Question
I have had a Hardie Total Control-12 Station controller on my home irrigation system for six years. All of the sudden, none of the stations will come on, and I get the error message "SHORT".  This is an electronic circuit breaker only to happen when there is a problem with the wiring on a station. Has the controller gone bad or is there a larger problem?

Answer
I think you may have a short in the common wire that is like the neutral for your valve wires.  Check the wire connections at all the valves, but especially the first one in line to make sure there are no loose wires or corroded connectors.  Make sure the wires at the controller terminals are securely tight as well.  If this doesnt fix it, you may have a bad solenoid on one of the valves.