I had an issue today that has a cause for concern. I was manually turning on and off a zone from my Phone (android) app to adjust some sprinkler heads and suddenly the zone would not turn off . The manual display showed that no zone was on. I was able to select another zone and it started watering with no input from me for the timer. I could not shut off the water form the app. I went to look at the front panel display (Gen 2) and the outer ring was mostly lit up. I unplugged the unit and the watering stopped. Plugged it back in and all was well.
I understand your issue here and why you might be concerned. I would be too.
It’s hard to say, definitively, and some live troubleshooting from support@rachio.com may be in order.
However, I have an initial guess. We’ve seen this sort of behavior out of controllers being run with an unapproved adapter – most notably, if Direct Current (DC) is being used rather than Alternating Current (AC).
For info on the expected voltage, you can peek at our article on Tech Specs.
Power
The Rachio controller must be connected to the AC power adapter included. DC Transformers are not supported.
Power Supply: External Transformer (6 ft cord)
Transformer Power Input: 120V AC / 60Hz
Transformer Power Output: 24V AC (1000 mA = 1 Amp)
Designed For 24V AC Solenoids
I am seeing some irregular readings from a couple of your zones, specifically #1 & #3. This enforces my suspicion that there’s some irregularity with your wiring / power supply.
Please reach out to the support department with photos of your wiring and your power supply. They’ll be able to help troubleshoot further.
I don’t understand what Lucas’s comment about irregular readings on Zones 1 and 3. I have noticed that zone wire 1 feel loose in the terminal but it has not affected operation of Zone 1
There should be no issues with using a surge protector between the power supply and the outlet. If you do continue to run into issues, it may be a good idea to remove the surge protector from the mix, just to ensure that the issues are coming from the power supply and not that.
@edbianc - glad to hear that things appear to be running normally.
Apologies for being a bit vague on the zone readings. I didn’t want to get too specific, as it was only an initial guess and I’d hate to be an alarmist. Initially, what you reported looked like some of the support tickets I’ve seen where users go with alternative power supplies (AC is fairly uncommon for these types of electronics, but is required for standard irrigation systems … go figure)
Your wiring to the controller looks fine from where I’m standing, and - while I can’t read the power supply to confirm all the specs match - it certainly appears to be the Rachio-supplied PS. Also, you’ve been running this setup for some time, right?
I wouldn’t expect that to be an issue, normally. Is this surge protector still, well … protecting? Some are only rated against one good spike, before needing to be replaced. If it’s a concern, I’d take it out of the equation, as @mckynzee indicated. Pretty easy test.
Please let us know if you notice any more behavior that seems abnormal. I could easily just be “chasing my own tail” on the electrical side of things, especially if you haven’t received any Fault detected notifications …
System has been and running for about 2 months. I have not received any fault detection notices either, so I think it was an isolated case. I suspect if I had refreshed the phone app it would have sorted itself out.
