Question
I have recently purchased a home with a sprinkler system, Rainbird ESP-6TM.  Looking at the wiring there are currently 3 of the 6 zones wired.  The first zone is wired to control the front sprinklers.  The second zone is wired to control the front drip system.  The third zone is set to control the second box that was set up for the back yard but is not currently utilized.  The problem is that all 6 zones control the front sprinklers, and only the front sprinklers.  Do you know why this would happen?

Answer
Hey Chris, I hope this helps. The first thing I would look into, is the terminals in back of the controller. Make sure #1 valve is hooked to the terminal marked #1 and not on the terminal marked MV(master valve). The master valve terminal would send a signal no matter what valve was scheduled on. If this is not the case, then I would power off the controller for at least 30 seconds. Then power back up the controller, and see if it is still doing the same thing. If it is still happening, then you probably have a short in the controller. Sometimes if you take it to an irrigation supply store, the can repair it for you, or just replace it with a new one. Let me know if I can be of anymore assistance, thanks and have a great day.