Irrigation Sprinkler Timer Troubleshooting

Irrigation Sprinkler Timer Troubleshooting

For Glenn Lakes

To change the sprinkler zone order: Open the Irrigation Sprinkler Timer Box and switch the wires for STA1, STA2, STA3 or STA4 inside your timer box. My wires are Red, White, Blue, and Yellow. All I had to do was loosen the screws connecting the wires to STA1 and STA2, slide the wires out, wrap them back around the other screws and tighten them.

To temporarily disconnect a zone if you have a blown out sprinkler in one zone and you want to run the other zones until you fix the problem: Open the Irrigation Sprinkler Timer Box and loosen the appropriate screw connecting the wire for STA1, STA2, STA3, or STA4, and then pull the wire away from the screw and away from any metal.

If your sprinkler does not go on: Open the Irrigation Sprinkler Timer box and confirm that the fuse has not been blown. The fuse is behind the main timer buttons. This inner panel also swings out, almost like the timer box door swings open.

Replace blown fuses with the same type. Otherwise you can do some major damage to your system. My fuse is a Buss Fuse, part number AGC- 1 1/2

If the fuse blows again:

1. Put in another new fuse; run each zones until the fuse blows again – that will identify the bad zone and corresponding bad solenoid.

If you have an Ohm Meter and know how to use it:

Open the Irrigation Sprinkler Timer box. Take a reading between the green ground screw (labeled “COM” for common) near the top of the connector block and each of the other screws that the zone wires are connected to (STA1, STA2, STA3, STA4). In addition to the screw that the green ground wire is attached to, there is a white wire connected to a screw for one zone, and a blue wire connected to a screw for another zone, and a red wire and a yellow wire… If there is a significant difference in one of the readings, you have identified the bad zone.

The good thing is, once you have identified the bad zone, you can temporarily disconnect its wire and run the other zones.

2. The solenoid control box is in the ground near the front of your house. For my home it is about 10 feet south of our sidewalk and about 3 feet west of our driveway. It was completely covered with grass, so I had to poke around in the ground to find it.

3. Pull the top off of this control box. (My box is pink in color.) The solenoid will have the same color wires running to it that correspond to the color of the wires in the Irrigation Sprinkler Timer box. (I had to poke around in the dirt to find them.)

4. Before attempting to replace it: Turn off the Irrigation water valve! Otherwise water may shoot out as soon as you remove the solenoid. My irrigation water valve was inline with my solenoid control box, but only one foot from the sidewalk. It also has a pink top. It does not have a typical valve handle. I had to use a wrench to turn it off.

5. You can unscrew the bad solenoid (mine was a hex-shaped Rain Bird solenoid) and replace it with a new one. (Do not remove the Phillips screws or try to unscrew the base unit that the solenoid screws into.) Lowes sells the Glenn Lakes style of solenoids for $5.98.

Disclaimer

Floyd Jay Winters does not warrant the accuracy of these Irrigation Sprinkler Timer Troubleshooting tips; nor does he take any responsibility for any problems that may arise if you follow these directions.

Floyd Jay Winters has put this information on the Web as a public service for Glenn Lakes residents.

Do NOT call Floyd Jay Winters for any help with your sprinkler systems.

However, if you have an advice that may be included that may also be helpful, please feel free to pass that along to him so that he may also share it with our community.

I would like to thank my neighbor Dan for his help and advice with this.