Rachio 2 no longer turning on any sprinklers

Hello all,
I installed a Rachio 2 about 1 week ago, everything tested fine, each of the 6 zones and I setup my schedule. We’ve had a lot or rain lately so I had not paid any attention to the schedule and the fact it had not been running. Just today I tried to run a schedule and nothing happens. The Rachio’s lights are correct, as they go through the different zones, but the sprinklers don’t turn on. Again, they all worked when I first tested them through the app. Any ideas. By the way, I have no rain sensors hooked up. I even rejoined the unit to my wifi.
As an additional note, i checked my solenoids and they are 24v. Here is a picture of my unit both before and after. I really need some help here.

here is the before picture…

OK so I think I’ve fixed it…I moved the common wire to the other common terminal and the unit now seems to work. I just successfully tested a zone. woo-hoo. So this begs the question… “Do I have a bad common connection?”

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@VinnyL - from the picture it looked like there was lots of bare copper wire exposed on the common wire. It could have been that there wasn’t a good connection made between the wire and the terminal.

I have the same problem - checked wiring and move to the other common terminal but still does not work

@Jgutierrez34 - is there a rain sensor either in-line or as a sensor?

What happens when the bleed screw is opened on a valve? Does water come out of the related zone?

Is there a master valve in the system?

It might be helpful to post a picture of the current wiring.

  1. there is no rain sensor in the system
  2. when I turned the bleed screw water came out - good pressure
  3. the system had been working for about a year

Have tried to attach a picture of the wiring but not sure how to do it - any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

The system quit working about a week ago

@Jgutierrez34 - sounds like a field wire problem. Has any yard/gardening work or utility installation been done that could have broken the field wire?

Do you have access to a volt meter? If so, test the resistivity between Common and a zone, should be low. One can also test the voltage - 24 VAC at the solenoid to see if it is reaching the solenoid and at the controller to see that the controller is putting out voltage.

Can watering be initiated using the hardware interface on the controller?

Has the controller configuration been checked to make sure it is not in standby or the end date for the schedule has past, etc.?

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Thanks for the response. My problem went away for quite some time and everything had been great. Then today, for no apparent reason, the sprinklers wont go on again. The unit appears to be cycling through the zones, the app says it’s running, but the sprinklers don’t turn on. Nothing has been done to the wiring, nor is it in standby mode. I don’t have a voltmeter to test with. Even from the panel itself, the unit does not turn on zones though it appears to be running. I checked and rechecked all the connections and even moved the common wire to the other connector and back again. Nothing! What the heck??? It worked fine for the past few weeks…

@VinnyL - has there been any yard work or digging that could have cut the buried field wire?

Can you find a valve in the yard and open up the bleed screw to see if water comes out of that zone’s sprinklers (just checking that the water is on to the sprinkler system).

Yes, water comes out if I turn the valve. but I think I found the problem. In the valve box where the common wire joins all the valve wires, I believe the common wire had a bad connection. We had an amazing rainstorm last night and the box likely flooded and caused a connection problem. I re-tightened all the wires in the wire nut and the unit works!!! Thanks

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@VinnyL - be sure to use waterproof wire nuts below grade to prevent bad connections. Such as:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/DryConn-Small-Waterproof-Wire-Connectors-Aqua-Orange-20-Pack-62114/202889871