Sorry for the long winded message -- I installed these Flo-Pro valves back in '88 (280-06-04). They have worked faithfully since. In the last month I only realized that by turning the solenoid counter clockwise that I can manually open the zones instead of running into the house and setting the manual timer feature. Since that magic discovery, two of the four zones now automatically work. In terms of troubleshooting and observation of the two 'defective' zones, here is what I found:

1. When the solenoids are energized, power does go to the valves. I can hear the 'buzz' of the solenoid and slight hissing of water.

2. When I turn open the valve a good 1 to 2 fulls turns, water will rush through the valve and the zone affected will work normally. I then proceed to tighten back up the solenoid by turning it clockwise until it's snug.

3. When the preset shut off time comes, the solenoid shuts down normally.

4. When I try to run the zone automatically, I'm back to square one. The odd time the defective zone may work once before not functioning once more.

5. The other two working valves work when I manually open the solenoid no more than a 1/2 turn, while the other two require 1 to 2 full turns to open --- does that offer any insight?

I've opened up the valve's cap and removed the diaphragm, washed it out, check inside the valve for any debris, blew air through the seat assembly stem, and shook out any water that may be in the solenoid. I also checked to make sure the 'O' ring around the end of the solenoid is seated properly.

The diaphragm doesn't look damaged. In fact, everything looks good. The riddle here is why is there no water coming out automatically. It's getting tiring to manually open the valve to water the zones now. I'm hoping not to replace the valve since the housing is in good shape. Wiring is also good since I was able to start/stop the solenoid.

I've only I didn't see another neighbour play with their valve, I would have left all alone.

HELP!

Thanks

Stephen