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Zone not working

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ktulu

Active Member

Posts: 6

1

Sunday, July 10th 2005, 5:07pm

Zone not working

I have been having a problem with my zone 6, at first I thought it was the solenoid, so I replaced it, and it was working again. Well, it stopped. I had a guy come out and take a look, he checked the solenoids (as did I doing the three 9 volt battery trick) and they are good. He suggested I change the diaphragm, so I did that, and still no water.

So today I turned off the water, flipped on zone 6 and then took the solenoid out. The plunger fell out, so I started wondering if it's a wiring issue since the zone will come on if I do it manually at the valve. So I put the solenoid back in, and turned on the water. This time zone 9 came on, so I turned off zone 6 and turned on zone 9, and zone 9 came on again. I'm almost ready to just pulling out the hose a few times a week and watering the old fashion way, but I figured I would turn to the power of the Internet! Thanks in advance for any help.

darren

Wet_Boots

Supreme Member

Posts: 4,102

Location: Metro NYC

2

Sunday, July 10th 2005, 6:02pm

If the valves operate with battery power, then suspect the controller.

ktulu

Active Member

Posts: 6

3

Monday, July 11th 2005, 6:11am

Wet_Boots,

This is the only zone not working, and I tried moving to other zones. I have 12 total, with 9 in use, so I tried zones 10, 11 and 12 with no success. I guess I could try one of the zones that is known to work. Thanks for your reply!

darren

Wet_Boots

Supreme Member

Posts: 4,102

Location: Metro NYC

4

Monday, July 11th 2005, 7:28am

Get a multimeter and check the wiring for an open or short circuit. It will also verify that there is or isn't voltage present at the controller outputs.

ktulu

Active Member

Posts: 6

5

Saturday, July 16th 2005, 3:48pm

I am thinking at this point it's a wiring issue. If I move zone 5 to zone 6 (non working zone) it comes on, so it's something between the controller and the valve, the guy who came out and checked it said he could open the circuit from the controller using his multimeter. I have a multimeter, but I'm not sure what I need to set it at, I guess I can read the vague instructions that came with it.

What gets me is if I turn on zone 6, zone 9 comes on, why would that happen? Zone 9 also comes on if I switch it on manually. Could this just be a wiring problem at the valve?

ktulu

Active Member

Posts: 6

6

Saturday, July 16th 2005, 4:34pm

I just tested some more stuff, and it looks like it's going to be a bad wire between the controller and the valve. Hopefully I know someone that can help me locate the problem, or just bury a new wire...

RidgeRun05

Supreme Member

Posts: 314

Location: USA

7

Saturday, July 16th 2005, 4:47pm

You'll need to get ahold of, or get ahold of someone, who has a wire tracer and can find out where the wire is broken. Did you do any digging recently? Any construction? If not, wires don't just break in the ground by themselves (unless prior damage was done). I would check out at the valve for that particular zone for a loose wire or bad connection. If you don't want to bring in a pro or rent equipment, and the valve isn't too far away, bury a new wire.
Tony Posey
Ridge Run Landscapes

ktulu

Active Member

Posts: 6

8

Sunday, July 17th 2005, 7:29am

No recent digging, and there are three valves in the same area. Fun :/

RidgeRun05

Supreme Member

Posts: 314

Location: USA

9

Sunday, July 17th 2005, 9:35am

Check the wiring connections on that particular valve then. It may be possible that one of the connections is loose or corroded. There should be two wires off of the solenoid, one for the common, and one for the zone wire..Check the splices on both of these connections, and re-do the splices if need be. Also check the wiring at the terminal in the controller to make sure there are no bare wires touching each other. Did you try replacing the solenoid yet? If not, you may want to try that as well.
Tony Posey
Ridge Run Landscapes

ktulu

Active Member

Posts: 6

10

Sunday, July 17th 2005, 11:05am

Tony,

It's a new solenoid (verified it's working) and I double checked all the splices. Wiring at the terminal is all good as well. I think I'll double check all the wiring at the valves, two solenoids share a common wire, and then there is a splice for a third valve right next to it. A triple check is better than digging eh?
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