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Rainbird 2 Zones Stopped Working
I have the RainBird ESP-82i sprinkler system. The gardener broke off one of the sprinkler heads with the lawnmower and after replacing it, that station plus one other station (stations 5 & 7) are no longer working. The controller shows those stations are running as scheduled but they never come on. They also do not come in when running the system in test mode. I have gone to the actual valves and when I manually turn the screw, both stations work. I don't know what to check next? Help!
It sound like a wire may have been cut. Try this disconnect zone 5 from your controller and connect it to a different slot on the controller. One that you know works(zone 1 for example) now turn on zone 1 on your controller and if the zone is still not functioning then you have a bad wire. If it works then your controller is malfunctioning ( I think this is unlikely with your description)
Thanks,
Pete
OK I did what you suggested. I switched the wire from zone 5 with the one from zone 1. When I ran the test, when zone 1 was supposed to run, nothing happened. When zone 5 was supposed to run, it worked but zone 1 actually came on. Does that mean I have a bad wire in zone 5? Bear with me...I'm new to all of this! Thanks for your help! Mel
I forgot to mention one thing...when I checked the valve for zone 5, the wires were twisted together but there was no plastic cap covering them. There is a lot of moisture out there. Could it be as easy as putting a cap on those wires? And if not, where would I check for a cut wire? By the valves, the controller box or ????? Thanks again! Mel
it could be. Dry the wires and re "twist" them together, then get some caps on them. Let me know what happens then!
Thanks
Ray
Rays Above and Beyond Automatic Lawn Sprinklers
its possible though also he broke the wire in half somewhere in the garden, leading to the controller!
Thanks
Ray
Rays Above and Beyond Automatic Lawn Sprinklers
We now know that your controller is fine and the problem is either the valve or the wire. Looking at the situation though (2 zones stopped working after fixing a head) I am still betting on a cut wire.
The next thing I would do is re strip the exposed wires and re twist. Then use a waterproof wire nut to cover it. Over time corrosion will inhibit conduction and that splice will fail. I would do this because it should be done at some point and it is fast and easy. Let us know what happens.
Thanks,
Pete
OK....I'm finally getting back to this project. I have re-twisted and secured the uncovered wires at the valves. Now I notice that there is an extra wire coming from the controller that is not attached to anything. It is the white wire (not the fat one, the small one). Where is that supposed to be attached? I'm gonna try another test run and see if it is working at all at this point. I'll post my results. Thanks
OK....now none of the four zones in the back work. I don't remember seeing that white wire dangling before so am quite sure that is the cause. I just don't know where it is supposed to go. Help!
It sounds like it is the nuetral to the back I would try connecting it to the neutral slot. Do you have another white wire that would be for the front?
Thanks,
Pete
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