SPRINKLER TALK FORUM - You Got Questions, We've Got Answers

Yeah, I can see the need to add a couple of wire nuts and a splice (they never go bad) for the benefit of a shiny new bracket that was probably about to go bad.

That makes an entirely new unit a great idea.

why not just cut the wire and splice the new sensor in? Then you have an entirely new unit other then the wiring

Concur with get a new Main Sensor.
If it is the miniclik from Hunter and I think it is.

Buy the whole unit, but unhook the cork like material in the cylinder by rotating the cylinder off. Put the new cylinder on the old rain sensor. You are done.

It will take you 1 minute to get the ladder, 30 seconds to get the old cylinder off, 30 seconds to put the new one on.

You are done.

Estimate cost retail 25.00.

Just do it.

What kind of controller? Do you have the bypass switch on?

It could very well be the wiring is wrong.

If the controller has rain sensor ports and the bypass switch is not flipped yet it's not triggering, try wiring the sensor looped into the common ( sensor wire into common port > Common wire to other sensor wire ) and see if this works.. Make sure you jumper the 2 sensor ports

If it doesn't then it's time to get a sensor

I would say get a new one or just unhook it and try living without a rain sensor. If your a hands on person, you may find that you save a ton of money on your water bill by now relying on your sensor to turn your system off. This may sound wierd but I have found that people often overwater because they think that there sensor is doing the work for them. In most cases they are not. Sure it "should" turn the system off when raining, but its not intelligent, it doesn't know how long to keep it off for. Just a thought. Hopefully you figure it out.

I have tried different settings and it still will not activate. If I remove the stack of cork like disc entirely, the icon umbrella will go off and the unit will function. Sensor is approx. 8 years old.

Is it a new sensor or a new controller. It may be wired wrong. Some controllers need "normally open" or "normally closed" sensors. ie; If your controller only accepts "normally open" sensors and you have it wired as "normally closed", that would shut the system off regardless of rain fall.

Try a different setting. A 1/4-inch setting may work.

My Hunter rain sensor keeps showing the umbrella icon in the controller and it won't turn on. If I remove the stack of cork like material from the sensor, the umbrella icon goes out and the unit will function. Do I need a new sensor?