far as to work the valve shaft back and forth and added some oil to the shaft, this helps, but not quite enough, and not for long.
(the shaft I believe) has a lot of drag... the motor won't crank the valve the last little bit and it never closes the switch, and in some cases the v alve won't quite close all the way.
emoved the motor assembly and turned the valve by hand to see how much resi stance ther was, so I know it is the valves being 'draggy'.
some oil to the shaft, this helps, but not quite enough, and not for long.
No, not jammed, just too much friction of the shaft/seal for the wimpy hone ywell motors to open it all the way, or for the springs to close 'em all th e way.
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