Sprinkler system ****** *******s

[colleyvillesooner]

Any one familiar with problems on these? I have a rainbird ESP system that was working yesterday, but today won't start watering. The control panel works, let's me manual start the program, but no water comes out of any zone.

Only thing I can think of is I clipped a wire for an old rain sensor on the side of the house that isn't even hooked up to the system any more. It doesn't even look torn, but wires are exposed. Thinking of wasting time fixing that as a long shot. Tried resetting the while system, but nada.

Of course this happens right after I spread compost, green sand and molasses. :mad:

[jk the sooner fan]

Any one familiar with problems on these? I have a rainbird ESP system that was working yesterday, but today won't start watering. The control panel works, let's me manual start the program, but no water comes out of any zone.

Only thing I can think of is I clipped a wire for an old rain sensor on the side of the house that isn't even hooked up to the system any more. It doesn't even look torn, but wires are exposed. Thinking of wasting time fixing that as a long shot. Tried resetting the while system, but nada.

Of course this happens right after I spread compost, green sand and molasses. :mad:

celanoid (or however you spell it) is bad

i have a VERY good sprinkler/landscape guy - if you want his number - he's cheaper than most imo

[colleyvillesooner]

Yeah, I don't have one so I'll take it. Does he work on Sundays? :D

Is that a replace the main box type problem or is it an underground problem?

[JohnnyMack]

celanoid (or however you spell it) is bad

i have a VERY good sprinkler/landscape guy - if you want his number - he's cheaper than most imo

Is he legal?

[colleyvillesooner]

No se

[jk the sooner fan]

he's legal - and licensed - his english isnt the greatest but he's done a TON of work for me and always at a reduced rate from what others would charge

celanoid is underground

[colleyvillesooner]

Cool. Peem me the number and I'll give him a call. Not looking forward to watering my yard like the 80's
http://blogging.la/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/sprinklers_250x251.jpg

[jk the sooner fan]

i'll send it to you in the morning! his name is Angel

[colleyvillesooner]

Of course it is.

[Breadburner]

Master valve....

[colleyvillesooner]

How much am I looking at?

Won $200 on a scratchoff today and wondering if it's all going to this issue.

[hawaii 5-0]

Pay your water bill.



5-0


Trump/ Nemo 2012

[SoCaliSooner]

Sounds like the frayed wires are the issue. A solenoid would just affect one valve. Sometimes with the ESP timers you have to bypass the weather station. If the weather station is disconnected, sometimes it won't even run the valves manually.

Google the user manual for the timer and go through the troubleshooting section.

[Flagstaffsooner]

Buy a keg of beer. Invite us over. We will water your lawn. Next question.

[olevetonahill]

Buy a keg of beer. Invite us over. We will water your lawn. Next question.

:D

[colleyvillesooner]

Sounds like the frayed wires are the issue. A solenoid would just affect one valve. Sometimes with the ESP timers you have to bypass the weather station. If the weather station is disconnected, sometimes it won't even run the valves manually.

Google the user manual for the timer and go through the troubleshooting section.

This version doesn't even have a place for a rain sensor, that's the weird thing. I found the user manual online and it's troubleshooting doesn't even get into water not coming out or bypassing the weather station. I'll try patching that wire just in case.

http://www.rainbird.com/documents/turf/man_ESP.pdf

[Sooner_Tuf]

Do you own a multimeter?

[olevetonahill]

Have ya read page 11? Replace the back up battery?

If splicing those wires back dont do it look at that fuse and battery
If tht dont werk call em
1-800- rain- bird.;)

[colleyvillesooner]

Do you own a multimeter?

YES

[colleyvillesooner]

Have ya read page 11? Replace the back up battery?

If splicing those wires back dont do it look at that fuse and battery
If tht dont werk call em
1-800- rain- bird.;)

It had a replacement fuse, i put that in and that didn't work either.

It's so weird cause the box doesn't act any different, full power, cycles through the stations, everything, just no water.

[colleyvillesooner]

oops, that was the wrong manual:

http://www.rainbird.com/documents/turf/man_ESP.pdf

[REDREX]

Unplug it and take out the batteries and let it sit overnight---Mine does the same thing----Mine always "finds itself" after being unplugged

[colleyvillesooner]

Unplug it and take out the batteries and let it sit overnight---Mine does the same thing----Mine always "finds itself" after being unplugged

i'll try this today. I did that yesterday for 10 mins, plugged it back in and it had reset, but still no water.

[olevetonahill]

Call em.
Good luck

[OutlandTrophy]

locate this and move it to the correct position
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/80/On-Off_Switch.jpg/450px-On-Off_Switch.jpg

[colleyvillesooner]

hold on while i find my middle finger and put it in the correct position

:D

[Breadburner]

Make sure no one is jacking with you and valved off your back-flow.....I still say its the master valve....Do you have a seperate meter for your spinkler system by chance....??

[colleyvillesooner]

Make sure no one is jacking with you and valved off your back-flow.....I still say its the master valve....Do you have a seperate meter for your spinkler system by chance....??

Not sure.

[colleyvillesooner]

Left unplugged and removed battery for a few hours, repaired the wire, hooked it all back up and nada. :mad:

[Mjcpr]

Are you sure you even have a sprinkler system?

[Mongo]

Are you sure you even have a sprinkler system?

no one will get this:D

[Partial Qualifier]

Make sure no one is jacking with you and valved off your back-flow.....I still say its the master valve....Do you have a seperate meter for your spinkler system by chance....??

this is what Ive been thinking all along :confused:

[Sooner_Tuf]

YES

Well then check your outputs and see if any voltage is on them when they are supposed to be active. Your manual will tell you but it is probably supposed to 24v DC.

If you voltage going out check your solenoid or the valves themselves. They will just be operated by a simple coil I'm sure. They should have continuity across the poles.

Shouldn't take long to figure out what us causing the problem but I'm guessing there is one valve that controls all the flow that is shut. Is there a manual valve before the system?

[pphilfran]

Well then check your outputs and see if any voltage is on them when they are supposed to be active. Your manual will tell you but it is probably supposed to 24v DC.

If you voltage going out check your solenoid or the valves themselves. They will just be operated by a simple coil I'm sure. They should have continuity across the poles.

Shouldn't take long to figure out what us causing the problem but I'm guessing there is one valve that controls all the flow that is shut. Is there a manual valve before the system?

If he has access to the valves he can narrow things down...if he doesn't have a meter he should be able to feel or hear the solenoid activate...

mine were buried in the front yard...I had one sticking and I could hear it bleed out...I narrowed down the location by sound and then used a long screwdriver to find the buried box...

[colleyvillesooner]

Not sure what I have access to. The box on the wall has a wire tube that comes out the bottom down the wall and into the wall. All the zones are buried, and I wouldn't know where to begin to look for the valves.

[Sooner_Tuf]

Shouldn't be too hard. I'd bet it is tied into the line coming from your water meter. If you know where the water line comes up in your house the probably runs straight to the meter from there. I would think close to the house in that line will be your tie in. You'll probably see some conduit coming out of the wall for the wiring.

If you stand there and have someone turn it on and off you might hear something. Is the box on an outside wall that has an outdoor spigot on the other side?

[mgsooner]

It's all ball bearings these days.

[colleyvillesooner]

Shouldn't be too hard. I'd bet it is tied into the line coming from your water meter. If you know where the water line comes up in your house the probably runs straight to the meter from there. I would think close to the house in that line will be your tie in. You'll probably see some conduit coming out of the wall for the wiring.

If you stand there and have someone turn it on and off you might hear something. Is the box on an outside wall that has an outdoor spigot on the other side?


Man I am such a house noob. I know where the water meter is, but no Idea where it comes into the house. The control box is on the back wall (outside wall) inside of the garage, but there is no spicket on that wall, it's on the wall to the right about 15-20 feet away, outside.

[jk the sooner fan]

call Angel - he has never done me wrong - i've been a customer of his for 5 years now - he put a french drain in on the side of my house for 500 bucks, when the other estimates were 1300 and 1800 - he's done a TON of landscaping and irrigation work

super nice man - not great english but good enough - he's licensed and he wont rape you

[colleyvillesooner]

Sweet. I'm all about not getting raped. Calling him this am.

[olevetonahill]

Sweet. I'm all about not getting raped. Calling him this am.

Have you tried Calling the trouble shooting thingy from the company? It could be something very simple.

[jk the sooner fan]

i doubt seriously it has anything to do with the box itself - rainbird or whatever company is going to troubleshoot you from the top of the box to the point the wires connect and no further

it could be the box got fried - but if you're still getting readings than thats doubtful

[colleyvillesooner]

Turns out it was the bastard rain sensor. I had repaired the line correctly, but the sensor had somehow pitched forward and was facing upside down. This "tripped" the system and shut it off. The guy had no idea why that position would do that but it did. Glad i didn't start digging holes looking for boxes.

The rain sensor has been removed and the circuit closed and buried.

he did let me know that the system was obviously put in by a homeowner based on the location and number of heads, so i got that going for me. Couple heads were a little too low (I knew that but hadn't had time to get to it), but other than that, we are back in action.

[colleyvillesooner]

Still totally pissed my unit manual doesn't even acknowledge a rain sensor, and has no manual override. That would have been handy and let me know that was the issue. All in all, i had the cheapest of potential problems.

[olevetonahill]

Wonder if you could have found out that Info with a FREE phone call?

[SoCaliSooner]

Some cities here in SoCal require "smart" timers now for new installations. They are a pain on the butt. The sensors switch gets stuck and won't water. People sometimes just cut the wiring to the sensor out of frustration...and end up with the same problem you had.

[colleyvillesooner]

Some cities here in SoCal require "smart" timers now for new installations. They are a pain on the butt. The sensors switch gets stuck and won't water. People sometimes just cut the wiring to the sensor out of frustration...and end up with the same problem you had.

yep, for mine you just have to tie the two wires together and bury it.

[jk the sooner fan]

Still totally pissed my unit manual doesn't even acknowledge a rain sensor, and has no manual override. That would have been handy and let me know that was the issue. All in all, i had the cheapest of potential problems.

did he rape you on the bill?

[Tulsa_Fireman]

Did he rape you in a house?

Did he rape you with a mouse?

[colleyvillesooner]

did he rape you on the bill?

no, just paid for the service call basically. It was good to have someone check out the whole system anyways, since i hadn't had that done since i got the house.