Question
I went out to turn see why my sprinklers weren't running and found that the controller was all screwed up. I cleared it as instructed by Rainbird and all functions returned on the controller. After reprogramming it, I waited for it to turn on.

I have 9 zones...when i tested each zone, zone 1 worked fine. Zones 2, 3, and 4 "pulsed". It seemed like they were trying to turn on, but they would come up, spit a little water, and go back down...then repeat. Each zone did this for it's programmed time. Zone 5 caused an error (5 err). I think my dogs possibly dug something up on this one. Zones 6-9 worked fine.

I live in Florida, but had the controller in the off position for the winter. Just turned it back on to test before summer and all the above took place. Any suggestions on what would cause these 3 zones to "pulse"?

Thanks in advance.

Answer
I would suspect that something has gone wrong with the wiring at the valves, or the wires that lead to the valves.  You have already reset the controller, and several stations are working normally, so it stands to reason that the others have isolated problems.  Check the wiring connections and the wires feeding the valves.