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

Do you know where the valves are? If so there is a common wore that goes to all valves. Connect that to the space on the controller that is labeled for common wire. The rest go into the different zones 1, 2, 3etc. Usuallt the common wire is white but not always. There could be a little more to this so let us know if that doesnt work

Get some tape and mark each wire, so you can tell which of the fourteen wires are which. Then get a cheap multimeter, like from Radio Shack, and start taking resistance measurements between the wires, making a chart for each of the three cables. If the white wires are the commons, then the resistance from the other colors to white will be about the same, and the resistance from one of the other colors to another 'other' color will be about double.

It is customary to make the white wire(s) the common, because most any multi-conductor cable will have a white wire in it.

You may have three separate locations for the sprinkler valves, which would account for the three cables. Or, it might be that one valve location has more than six valves, and the installer used two multi-conductor cables to feed it.

We dont know. have you looked at the valves? What can you tell us from that end? Or try using the multimeter. We cant guess on color alone.

Using the flagged wires and the multimeter, you can get an exact profile with around ninety-one resistance measurements, recorded on the 14x14 chart you make.

you need me there to fix it. good luck.