I am installing a new Toro Lawn Master II Landscape Timer to replace an
Intermatic Timer on a six zone sprinkler system with one valve switch
for all six zones. I am unclear from the directions how to wire the
switch from the control box to the switch. Can there be just the Com and
MV connections to the switch or do I have to wire the switch using all
six of the S1-thru S6 terminals? If so do I just splice S1-S6 wires
together and run one wire back to the switch with the common?
Predicting you are in Florida is not a gag. You have described what is almost certainly a sprinkler system with an indexing valve, and those systems use a different sort of controller, a controller with a delay between zones activating, in order to work with the indexing valve. Your Toro controller is not likely to have enough of a delay to work with the indexer. If you had a more expensive controller, you could get a delay between zones, but you would be spending more than a new indexing-valve controller would cost.
This post has been edited 1 times, last edit by "Wet_Boots" (May 21st 2012, 9:14am)
So i need help with my sprinkler system i have it all step up but the 3rd zone doesn't want to work and i have put new wire and rewired the whole thing and still cant find the problem!! Please help me!!
Saw this post and I know it is over a year old but wanted to chime in. I just installed a toro timer and used the smart pod, etc. which worked pretty good. How I did this was set 2 start times and use the Odd zones for actually firing the coil and the even zones for a 1 minute delay (not connected). So the coil fires 6 times over the 2 start times. I wired zones 1-3-5 together(at the valve pigtail) and then the common to the valve.
I have 6 new 24v valves on the way but know it may take me some time to fabricate a manifold, etc. so this will limp-along with my glued-together indexing head.
This method worked 100% for me. I did wire each zone separately and joined them at the coil so if I had problems I could test the voltage from each zone hot wire.
I recommend the smart pod. It got the time of the 2nd start wrong but made everything else much simpler.
If you have zone 3 not firing I would get the meter on it. it is a pretty simple plan.