Without being able to test the timer I can't be sure but I would have to disagree about it being fried. The problem sounds more like a bad wire connection of the common wire at the valve box. The first thing I would do is redo the connection and see if that takes care of the trouble.

Thanks Mike-

I will connect the old timer back up and check the connections in the valve box. If it still doesn't work, I will connect the new timer to the setup and see what that does. Any idea what would be next if the system still doesn't turn on...wiring, valves, solenoids?

Also, If I remove the grease caps to check the connections, will I need to get a new set of caps, or is it possible to reuse the caps already there?

Thanks again

Rick

If redoing the connections fails to work the next most probable thing is a break in the common wire between the timer and the valves. It may take a wire trace to find the break which a local contractor should be able to help you with. As for the grease caps, they can sometimes be reused but my preference is to use new waterproof wire nuts.

Gg,

One more thing you might do that is in addition to the ideas Mike has offered is to test all the zones manually from the valve by turning on and off the valves by turning the solenoids until the zone comes on and then turning the solenoid back just until the zone stops. This has nothing to do with the controller's operation or wiring but is to make sure it is just an electrical problem and not something else. Your technician should have done this but maybe you failed to mention it. The technician should have done the continuity check on the wires as well. GL Aloha

First off I would like to thank Mike lehua for your replies and sharing your knowledge.

I turned on each zone manually and all the heads and zones worked and pressure was normal for all zones.

Then I cut off all the wire/grease caps, in the valve box and restripped and reconnected every wire, using new waterproof wire nuts.

I then took the OLD (supposedly fried) timer and reconnected it. The sprinkler system works perfectly and after reprogramming the timer, it works perfectly as well.

The good news is that you guys saved me a ton of money, all I really had to buy were wire nuts, and my system is working again. I am very grateful for your help.

The bad news is that I have to decide what to do about the guy that came to fix my system.

He didn't give me any impression that he was coming to estimate and not fix. When he got here he was wearing dressy clothes and shoes, surely not something you would expect if a guy is gonna crawl around by a valve box.

He told me that the timer was fried after looking at it for 10 seconds. He said it was so fried he couldn't remove the fuse. He then shot me an email estimate from his ipad, which he had in his vehicle. The estimate was for $300, which was for a new timer and the labor to install it. He said that if there were wire problems, valve problems, pvc problems, etc. the price would go up accordingly.

That was when I started to read and talk to you guys.

When I took the timer off the wall, not only was the fuse easy to remove, it was not burned out. There was power getting to the timer and all stored data was still visible. The Tech/Owner that told me the unit was fried certainly couldn't have missed that.

So, if I was to have believed him, it would have cost me $300, plus whatever else he felt he needed/wanted to add to the bill. The only problem was clearly a connection. The funny thing is that I went through a service similar to "Angie's List" to find him. The reviews on the site were raving as to how great the company is....I am confused.

I can just imagine how many old widows/widowers are overpaying through the nose, overpaying for things in situations similar to mine.

In closing, I think you guys were not only correct about the connections, but also about the common ground being the one. All the connections I removed looked perfect, except for the common wire connect to the batch of wires coming from each valve. The wire coating looked dark, not white, and even the wiring looked a bit odd. I stripped the common a bit further down and it looked clean, so I reconnected.

Thanks Agin!!!!

Rick

Update...Today my sprinkler system did not come up.

I immediately tested the timer by manually selecting each zone...nothing happened. I went to open each valve manually and they worked fine.

I then decided to try the new timer I bought and was about to return, since the old one worked fine yesterday, and I got nothing.

I went back to the valve box, where we believed the problem was, along with the solution, I undid all the connections, exposed new, clean sections of wiring, and put new grease caps on...nothing.

Lastly I went back to the valve box and moved all the wires around a little to see if there might be a bad connection in a wire close to the connections...after all redoing the connections yesterday got the system going. That didn't work either.

I do not think there is any logical next step that I can perform. I don't have any tools which would allow me to trace or determine if the wiring needs changing, etc.
At the same time I am reluctant to call somebody after the experience I had with the guy that told me the timer was fried and wanted $300.00.

Can you post the brand and model of timer you have. Some models have a reset which can sometimes fix trouble like your having now.

Sure Mike...here is the info.

The timer that was supposedly fried, but was able to run the system Friday after fixing the connections in the valve box is a Rain Bird Model ESP-6 PM.

The new timer, which also doesn't currently turn on the system is a Rain Bird Model SST600o.

The new timer has a reset button right on the front panel, which I hoped might help, but it didn't. I also unplugged and replugged the timer in the AC outlet.

It really sounds to me like I moved or fixed a bad connection in the area of the valve box, otherwise I can't explain the fact that it was dead and then all the zones ran. Maybe after I ran the zones and then tucked the connections back under in the box it created another bad connection.

I just had one other thought. I noticed that the grease caps I bought are considerably larger than the ones I removed. Is it possible that the connection is going bad within the caps due to their size?

I guess I could find out by taking off all the caps and then try running the system with all the connections twisted rather than capped.
Thanks again Mike

Rick

The only connection you need to check is the one for the common wire. that's the only one that will keep all stations from running.