Question
We have a Rainbird RC1260bi timer and it can be set to run up to 60 minutes per cycle. We have it set to only run 10 minutes per cycle (2 times per day). It runs for the 10 minutes but takes the full hour to move on to the next zone instead of just finishing one zone & immediately moving on to the next like it used to. Since we have 12 zones, this means it takes 12 hours to water the yard! Any ideas?

Answer
Hey Mandy, this controller has 2 motors, the first motor is the timing motor which keeps the correct time of day, and also times the zones for however  much time you put into them. The second motor actually rotates the big round wheel. As the timing of one zone is finished, the motor advances the wheel from one zone to the next zone. Your timing motor is just fine, it is the advance motor that has gone bad. You might check with Rainbird, but I do not believe you can get parts for this controller anymore. What I suggest, is replacing it with a Irri-trol "Rain dial" controller, or a Rainbird ESP series controller. No one makes a mechanical controller anymore, but either one of these controllers is easy to program, and will last you a long time. Good luck and have a great day.