On to part two of troubleshooting your sprinkler! Nothing’s worse than when a sprinkler zone won’t turn off or on. Try these steps to get your system back up and functioning.
Problem: A Zone Won’t Shut Off
Reason: The valve is stuck.
Fix It:
1. Locate the valve by opening your controller and locating the zone and the corresponding colored wire.
2. Then, locate your valve box and find the valve with the same color wired attached to it.
3. Disassemble the valve. Look to see if there is any debris inside the valve. Also, inspect the diaphragm for damage. The diaphragm may need to be changed as it sometimes becomes brittle and does not function properly with extended use.
4. Next, check the solenoid and make sure the piston inside moves freely up and down.
5. Finally, check to make sure there is no debris inside the inlet coming from inside the valve. The solenoid may also need to be replaced.
Problem: A Zone Won’t Turn On
Reason: Also caused by problems with the valve.
Fix It:
1. Locate the valve by the colored wire inside the valve box and inside the controller.
2. Splice the wires and attach a volt meter to the wires.
3. Fire the zone from the clock and verify that there is 24 volts coming from the clock to the wires inside the valve box. If you have voltage inside the valve box, you will need to replace the solenoid. If you do not have power inside the valve box, verify there is power coming from the clock. If the clock is functioning properly, you may to have a wire locate performed to locate the broken wire in the ground.
Other Sprinkler Troubleshooting Tips:
