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

O.k I have a old system (1997 Toro with a Greenkeeper box). Changed some diaphragms out and a couple solenoids and put everything back together. I have a six zone system and now when I turn zone 1 on zone 4 also comes on and when i turn zone 4 on zone 1 comes on as well and its just 1 and 4. all other zones work as advertised. This is really starting to get to me, any ideas?

Quoted from "Mitchgo"

The solenoids you replaced, were zones 1 and 4 apart of this replacement?

You wired to wires incorrectly.. Most likely wired in series. Pull the 2 wires that connect the valves to each other and wire it into the main common bundle

It was only zone 1 that i replaced. I have two wires on that solenoid, one going to the bundle with the common wire and the other going to the zone 1 sprinkler. Now on the bundle i have 5 wires attached, three for each solenoid and 2 white common wires. the other common is for the zones in the back.

Quoted from "Mitchgo"

just to make sure, re-do the splices in the valve box- all of them. If that didn't fix it

Use a multimeter and test for voltage at the controller while you have either zone on. touch the common and that particular zone .. You are looking to see if the controller is sending power to multiple zones

I forgot to say that I installed a new controller box on the wall and thats when I noticed the problem, i then took that box off and put the old box back on and it still did the same thing.

Quoted from "mike1059"

Are zones 1 and 4 in the same valve box or is one in front and one in back. One quick check you can do is dissconnect one of the two stations at the clock. If both still come on the wires are cross-connecting in the valve box and as mitchgo says redoing the connections should fix the problem.

Yes zones 1-3 are located at the front of the house and zones 4-6 are located at the back of the house. This is what I did yeaterday, in the box where zones 1-3 solenoids are located I undid all the zones and the common wires and then turned each zone on at the control box went back and touched the solenoid to the common and zone 1 came on all by itself i then did that to all the zones one at a time. Now here's the problem I noticed, when I just hook up the common wire coming in from the box and the common wire to supply power to the back zones with no solenoids 1-3 hooked up and turn on the box and hit zone 1 zone four will turn on. I traced the wires and wrote them by the box in the garage and they are correct in the box so i dont know.



UPDATE: The problem stemmed from years of weedwacking where the cables from the house come outside and run down the pipe where the water and vacuum valve are located and run underground to zones 1,2 and 3. Seems just before the wires went underground where I weedwacked it nicked the wires and this caused the circuit to turn on. I taped the wires and secured it back to the pipe and everything ran as noted. When I turn 1 on 4 doesnt come on and when i turn 4 on 1 doesnt come on. Thanks everybody for all your helpful information.