Question
I have a Rainbird ESP-6 Outdoor Controller that is hard wired in place.  A couple weeks back, I noticed the system was not operating any of the valves.  I checked the power on the terminal strip and was getting around 24-30 Volts there at the VAC.  However, I was not getting that kind of power at my valve locations.  So I bought new wire and ran it above ground before digging up the old wire.  It worked, the zone came on and off electronically, as it should.  Problem fixed right?  Wrong!!!! A few days ago I went out to hook up the system completly and bury the new wire, and noticed a blank screen on the controller.  I may have left open the controller door for a few days and this allowed rain to come into the sytem, but I can't remember whether the door was open or shut when I came out to make final repairs recently, so the that may, or may not be accurate.  What are the chances the controller goes out right after the wire went out?  I checked to see if power was coming to terminal strip.  There is power, but the controller is "dead to the world".  I also unpluged the power source to the controller and took out the back-up battery to try and re-set, but no dice.  Any ideas on what else I can do?  The wires running from the controller to the solenoids do not need to be all connected to allow the controller to operate, do they?  Already got a replacement controller shipping.

Thanks for all the help in advance, its great having people like you, for poor college students like me.
Clinton Muse

Answer
Hey Clinton, I hope this helps. First of all, you do not have to have any of the wires (field wires, from the controller to the solenoids) hooked up for it to operate. The other thing you could try, if you haven't already, is pull out the battery, and I believe on the back of this control panel, there is a re-set button that you could push with a pen or pencil, and see if this does any good. What I would be more concerned about, is that one, or any number of your solenoids might be bad, and could be shorting out the controller. I doubt its the wire, if you have ran a new one. Try taking your solenoids to a irrigation supplier, and see if they can check them for you, or just replace them. You will need to know the brand of the valve you have (Rainbird, Toro etc.) and also the model# or name of the valve, or just take it to the supplier and have them match it up. Each valve uses a different solenoid, and one won't work on the other. The solenoids are easy to take off the valve, they just unscrew(counter clockwise). Let me know if I can be of anymore help. Study hard so you don't become a ditch digger like me. Thanks and have a great day.