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System turns on for only a few seconds

dij

Unregistered

1

Monday, April 9th 2012, 5:16pm

System turns on for only a few seconds

HI there!

Really happy to find this place. I bought this house in December 2010. I couldn't get the sprinkler system to work and just decided to spray the yard myself since it's only about 6'x10'. Since I'm in the desert it's a desert landscape with rocks. I'm required to have at least 5 bushes.

Anyhow, my system is an Ez Jr 8300 series and today I replaced the solenoid. I can now hear the water turn on and go through when I turn the system to manual. However, that's about as far as it gets. A little water might come out of my drip system, but it stops after a few seconds and that's all I get. I tried to reschedule my program to make it turn on normally for a few minutes after the current time and it did the same thing and showed me a 'p' for problem.

Does anyone know what this could be?

Thanks!

dij

Unregistered

2

Monday, April 9th 2012, 5:28pm

just as a follow up, the water does turn on when I turn on the valve.

Wet_Boots

Supreme Member

Posts: 4,102

Location: Metro NYC

3

Monday, April 9th 2012, 5:29pm

It may be a wiring fault that looks like a short circuit to the controller.

wsommariva

Supreme Member

Posts: 332

Location: Northern New Jersey

4

Tuesday, April 10th 2012, 8:18am

Well controllers are cheap you can replace it. For such a small area you can take up the old lines and replace if you need to. Well worth it IMHO.

GatorGuy

Moderator

Posts: 458

5

Tuesday, April 10th 2012, 8:36am

From the manual: P with a zone number appears on LCD • Wires not connected or short in wires or solenoid • Check field wiring, check wires or solenoid , replace solenoid
• More than 2 solenoids connected to a zone
• TVS damaged due to lightning or improper grounding • Remove zone wire if Pxxz still shows when run manually or
automatically, unit needs service/replacement

dij

Unregistered

6

Tuesday, April 10th 2012, 2:52pm

I opened up the unit to check the wiring. Not sure if anything is wrong...nothing looks wrong. The transformer (TDC power Model No DA-20-24TM) was hot to the touch, though. Not sure if this means anything.

dij

Unregistered

7

Tuesday, April 10th 2012, 2:54pm

I may just get a new controller...seems cheaper than replacing the transformer and all that. I think it's weird, though, that the system does turn on but the water just shuts off. Thanks, guys! I'll see if I can get a controller this week and let you know how it goes. :)

wsommariva

Supreme Member

Posts: 332

Location: Northern New Jersey

8

Wednesday, April 11th 2012, 8:23am

I don't know much about drip, but maybe they are clogged up. Do you have a filter? Maybe check it for dirt.

mrfixit

Moderator

Posts: 1,510

Location: USA

9

Wednesday, April 11th 2012, 1:37pm

It doesn't sound like a controller problem to me. You very well may have the same problem if you buy a new one. Try disconnecting the ground wire from the controller and running it again. Does it still show the P? If not it's a wiring issue.

Do you have two valves running at the same time? That would be the two solenoids hooked together in Gator's post.

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