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

Time to get an ohm meter and use resistance measurements to help you figure out which wire is which.

Next time, you will do a better job of labeling the wires before you disconnect them.

Quoted from "gbreiten"

On my Irri-Trol Double Dial 12 controller which I am trying to reconnect, I do not have any wires connected to the COM or MAS connection. If I connect a wire to the COM, station #1 comes on regardless of which station the dial is turned to. Any guidance you can give on this will be appreciated.

Thank you,

Ginny

On my Irri-Trol Double Dial 12 controller which I am trying to reconnect, I do not have any wires connected to the COM or MAS connection. If I connect a wire to the COM, station #1 comes on regardless of which station the dial is turned to. Any guidance you can give on this will be appreciated.

Thank you,

Ginny

Dont you guys just LOVE those #@$%^& glue on valves?!?!?!
YUK!!

Dont you guys just LOVE those #@$%^& glue on valves?!?!?!
YUK!!

I think mrfixit has the right idea, too much glue. Unscrew the solenoid, under it you will find a small bleed hole about the size of a finish nail, I think that hole is glued from the inside. Use a small nail to push through the hole and break the glue loose. I recently worked a service call on this exact problem. Hope this helps.

RainMan

When I put he valve in I was pretty sure it was facing th eright direction. I even turned the water on before hand to make sure. When I cut the line the pressure side was on the side I expected it to be on. So thats not an issue. What I have is a CP100 Rainbird non thread valve. 1" It has A an Internal Bleed Solenoid which I turned and it came on. It has C an external bleed knob and I turned that and it came on. What I haven't tried is B the CPF flow control. I will try that Monday to adjust that and see if maybe that is the problem. If that doesn't do it I will make another trip to the depot and get a replacement valve ofcourse giving them the bad one.

I do see why you guys make so much for what you do. I'm actuall considering learning this stuff and doing it as a job since everyone in the entire city has a sprinkler system. Is it worth going to school on or just working as an apprentice with another company?

Kieth I just read your last post again and I see something. You said you turned two knobs on and off. If you've turned the flow control off the valve wont run. It could very easily do what you've described. Not all valves have a flow control but if yours does it's located right in the middle of the valve on top. You want that approx. half way open. Maybe a tad more.

You're gaining on it. Now you see why the repairmen make the big bucks. We make it look easy don't we? Nothing beats experience. And from my experience when I've ran across a homeowner who installed a valve backwards it wouldn't shut off. Of course I've never done that, *cough*. Just look at the solenoid and see if it's on the same side of the valve as the one that works. Then you'll know if it's in backwards. If the solenoid's right in the middle of the valve then you'll have to look for an arrow on the valve which will be pointing in the direction of the waters flow.

If the valve is installed correctly then there might be a couple things going on. It's possible you bought really old stock and the diaphragm is stiff and doesn't want to open. But I doubt that's it. You may have got some dirt or sand in the line and is now inside the valve keeping it from working properly. Using too much glue is a bad thing. Maybe there's glue inside the valve. You may want to turn the water off and take the valve apart and see. It could be a defective valve like you mentioned. I've bought unknowingly returned valves that the previous buyer wrecked and the store puts back on the shelf. Don't give up. You're almost done. Good luck!

I attatched the white to both valves using one black wire from each valve. Valve 6 came on just fine but valve 5 (new) seemed to be trying to open up. You could hear noise coming from it but no water was being let out. I turned the to knobs on the top to make the sprinklers for that sation run manually. That worked and then I shut them off and the valve closed. Bad new valve or do I have it instatlled backwards?

Kabby,
What model controller do you have on your wall to activate these valves? One thing you might do is to remove the service panel of your controller and take note of the wire colors on the various terminals. This way you will know what color is what, and what color goes where. The "C" or "Com" terminal will be your common / ground wire. Like Mr Fixit said, it is usually white. The other terminals labeled 1,2,3,4 etc... will be your hot side.