Sprinkler System - Suddenly Not Working!

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RMO87
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Location: Kansas City, MO

Sprinkler System - Suddenly Not Working!

Post by RMO87 »

My system (Hunter with six zones, three years old) has been open and used for about a month now this spring. I suddenly have a problem with the system not working. The controller display operates normally, but the sprinkler rotors don't pop out of the ground, thus no watering takes place.

This applies to all zones. I've tried manually activating a zone, using the programmed schedule, and resetting the controller, all with no luck. I discovered the Hunter Pro-C controller even has a "Quick Check" feature that helps in identifying potential shorts caused by faulty solenoids. The results were negative.

Does anyone have any other ideas as to what to check? Please help me troubleshoot what may have happened.

Thanks in advance!

Ryan
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soaring
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Post by soaring »

I have no idea about your system but is there water coming to the source? Maybe someone, unknown to you, turned the master water value off to the system.
Desiderata
livesoft
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Post by livesoft »

Check the small fuses on the inside of the control box. The clock can work, but I think it is on a separate fuse from the valves.
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sscritic
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Post by sscritic »

Did you manually open one of the valves? If the valves work (water flows), then the problem is in the controller or the connections from the controller to the valves.
rwwoods
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Post by rwwoods »

My friend's system stoped because of a bad valve blowing the fuse. Check the fuse and replace if necessary. If it blows again, you may have a bad coil on one of the valves. At the valve box, check the resistance of each coil to find the bad one.
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redarmymembe
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Post by redarmymembe »

I suspect the main valve.

Do you know how to manually open that?
retcaveman
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Post by retcaveman »

Just a thought... If you have a rain sensor (to override your program setting when there has been rain) and it has been raining, you won't be able to get the system to run.

This has happened to me a couple of times with ours. I go to turn it on and nothing.

If you have a rain sensor, you can turn it off...or just wait till things dry out a little. It should restart automatically as per the programmed schedule.

Good luck.
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Topic Author
RMO87
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Post by RMO87 »

No rain sensor and as far as I can tell from reading the owner's manual, there is no fuse. How do I manually open the main valve?

Thanks again for the suggestions!
Ryan
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soaring
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Post by soaring »

RMO87 wrote:No rain sensor and as far as I can tell from reading the owner's manual, there is no fuse. How do I manually open the main valve?

Thanks again for the suggestions!
Ryan
Generally I would think there is a ground level box or boxes, similiar to the box housing your property main water valve. Lift the top of those boxes and one should have the valve for the entire sprinkler system.

Of course if no work has been done in this area then it probably isn't turned off but worth knowing where it is anyway.
Desiderata
sscritic
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Post by sscritic »

The individual valves could be underground, but in many systems they are raised above the level of the ground as part of the anti-syphon system (keeping water from your lawn going back into your drinking water in the house).
The anti-siphon valve MUST be installed above ground and MUST be at least 6" higher than the highest sprinkler head.
diagram http://www.irrigationtutorials.com/sprinkler10.htm
or
http://www.irrigationtutorials.com/instal07.htm
or any of many google results

Turn the knob on top. It opens the valve even if there is no electricity. If there is no knob on top, there will be a screw just to the side, as on the toro.
http://www.toro.com/en-us/homeowner/do- ... hon-Valves

Loosen the screw.
retcaveman
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Post by retcaveman »

The main control unit should be in your garage. Make sure it is turned "on." Make sure you have allocated time to each zone, eg days and minutes it should run. Then each of your zones should have a control. Ours are round green plastic/fiberglass "cans," the size of a large coffee can. They are spread out around your lawn and should be mostly level with the ground and visible. If you go to the one in zone 1, remove the top/cover. There should be a valve with some wires in there. Just grab the valve (a round plastic thing) and turn it counter clockwise. If water is getting to it from the house, the heads in zone 1 should pop and start working (if you open the valve far enough). If it works, that will tell you that it's not a water supply issue and that it is a wiring/control issue.

Re rain sensor, they are usually attached to a rain gutter. Walk around your house/garage looking for a little gizmo with a wire attached to it. It will probably be near the garage with the control box. Has it rained lately?

Let us know.
"The wants of mortals are containers that can never be filled." (Socrates)
sscritic
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Post by sscritic »

Does anyone else see the humor in this? We are all walking around his yard and garden and the outside of his house and inside his garage looking for water lines, main valves, sprinkler valves, etc from cyberspace, while he is inside looking at his computer and waiting for us to tell him what exactly?
livesoft
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Post by livesoft »

Now you know how customer support folks on a phone feel.

I suppose the future is that you take your phone's video camera and walk outside while streaming the video to a customer support person. Of course, then you need instructions on how to use your phone's video first and how to stream it to someone on the internet.
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BigD53
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Post by BigD53 »

What happen to the old fashioned way of using a hose and hand-watering your yard? No fuses, no broken sprinkler heads, no control boxes, no computers, no electrical mess, no pipes to worry about.

I've been dragging a hose around for the past 56 years. I get a little exercise, some fresh air, some sunshine, a bit of smog, some nice traffic noise, and I can exchange nasty greetings with the gang members walking by.

It's all good. 8)
sscritic
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Post by sscritic »

BigD53 wrote:I get a little exercise, some fresh air, some sunshine, a bit of smog, some nice traffic noise, and I can exchange nasty greetings with the gang members walking by.
Another endorsement for Frank McCourt posted by someone who's location is Dodger Stadium!

I'm with you BigD53; it's all good.
livesoft
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Post by livesoft »

BigD53 wrote:What happen to the old fashioned way of using a hose and hand-watering your yard? No fuses, no broken sprinkler heads, no control boxes, no computers, no electrical mess, no pipes to worry about.

I've been dragging a hose around for the past 56 years. I get a little exercise, some fresh air, some sunshine, a bit of smog, some nice traffic noise, and I can exchange nasty greetings with the gang members walking by.

It's all good. 8)
That's BS. I've seen your massive sprinkler systems at Dodger Stadium in use.
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sscritic
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Post by sscritic »

livesoft wrote: That's BS. I've seen your massive sprinkler systems at Dodger Stadium in use.
BigD53 is the guy watering down the dirt around the base paths before the game and at the 7th inning stretch. All done with a hose and gang members, just as he describes. :)
earlyout
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Post by earlyout »

It was working okay. I'll assume you did not close the main water valve to the sprinkler system since you don't know where/what it is. I'll also assume you did not have a plumber working on your main water system.

The controller seems to be working based on the display. None of the 6 zone valves operate and it is unlikely they all failed at the same time. Check the electrical connections to the zone valves on the controller, the common (or return) connection may be loose.

EO
Topic Author
RMO87
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Post by RMO87 »

I checked the water and it is still open. I manually opened the valves and still no rotors are operating. All the wires in the control box appear to be tightly secured.

Does this potentially indicate an electical wiring connection problem at one of the valves?
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Imperabo
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Post by Imperabo »

RMO87 wrote:I checked the water and it is still open. I manually opened the valves and still no rotors are operating. All the wires in the control box appear to be tightly secured.

Does this potentially indicate an electical wiring connection problem at one of the valves?

When you say manually opened, are you still talking about the controller?

Find a box buried in the ground that looks like this: http://www.barstone.co.za/Images/Produc ... rCover.jpg

This locate an object in that box that looks like one of these:

http://lawn-and-garden.hardwarestore.co ... alves.aspx

Then flip the little black switch on said object and report back.
SP-diceman
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Post by SP-diceman »

sscritic wrote:Does anyone else see the humor in this? We are all walking around his yard and garden and the outside of his house and inside his garage looking for water lines, main valves, sprinkler valves, etc from cyberspace, while he is inside looking at his computer and waiting for us to tell him what exactly?

:)
sscritic
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Post by sscritic »

RMO87 wrote:I checked the water and it is still open. I manually opened the valves and still no rotors are operating. All the wires in the control box appear to be tightly secured.

Does this potentially indicate an electical wiring connection problem at one of the valves?
Let's make sure we are using the word "manual" in the same sense.

When I say manual, I don't mean the opposite of automatic, I mean use of the hand. If you turn with your hand the valve handle on the faucet on the side of your house where you connect the garden hose and water doesn't come out, you wouldn't suspect an electrical problem. Did you open the valves by using a screwdriver in your hand to turn the release screw on the physical valve? Did you open the valves by using your hand to turn the handle on top? (See the linked pictures in one of my previous posts and in Imperabo's post).

Here is a handle top valve:
http://www.hardwarestore.com/media/prod ... ont500.jpg

Here is a valve with a screw release:
http://www.hardwarestore.com/media/prod ... ont500.jpg

Which type of valve do you have? The brand and model number would suffice.
Topic Author
RMO87
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Location: Kansas City, MO

Post by RMO87 »

They are Hunter PGV valves. I manually turned, by hand, the solenoid counter clockwise.

Ryan
sscritic
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Post by sscritic »

RMO87 wrote:They are Hunter PGV valves. I manually turned, by hand, the solenoid counter clockwise.

Ryan
That implies a water flow problem. From your product manual:
For fast manual operation, a quick 1⁄2 turn of the solenoid allows water to bleed off of the top of the diaphragm and, as a result, opens the valve. All the water goes through the valve, which means no more water continuously leaking into valve boxes.

Manually Opening a Valve
The same principle is at work when a valve is manually opened using the manual bleed. The pressure on the top of the diaphragm is released through the use of an internal or external bleed. The internal bleed on the PGV mechanically lifts the solenoid piston off of the upper chamber exhaust port allowing the water to be released into the downstream pipe. Some valves have an external bleed which allows water to exit the upper diaphragm chamber into the valve box.
http://www.hunterindustries.com/Resourc ... it294w.pdf

Did you check that the flow control valve was open? (It doesn't make sense that someone would go around and close them all, but who knows?)
When fine tuning the system, adjust to the desired zone flow either by hand or using a valve key. If necessary, the easy-to-turn flow control handle completely shuts the valve off without the possibility of damage to the diaphragm, even under maximum pressure and flow conditions.
Another possibility: there is a master shut-off valve for the water to the sprinkler system that got closed.
payam2000
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Re: Sprinkler System - Suddenly Not Working!

Post by payam2000 »

I have similar issue with one exception!
My hunter Pro-C was working fine, now its weird because the automatic watering set up shows the flashing icon indicating its watering, but it doesn't. Even more weird os that when i run the stations manually they work fine, so i don't think it's valve issue or wiring issue. I do have a sensor, i timed my controller with sensor and bypass, but regardless when it comes to watering time i have the same problem, screen shows its watering, but nothing happens. ANY HELP TO MAKE MY DAY??
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