Ok. If you are turning them on manually then it very well could be the solenoid. Can you hear the solenoid energizing when you turn that section on with the timer? You could have a wiring problem or a problem with the internals of the valve as well. However, with the fuse message on the controller, I'm going to guess shorted solenoid. The creamy stuff in the connections is grease to prevent corrosion of the connection. You can buy grease caps from anywhere that sells sprinkler equipment.
You may not need to replace all the solenoids, but it sounds like one of them is definitely shorted or a wire is shorted. The section that turns on when you turn on another section most likely has the solenoid stuck open and when the master valve comes on, the water goes through that open valve as well. Does this section come on when any section is turned on?
The solenoid is on your valve not the controller. Replacing that is a very straightforward and easy process. A shorted solenoid would definetly cause the FUSE display but it could also be shorted wires or something shorted in the controller itself. Reset it and see if it comes on only when a certain zone is activated. To reset the FUSE flashing on your controller, just press the "Clock" button or I think even any of the "Start" buttons.
Fixed it. The diaphragms were <i>ok</i> but the supports were cracked on both valves. I replaced all of the guts and everything is fine now.
The two I am working on now are. At least I think they are, I'm not 100% sure of the model. I'm guessing <b>260</b>. Female ends, no flow control, soleniod uses two small screws to attach instead of screwing in, etc. Edit: It apppears the 260s are the ones without flow control
Interesting forum, glad I found it. Hopefully I can contribute eventually. This may get a little long so I can completely cover the situation. Anyway, I have inherited a sprinkler system with my house. It's an older system, mainly Toro valves (?250/60 series? I have replaced a couple with Rainbirds), 5 zones, installed by the original owner long ago. The previous owners to me re-landscaped the yard, buried all the valves and didn't mark them. So over the last couple of years sections have been f...
