TROUBLESHOOTING

This is intended for customers who feel comfortable with their sprinkler system or lighting system. If you do not feel comfortable please call us.

Broken Sprinkler Head Or Zone Line

• Turn station water time off for the damaged zone. To do this turn controller dial to station times. Find the station number on zone discription and press next button to find the station on the display. Press the -/off button repeatedly until OFF is displayed. Turn dial back to RUN, this will let the rest of the system still work until serviced. Please flag or mark broken head or zone line.

Broken Main Water Line

• Turn off water at backflow. This has 2 blue shut off valves and is located where the water exits the house outside. If you cannot find the backflow turn off the water in the basement (the valve has an Eco-systems tag). Please flag or mark broken main line.

Zone Stays On

• Turn controller dial to RAIN OFF, if this does not work, unplug controller. If zone is still on, shut off water at backflow or in basement.

System Will Not Turn On

• Bypass Rain Sensor with switch located by unlatching the hinged control panel and moving the switch in the up right corner to BYPASS. Try to run a station manually, if this works your rain sensor is activated by recent rainfall.
• Make sure the water has not been turned off, check shut off valves.
• If there is a filter on the sprinler system or house, clean or replace it.

Sprinkler System Runs Too often DAY/NIGHT

• You may have set too many start times, most customers only need one start time. Turn controller dial to Start times and you will see the 1st start time. This is the time your system will turn on. If you press NEXT this will give you the 2nd start time and needs to be turned OFF. Do this for all start times 2-16.

Controller Not Working

• Check power source for tripped circuit breaker or GFI outlet.

Controller Shuts Off Or Reads Short

• Unplug controller and 9 volt battery for 1 minute. Reconnect power and check display.

Controller Skips A Cycle

• Verify watering start time, current time, station time and watering days.

Leaking Head

• This problem is caused by water siphoning out of the lowest head in a sprinkler zone after watering is completed. When the water flow to the zone has been shut off at the end of its cycle, the remaining water in the lines will drain downhill to the lowest point. If a sprinkler head is located in the lowest part of the system, water will flow out of that head until an equilibrium has been reached or all the water has emptied out of that zone's pipes. Low head drainage can be a problem if the water collects in a low area of the yard and makes a puddle, or if it flows across a walk or driveway. Please call us if this becomes a problem and we can install a check valve with in the sprinkler head.

Clogged Sprinkler Nozzle

• Dirt and debris that finds its way into sprinkler nozzles can quickly disrupt sprinkler spray patterns. Clogged nozzles can cause uneven coverage and dry areas. Please call us to service the head and do not attempt to remove nozzles by gouging or prying at orifice. Nozzles are easliy damaged by hard metal  screwdrivers .

Dry Areas

• Manually turn on zone in dry area. Check for leaks, clogged sprinkler nozzle, and head rotation. If dry area is on a hill side with rock or clay soil the culprit may be gravity. Gravity pulls water down the hill side and leaves it little time to soak into the soil. Our best solution is to break up the watering times into two or three times per day for that area.

No Water Pressure

• Clean sediment filter for sprinkler system. This is located next to the backflow where the water exits the house outside. To clean sediment open orange flush valve for 1 min. To clean sediment screen shut off water, and open orange flush valve. Disassemble filter body, remove sediment screen and clean with hose.

 All controller troubleshooting listed works with Irritrol Total Control.

Click on controller for manual.

 Manuals For Other Irrigation Clocks

Hunter                             Irritrol

Rainbird 

 How to set a irrigation clock video

 LOW-VOLTAGE LIGHTING

Lights Do Not Turn ON

• Make sure the toggle switch is in the OFF position (switch pointing down). Moving the switch to the ON position will bypass any control module and manually keep the lights on.
• Check power source for tripped circuit breaker or GFI outlet.

Lights Turn On at the Wrong Time

• Set time of day by rotating the outer clock dial clockwise until the time of day that it is now lines up with the white triangle marker on the inner clock dial (2:00 position). For exact time setting, turn the minute hand on the inner clock face in a clockwise direction to the exact time of day that it is now. Be sure to properly identify the AM and PM settings. The time of day will be set upon completion of these steps.
• Set ON & OFF times with the outer dial lined with white tripper pins. To set the time the lights are to turn ON, pull out (away from the clock center) the white tripper pin corresponding to this time. To set the time the lights are to turn OFF, pull out (away from the clock center) the white tripper pin corresponding to this time. Pull out all of the white pins between these two pins to identify ALL HOURS OF OPERATION. The pins must be pulled out IN A SERIES from ON time to OFF time for proper operation. The lights will not come ON at times corresponding to pins that are not pulled out. Be sure to properly identify the AM and PM settings. Multiple ON/OFF times can be set by repeating the above process.
• To set timer with photocell to turn ON at dusk and OFF at any time thereafter, follow the same set ON/OFF time instructions. Set the ON time a little before dark. This will activate the timer at the specified time, but the photocell will prohibit the lights from coming ON until activated by darkness. Set the timer to turn OFF at any time thereafter. 

All transformer troubleshooting listed works with Nightscape Power Centers with analog timers. Click on transformer for manual.