Rainbird sprinkler timer malfunctioning

10 years ago

I have a rainbird sprinkler timer that I have set to come on odd days. I have one start time set for am and another pm. The sprinklers are coming on every day and only in the morning. I could get a fine on the days we aren't supposed to water. Anyone know what could be going on?

I don't know if this is related but we just changed a solenoid on a station that wasn't working. That station works now but I'm wondering if there is also a problem with the timer.

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Comments (3)

lehua49
10 years ago
deb,

What is the model number of the Rainbird timer? How many zones does this controller manage? How many programs does it have? It is not related to solenoids if the valves comes on during one start time and not another. There are two possibilities. One you thought you set it properly but didn't or two the controller is not functioning properly. Does the start time that works run through all the zones? One after another? Have you tried the other program to see if a pm start time can be run? Aloha
Deb306
Original Author
10 years ago
Lehua,
Thank you for your response and sorry about the delay. I've been really busy.
Model # 635600-17D
It looks like there are 4 zones
by programs do you mean start times? There are 4 of those

When the sprinklers come on they do go through all of the zones but the first zone sometimes shuts off for a few minutes and may or may not come back on for the remainder of the run time.
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itt, I am somewhat confused because once the solenoid coils and moves the pin and cuts off atmospheric pressure in the valve, you should get full flow if the the gate in the valve is fully open. The only thing I can think of is the solenoid pin not quite closing over the atmospheric port completely and therefore the gate doesn't open fully. I actually don't know if this could even happen. There are more experienced people in this forum who troubleshoot system, hopefully they will chime in on this one. I would check the voltage to solenoid for 24V or replace the valve and solenoid and see if there is a difference. Maybe chat with the people who you bought the system from. aloha
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How can one accurately quote without a static pressure reading?? If , based on his numbers all the heads are quarter circle, then 10 heads x .81 gpm = 8.1 gpm flow. That alone is just outside the industry standards for flow in a 3/4" sch. 40 pipe. How likely is it that they would all be quarter circle?? If they are all half circle then 10 heads x 1.52 gpm = 15.2 gpm flow which is way out of line. Pressure loss per 100 ft. is around 18psi at that flow. Knowing the static pressure is important for that reason alone. Forget it if you add any full circles to the mix. There are other variables that affect how much water can be run but we do not have that info because we can't see the site. Based on what info you have given, I do not see this zone as operating very well. We generally do not run more than 8 gpm on a 3/4 pvc line and the conditions have to be right. High flow rates in a small diameter pipe bring along other problems such as water hammer noise.
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lehua49
10 years ago
deb,
Are you willing to do the troubleshooting?
Run the first zone manually by the controller. Does the zone run thru the full time without stopping? If it stops, how many minutes go by until it happens? Now run the zone manually by turning on the solenoid counterclockwise slightly until the zone 1 water comes on and run it for the full zone time. At the end of the run time turn the solenoid until the water stops, do not over tighten, just enough to shut the zone off. Does the unscheduled shut-off still happen? If all the other zones work fine and zone 1 works fine from the solenoid, there is probably a loose wire somewhere. Check the wire connection at the controller (redo do it). Then check the screw cap wire connections (hot and neutral) at the zone 1 auto-valve (should be in its valve box) (redo them with a waterproof screw cap). JMHO Aloha

Rainbird sprinkler timer malfunctioning

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lehua49

Deb306
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Rainbird sprinkler timer malfunctioning

Comments (3)

lehua49

Deb306Original Author

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lehua49

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Deb306
Original Author