Cho,
I know I am missing something here. What are the specific times and durations you want each zone to come on? Write it here to look like a table or matrix. Do you want certain zones to come on more than once or twice per day? Plan on about an one inch of water applied as rainfall equivalent per week. Do you want to know how to do a water audit of your system to verify that? Aloha

Hey there, thanks for the reply. Im in phoenix and it rains probally once a month, if that so no worries there.
The problem im having is I can use zone 2 and 3 if not using zone 1 also. If i only put in settings for zone 2 and 3 on say program A, it defaults to zone 1 and 2 and zone three is off. Hope it makes sense

What i need to program

Program A
Zone 1 - 0ff
Zone 2 - 4:30am - 5 minutes - everyday
Zone 3 - 4:45am - 5 minutes - everyday

Program B
Zone 1 - Off
Zone 2 - 7:30pm - 5 minutes - everyday
Zone 3 - 7:45pm = 5 minutes - everyday

Program c
Zone 1 - 2am - 60 minutes - watered every other day.
zone 2 - off
zone 3 - off

Cho,

To be sure, what you are saying is that you can't program(let use A only)put in three different start time for Zone 1, 2 & 3 and only Zone 1 and 2 come on. Have you witnessed this in a test regimen during the day with the zones all starting say 5 minutes apart for a duration of 2 minutes each. Try this and report what happens. Watch the zones come on and watching what happens on the controller display. Who installed the controller and have you verified the zones are properly number by starting each zone manually from the controller and see what zone number is displayed on the controller and which zone actually comes on. Let us know what happens. Are you using spray-heads or rotors on the lawn. Aloha

Thanks for followup, i think its very confusing explaining my problem. I tried as you recommended and all three zones work fine. Problem is i cannot use only zone 2 and 3.

I will program zone 2 and 3 with zone 1 displayed as off. When i set the controller to run and go back to verify the settings, instead of zone 1 displayed off, it will now show the setting i programed on zone 2.
Zone 2 will display what i programed on zone 3 and now zone three will be off and not show the settings i put it.

Can anyone help explain better? Thanks again for help

Cho,

Who did you purchase this controller from? Was it self installed? It sounds if the controller is faulty and you might want to go back to the seller and have it swapped for a new one. You should be able to set each zone separately for different start times in any one of the three programs. Do the manual start up sequencing verification I specified to make sure you are not confusing zones with what you are reading on the controller or there is no cross wiring in the controller. JMHO Aloha

I'd love to know if found a resolution. I am struggling with the same problem. I've read the manual, watched how to videos and searched for answers. I can't seem to set my zones and times without it changing the times in the other zones. I've got run times going now for ten minutes, but once it cycles off it repeats for another ten minutes.

md,

Same questions apply. I doubt Choski will answer your plea. But maybe he will. I would check with whoever you purchased the unit from and see if they could replace it or answer your specific questions. Sounds like a motherboard logic problem to me. JMHO Aloha

Hi All..i basically understand how the system work but i have only 1 issue regarding the timing cycle.OK,we have 3 zones,we want to split it into 3 x 10 minute cycles..so i only need 30 minutes..but whats happening now is that its repeating the cycle throughout the whole day..can someone please advise me as to what to do if i only want it to sprinkle for 30 minutes..egZone1 by 10 minutes,2 by 10 minutes and 3 for 10 minutes..after 30 minutes i need it to stop..thnx,desperately seeking guidance.

I believe you are getting your start times mixed up . Program A has multiple start times (4) I believe you only want to use one start time. A start time will begin a complete cycle beginning with the first zone that you have assigned to that program and continuing with any others that you have assigned to that program. You are reading "start Times" as "zones" thats why you are getting all messed up here. So, Program A Start time #1, 4:30 AM Assign Zone #2 and #3 5 min each. Then assign the days you want Prog. A to come on. It will come on at the assigned time, water the two zones and shut off at 4:40 Am. You then go to Program B, assign 1 start time and assign whatever zones you want to that program, then again choose the days you want that program to run. Make sure your program start times do not overlap. 95% chance there is nothing wrong with the controller. Programmer error most likley. Got it

Aren't you all tired of these hard to understand and easy to forget settings?
Why don't you take a lock at new controllers on the market, like RainMachine?
It will save you time and money on the water bill.

Here is a link that might be useful: RainMachine