Aprilaire 600 - change water panel light stays on

I have seen some humidifiers do this becuase of high water pressure. Try closing and opening the saddle valve and see if it helps at all.

Of course make sure unit is plugged in and all fuses are good or reset. Here is the owners manual for all trouble shooting: hope this helps.
http://www.aprilaireparts.com/manuals/aprilaire-550-owners-manual.pdf

Is the saddle valve on the hot water line open? If so can you hear the water valve open? If it clicks that doesnt mean it is opening.

Thank you for contacting us with regards to your model 600 Humidifier. The Change Water Panel indicator should flash when the control knob is set to the Test/Reset mode. The flashing indicates that the timer has been successfully reset. However, the humidifier should operate for the first 60 seconds of Test mode as long as your furnace is running. If your humidifier does not turn on, contact your installer. The humidifier may require service.
We appreciate the opportunity to be of assistance.
Sincerely,


Brett Phillips
Technical Support
Research Products Corporation

unless the humidty in your home is higher then 35%. if it is then the humidifier would not run. try turning it up higher and see if it comes on. Do you hear a click in the humidistat? as you turn up the dail when you hear the click is when the humidifier should come on. Also remember your furnace must be running for the humidifier to come on. if you hear the click and the humidifier fan comes on but no water, you may have a clogged inline filter located in the solinoid valve or a bad soliniod. all parts for your humifier can be purchased from www.aprilaire.com

Go to www.aprilaire.com and order the water panel for your type of humidifier . The model # should be located on the humidifier. the box you get from them will have directions on how to change. you will then need to turnyour dial on the humidistat to TEST until the green light BLINKS, this will reset the panel reminder timer.

It sounds like you got it...

The solenoid will not open with only 13 volts to it. Jump or apply the full 24-27 volts to the solenoid and see if it clicks and opens and allows water to flow.

If the valve still won't open or pass water, start looking for a plugged inlet solenoid inlet screen or a faulty solenoid valve as well as a faulty humidistat.

if your using an outdoor thermostat then it may not be connected properly or the manual mode resistor wires are touching. these are connected on the humidistat just to the right of the H H terminals

you need to make sure your humidity level in the house isnt higher then what your humidifier will provide at any givin outdoor temp. this chart is in the owners manual. you cant remove the wires going to the ODS or it will give an error unless you have a resistor to put in its place. Anyway if the humidifier works in test mode according to AA it works so you may have higher humidity than you think, the highest your gonna get is 45% as the temp outside drops it will allow less humidity so it doesnt cause window condinsation (property damage) here is a copy of the chart. the #s on the left are the dial setting
TABLE 2 – % Relative Humidity Guide
Outdoor Temperature (°F)
-10°F 0°F 10°F 20°F 30°F 40°F
1 10% 10% 10% 15% 20% 25%
2 10% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
3 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
4 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%
5 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%
6 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 45%
7 30% 35% 40% 45% 45% 45%

No, it is not an accurate statement.

These units have simple configurations They have a water supply similar to a ice making referigerator, an enclosure connected to your supply duct that houses a prop fan and media, a seperate humidistat and a drain for excess water. Your unit may also include fancy controls including an outside thermometer & humidistat to avoid over humidification that can cause problems during freezing weather. The humidistat looks a lot like a thermostat and is located in your living space or in the return duct. The prop fan in the box pulls air from the duct, through evaporation media and back to the duct. An electric solenoid valve releases water that pours over the media.

If the humidiy is below the humidistat seting and the AC/heater is running, the Aprilaire fan starts and the solenoid valve opens. I suspect the facier controls include the flashing warning light.

The warning light spells problem. Aprilaire's customer service should be able to provide guidance for the homeowner in the form of simple checks. I suspect your contractor is avoiding a warentee call and the trip it requires.

A word of caution. These humidifiers can be powered directly from your air conditioning unit control board from an auxiliary connection. If the control board isn't rated to carry the current required by the Aprilaire fan, valve and controls or the Aprilaire encounters and electrical problem, the board can be damaged. This can be avoided by using a relay. The AC board switches a low energy relay. 120 volt house power is connected to load side of the relay and runs the Aprilaire.

My board cooked at a location near this connection, but I can't be sure that the load from the humidifier caused it since four of our neighbors also lost their board. It failed the evening of a snow storm and required a costly emergency after hours service call. The next day a new board required a three hour drive. Fortunately a fan powered propane heater kept our pipes from freezing.