SOURCE: The controller was crapping out AND someone had messed with the wiring at the valve.
SOLUTION: Replace controller. Fix wiring.
TOOLS/SUPPLIES:
TIME:
tl;dr
1 out of the 4 sprinkler valves is not triggering. Two places to troubleshoot this problem: at the valve and at the controller.
FRAMEWORK The way I troubleshoot follows this matrix. easiest check, most obvious check, and any new items that pop up.it's about eliminating possibilities quickly, and cornering the likely source.
Valve check is the easiest. And it’s closest to the problem. In this instance it’s a Rainbird model:…. Turned it on manually. Working fine. But that does not mean the valve is cleared yet.
I’ve replaced a solenoid on one of these before. It’s the mechanism that opens the valve electronically. But that requires a multimeter blah blah blah, and since i don’t use it very much, I always have to relearn what I need to do (a lot easier when you take notes on each job and link to resources). And in any case, the next obvious easy check is to see if the valve was turned off in the controller’s program.
CHECK CONTROLLER
Irritrol model:
check programming. It all looks fine, except the screen on the controller is acting weird. Flickering and fading.
I change the backup battery (9v). Some improvement but it’s still doing the same.
Triggering the valves manually from the controller is not working properly.
Something’s up with the controller. Time to go to the internet and figure this out.
obs:// seems like the exact same prob as nvalt://DUN LOG 2020-may24
the board is from 2000-2008 comparing my pic with the pics here
This website was a great resource. Helped troubleshoot the flickering.
There are a couple of people that repair these. I found another shop on ebay.
If you send your unit in, you get a discount on a refurbished unit (these tend to be discontinued items)
installed “new” refurbished irritrol timer (bought on ebay ~$45)
it was older vintage but that was a risk i was willing to take
that fixed the flickering display problem but not the sprinkler not triggering problem.
Back to the sprinkler valve.
took a look at the wiring of the sprinklers. something seemed off.
the problem sprinkler was wired to Red and Green
the good one was White and Green
I moved the green wire to White
Since I’m not familiar with sprinkler wiring, it wasn’t immediately obvious to me that this was the issue.
that seemed to resolve it
Good thing the gardener was there at the time. He confirmed my suspicion and said both need to be on white. he even gave me a spare wire nut to tie it off nicely
There are a bunch of youtube videos about it, i found this one most helpful.
Basic concept:
- one wire that is the Common. In this case, it’s White. Think of this as the one powering all the valves.
- The other wire youll pick a different color for each valve. This will be the trigger.
(dont write to an audience. write it to myself. like a reminder, notes from a class)
RESOURCES: