Hello All! Was wondering if you guys had any feedback for me. Zone 1 on my gen 2 Rachio stopped working recently. Not sure how or why at the moment. The only thing that I’ve found out is if I take out zone 1s wire and put zone 2s wire into where zone 1 was and use the app to turn in zone 1 it works. And if i put zone 1s wire into zone 2 and use the app to start zone 2 it doesn’t work. So my guess is that there’s something wrong with the wire for zone 1? Any ideas on how to fix this? Should I try cutting the wire and going lower and pulling off the plastic protecting the wire? Any ideas or help is greatly appreciated. Thank you!
I would check connection on the other end of that wire, do you know where you zone 1 valve is? Most likely the wire is connected to the valve using a twist on cap connector, if original connection has been done poorly the wire could have came loose and disconnected. It is also possible that the problem is with the other (common) wire connected to zone 1 valve through a similar, likely twist type, connector.
If both of the connections are fine, you can try checking the valve using a 9V battery. Connect it to the valve wires (when they are disconnected from Rachio) and you should hear some actuation, otherwise the valve may need to be replaced.
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Thank you Gene. I don’t know sprinkler systems all too well. Where would I find the other end of the zone and what does it look like? I’m sure dumb question but I don’t know too much about this stuff. Thank you again
Valves are often berried in the ground, covered with a green rectangular cover near one place (in case you have less than 8 zones) or smaller round covers all around the perimeter of your home. Less often one may find them above ground, in which case they are either easy to spot, or hidden by something large.
In any case look for something like this, with lots of wires.
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@Alexanderlt, I reviewed your account; looks like you’re having trouble with the zone Muhalo side – looking at the electrical current data available, I believe you either have a loose wire connection/wire nut as @Gene pointed out, or you might have a bad solenoid.
If you find the valve box, post a photo of the valve/wiring and we can help you find a replacement solenoid if needed.
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@emil, I’m trying to diagnose a wiring problem in my system after some excavators encroached in my yard and did some damage. I’m unsure if it is wiring that is broken, or if my controller was damaged somehow over the winter. I notice in the post above that you reference ‘electrical current data available’. Where does one find this data and observer the patterns between zones?
Thank you in advance!
Ryan
Fargo, ND
Do you have a Gen1 or Gen2 unit?
It is a Gen 2.
Here are the currents and last run times which look within range. Is it for a particular zone?
Zone number - zone current in milliamps - Last zone run (UTC)
| 1 | 192 | 2018-05-05 12:02:41 |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 180 | 2018-05-05 19:28:42 |
| 4 | 178 | 2018-05-04 23:47:31 |
| 6 | 170 | 2018-05-06 14:22:37 |
| 9 | 187 | 2018-05-12 00:47:52 |
| 10 | 180 | 2018-05-12 02:33:39 |
| 11 | 193 | 2018-05-05 13:35:05 |
Thank you @franz! This is very helpful. We found the breaks late last night. Seeing the currents for 9-11 being similar to the others is interesting as it was fixed very late.
Where does one obtain this data? I couldn’t find much within the iOS or web apps.
Unfortunately it is not visible in the app. At some point I really want to get it exposed to help customers troubleshoot.
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Much appreciated, that would be very helpful!