Question
Hello,

My sprinkler system, zone 1 and 2 (front yard), works manually when you turn on the valve. It does not work with the timers. How do we know if the solenoids are working, and if it is a solenoid problem, how do we change out the bad ones.

Answer
BEFORE DOING ANYTHING NEW (1) MAKE SURE EACH ZONE HAS RUN TIME, DAYS ON, AND START TIMES ON THE CONTROLLER (2) MAKE SURE THE WIRE CONNECTIONS ARE GOOD AT THE CONTROLLER AND AT THE VALVE - THIS MAY INVOLVE RE-SPLICING THE WIRES AND PUTTING ON NEW WIRE NUTS (3) AND TRY TO TURN THEM ON AGAIN FROM THE CONTROLLER.

A VOLT-OHM METER IS THE MOST ACCURATE AND EFFECTIVE WAY TO CHECK A SOLENOID. (METHOD 1)AT THE CONTROLLER OPEN THE INSIDE DOOR OR REMOVE THE PANEL <DEPENDING ON MODEL> TO SEE THE TERMINAL STRIP WHERE ALL THE WIRES COME IN FROM THE FIELD. WITH THE METER SET TO "OHM", TOUCH ONE LEAD OF THE METER TO THE COMMON TERMINAL AND THE OTHER METER LEAD TO THE TERMINAL OF THE ZONE IN QUESTION SIMULTANEOUSLY. THE READING SHOULD BE BETWEEN 25 AND 60 OHMS FOR A NORMAL SOLENOID. (METHOD 2)AT THE VALVE DISCONNECT THE SOLENOID WIRES BY REMOVING THE WIRE NUTS AND TAKE A READING BY PLACING THE 2 LEADS OF THE METER TO THE 2 SOLENOID WIRES SIMULTANEOUSLY. THE READING SHOULD BE BETWEEN 25 AND 50 OHMS FOR A NORMAL SOLENOID.

IF THE SOLENOID GIVES A READING ABOVE OR BELOW THE RANGE OF 25 TO 60 REPLACE IT BY SHUTTING THE WATER SUPPLY OFF, QUICKLY TURN THE VALVE ON TO LET OFF EXCESS PRESSURE, AND UNSCREW THE SOLENOID FROM THE VALVE BODY (AFTER DISCONNECTING WIRES) BY TURNING COUNTER-CLOCKWISE. NOW IMPORTANT NOTE - SOME SOLENOIDS WILL HAVE A PLUNGER AND A SPRING THAT MAY FALL OUT AFTER YOU REMOVE IT - WATCH FOR THIS. NEXT IMPORTANT NOTE - IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU REPLACE WITH THE EXACT SAME SOLENOID FOR YOUR BRAND AND MODEL OF VALVE. THE NEW SOLENOID WILL GO BACK IN THE SAME WAY - EXCEPT OF COURSE IN REVERSE. BE SURE TO USE WATERPROOF WIRE NUTS WHEN CONNECTING THE WIRES.

I RECOMMEND GOING TO AN IRRIGATION DISTRIBUTOR FOR PARTS LIKE THIS AND NOT A HOME STORE, SIMPLY BECAUSE THE IRRIGATION DISTRIBUTORS ARE THE EXPERTS. PAYING A FEW EXTRA DOLLARS FOR ANSWERS AND SOLUTIONS WILL FAR OUTWEIGH 25 TRIPS TO THE HOME STORE. CAN I HELP YOU WITH RECOMMENDING AND LOCATING AN IRRIGATION DISTRIBUTOR IN YOUR AREA?

IF AT ANY TIME YOU ARE UNSURE PLEASE CONTACT AN IRRIGATION PROFESSIONAL OR AN ELECTRICIAN FOR ASSISTANCE.

GOOD LUCK AND LET ME KNOW IF YOU NEED ANYTHING ELSE.