Since I bought the Rachio it never kept a steady WiFi connection. The connection drops frequently and comes back up after a while. Sometime I have to reboot the device.
Lately, the Rachio does not power up the solenoids anymore. It says it is watering the zone but it does not open the solenoid. I have 5 Zones on an 8 zone controller and none of the 5 zones are working anymore.
Nothing has changed from the wiring nor did I changed any solenoids. The Rachio simple stopped powering up the solenoids.
I do not think it is an issue with the solenoids:
I have 5 solenoids and all failing at once seems a bit unlikely
I can open up the control screw on each solenoid and the zone starts to watering
I have isolated the system and ignored the Rachio and everything works fine
I do not think it is an issue with the wiring:
The Rachio close to each solenoid and the wire is less than 2 meter long
The wire is shielded and in a conduct
I did not touch the wire at all nor the connection to the Rachio
After troubleshooting I redone the wiring without success.
Considering the WiFi issue and that I can isolate the system and it is working without the Rachio, I assume it is the device itself.
Any help to troubleshoot this issue further would be appreciated.
I would contact support@rachio.com
Sounds like your controller could be tango uniform.
But do explain your wireless setup a little. Which router how far away, are you running the same sid across the 2.4 and 5 band?
Are you using band steering, etc?
@macfly - Thanks for including the steps you’ve performed already to test this out.
As @plainsane suggested, contact Rachio support as they have access to information that plainsane and I don’t like current out the zones (Gen2) and WiFi metrics.
I’m assuming the controller in question is a Gen 2 and not the Gen 1. Also, just to make sure, are the solenoids in the system 24 VAC solenoids? I’ve seen a different post where someone was trying to use Rachio to power 12 V DC latching solenoids and that combination doesn’t work. If there is doubt on the solenoid, posting the make and model should be enough of a clue for someone to opine on it.
Some other thoughts, is there a master valve in the setup that might not being triggered? Is there a rain sensor that is in-line on the common wire that could be open? Do you have an ohm meter that could be used to test the wiring?
Wireless:
I am using an Asus RT-AC88U Dual Band Gigabit router which is around 15m away.
Rachio is connected via DHCP but assigned a fixed IP and on the 2.4 band (-70 dbm)
Signal strength is good with 5.5 TX and 2.5 RX
I cannot see anything in my logs that indicates a loss of wireless connection from my end.
Is there a log on the Rachio I can access?
Controller Version:
Gen 2
Solenoids:
They are 24 VAC. Also, the entire system was up and running for a while without any issues.
Master Valve:
No master valve installed. Pretty simple setup with no sensor or master connection.
Ohm meter:
I have tested the wire itself which are working as intended. Again, they are shielded above ground in a conduct and only 2 meter long. Also no visual issue on the wire itself
What I also notice is that the Rachio just died and lost power. I already bought a new power adaptor but I also tested both and they actually produce what the Rachio is needing. So i can assume that the adaptor itself is also not the issue.
At this stage all is pointing to a faulty Rachio. I have contacted the support and wait for their answer.
@Macfly - I think you’ll find Rachio support top notch. I’ve seen instances of them replacing lighting toasted controllers. There is a two year warranty on the device, so there should be no issue on that. Based on the answers so far, I’d agree with your diagnosis. I only asked the questions that I did as those have been issues before for other community members.
Sorry your OOBE wasn’t flawless. Welcome to the community.
is the same sid on both bands? i have seen this cause so many transient issues with so many different types of devices that i separate them out to different sids. even my beloved ubiquiti antennas will eventually steer all my clients to the 2.4 band.
