Re: lawn sprinkler control unit repair

["BruceR" <brNOSPAM@xxxxxxxxxx>]

No, check for shorts with the power OFF!  Changing the solenoid is
simple. Clip the wires and just unscrew it (turn the water off). The new
one (available at your local home center) just screws in and you hook up
the wires (it's 24 VAC so there's no polarity to worry about).  If the
same brand as your valve is not available, that's OK as they're
interchangeable. Rainbird, Toro, Orbit, Lawn Genie, etc. all use the
same thing. Bring the old one with you just to be sure. Remember, if you
find a short from the panel it might be the wiring rather than the
solenoid. If you find a short, disconnect the wires to the solenoid and
check the soleniod and the wires to see where the problem is.

From:pak
eckerpw@xxxxxxxxx

> Understand, one more question or two, if I find that there is a short
> in the solenoid, is it  best to replace the  valve or can I repair?
> Does the control unit need to be powered up to check for shorts?
>
> On Sun, 24 Apr 2005 20:47:23 GMT, "BruceR" <brNOSPAM@xxxxxxxxxx>
> wrote:
>
>> The gelcaps are plastic tubes filled with a waterproof gel. You stick
>> the wirenutted connection into the gel and close the top. That keeps
>> water out of the connector. There may already be corrosion in the
>> wirenuts so replacing them (cutiing back the wires beyond the
>> corrosion) will give you a clean, tight connection.
>> To check for shorts from the control box, put one test lead on the
>> common terminal and then touch the other lead to each screw
>> terminal. If you read 0 ohms there's a short in a solenoid.
>>
>> From:pak
>> eckerpw@xxxxxxxxx
>>
>>> OK, got the valve box all cleaned out. There are 5 valves, each
>>> with a colored wire and a black wire which I guess is the common.
>>> All the connections in the valve box that were under dirt are just
>>> connected with wire nuts, but all wires seem intact and still
>>> connected. The fuse in the control box is blown.
>>> The advice here  was to check all connections and then waterproof
>>> with gel caps. Can some one explain how gel caps work or what I do
>>> with them? are wire nuts sufficent for this application?
>>> Also George suggested " measure that solenoid at the control box to
>>> verify that the resistance is comparable to the other solenoids, I
>>> think in the range of 20-50 ohms. (Put ohmeter between
>>> common and valve when watering is not active.)
>>>
>>> Could you explain that a little further? I assume all the control
>>> valves are soleniod operated. Not sure how to measure soleniod at
>>> control box. Am I looking to see if one of the valves has shorted
>>> out? Need a little more qdvice on the trouble shooting path.
>>>
>>> Thanks
>>> Paul
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Sat, 23 Apr 2005 18:53:51 -0700, "AZ Woody"
>>> <Reply@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I saw one (don't recall the brand) that would also go completely
>>>> brain dead if the backup battery went bad.  But it sounds like you
>>>> should clean out around the values as a first step...
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> "pak" <eckerpw@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>>>> news:d0ll61hgdvlb5qoagpu3cft9r6jefkca31@xxxxxxxxxx
>>>>> it's a Hydro Rain HR 6000-1, not sure how old
>>>>>
>>>>> On Sat, 23 Apr 2005 22:55:01 GMT, "Jack Ak" <akjack@xxxxxxxxxx>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> What is broken?  A device model number might be needed along
>>>>>> with failure symptoms.  My local OSH store carries parts
>>>>>> for the Lawn Genie controller.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> "pak" <pak.ecker@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>>>> news:24gl61d0gcnnrpalfsb0m3jo7pf0alhmdh@xxxxxxxxxx
>>>>>>> Wondering if this is the right group to ask questions about
>>>>>>> automatic sprinkler system control unit repair?