***DISREGARD*** I found your forum and it answered my question. All programs will run regardless of the location of the program selector switch. Thanks again for all your well-documented info!
I just purchased a home and I have that system and I have no idea how to use it. I did not want to have to call in the irrigation company to teach me how to do it. Thank you so much. I will try to take it out there with me. I have to stand on it later and see what I can learn about it. I need to be familiar with my system again. Thank you 🙏😇
OMG I LOVE YOU! IF I HAD THE LADY PARTS I WOULD HAVE YOUR BABY! for almost a year my sprinklers have bin going on for like 15 sec and then off so i have bin watering by hand. turns out the seasonal adjustment was down to 3%! THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Thank you so much this was so helpful! We just moved into a house that came with the Rain Bird system. This just showed me the basics and now we have working sprinklers! :) Thanks a bunch!
Thank you very much, when I got home today I played with it and realized that there is no delay between station changes. Thank you again for the info *thumbs up*
Thank you so much!!! Yes, your comment was exactly what was wrong. I had the watering times set for 1, 2, 3 and 4. For some reason I was thinking this was setting the time for each zone. Thanks so much!!!!!!! It is now back to normal.
You don't need to set a start time for when the 2nd valve will come on unless it is on a different program. All stations in a program water in sequence. You only need the initial start time. For example: You have six sprinkler stations on program A with 30 minutes on each station's run time. You set the start time at 3am. Station 1 will come on at 3am, station 2 at 3:30am, station 3 at 4:00am, station 4 at 4:30 and so on through station 6.
@dgtizer 1. Open front panel and locate reset button. Press and hold reset button. After resetting turn dial to auto and see if that works. If that doesn't work try: 2. Unplug transformer, remove backup battery, and leave unplugged for 5 min. Plug in transformer, reinstall backup battery. You will have to reprogram everything. If this doesn't work your timer may be damaged internally. You can call Rainbird tech support at 800-Rainbird to see if your timer is still under warranty.
@mohohato Here are the instructions from Rainbird's website. If your following them and the timer won't shut off, there might be something wrong with the test circuit. Try using the manual start and advance feature instead and see if that works. 1. Turn the dial to "Test All Valves." 2. Display shows TEST and default run time is 2min. 3. Press MANUAL START to run test program. Then turn dial to AUTO. 4. While test is running, display shows valve number and remaining run time.
I am so glad videos such as this one are on RUclips. I just purchased a house that has this system and I have no knowledge on how to use it. It was working perfectly then one day it stopped. I had no idea what was wrong until the lanscaper that does both our neighbors yards was kind enough to look at the system and said someone turned the water off. What videos can you direct me too so that I can learn every inch of this system?
@MeredithWaters When trying to adjust the time make sure the station you want to adjust is showing in the display. If the correct station is displayed try using the up arrow to get the displayed minutes you want by going past zero. If this doesn't work and you are using program A, set the start time on program A to blank(no start time) and try putting everything on program B. If this doesn't work there is probably something wrong with the timer.
1. Use program A for 3 valves/stations to go on in evening. 2. Put station run times on the 3 valves/stations and zero out station run times on the other valves. 3. Add one start time for program A. 4. Go to program B and add station run times for 2 valves/stations in the morning. Zero out station run times on other valves/stations. 5. Add one morning start time for program B. 6. Remember to add days to water for each program.
Try disconnecting the rain sensor wires but leave the jumper, then press the manual start/advance and see if timer goes to station 1 and shows watering. Also double check that the transformer is plugged in and getting power from the outlet. Try these steps and let me know your results.
How can i save this to my phone please. My husband just passed so im trying to learn how to operate the sprinklers and this is a life savor. Thank you so much. 👵
@iScaper1 Thank you so much! I found out today that I can set Zones by minutes with Program B, but for some reason A has the Zones in hours only. I will just use B. I really appreciate the help.
If you have an Err message in the display on valve/station 1 it means you either have a short in the solenoid on station 1 or there is a programming error. Most likely it is a short in the solenoid on valve/station 1. If you look at the wires connected to the timer they should be color coded. Check what color is wired to the station 1 terminal for valve 1 & then go to the valve box & check the wire colors to the valves. The wire connected to station 1 should show you the bad valve in the box.
@plant2007 Use 2 programs. For example: Put station 1 on program A to water at 8am every day for 15 minutes. Put station 2 on program B to water at 9am, 3pm, 10pm everyday for 10 minutes. This will water station two 30 minutes each day. Make sure station 1 run time is at zero on program B. You can change the start times, run times, & water days I have listed to whatever start times,run times, & water days you need.
3. Press manual start once. This will take you to start time 3. If it show a start time follow the directions in step 2 to make the display blank. 4. Press manual start once more. This will take you to start time 4. Repeat process described in step 2 to make display blank. You now have one start time for program A. Next go to program B, and then: 1. Turn the dial to water days. Turn all the days off. 2. Repeat process for program C. You should now have one start time on program A.
@shafarr1228 I'm assuming you have everything on program A. Go to program A, turn the dial to station 5, and use the arrows to take the time to zero. Next select program B, got to station 5 and put time on that station for your garden. Now turn the dial to the days of the week you want to water program B, and turn those days on. Finally, select a start time or start times on program B to water station 5(garden). Remember not to overlap start times, or program B will not work correctly.
Go to a separate program like program B and put time on that station/zone only. Then set your start time to 4pm. You'll also need to set the days that you want that zone/station to water.
Yes, we have a reservoir collecting rain water along with mains water which feeds the systems. In response to your comments, the buzzing comes from the valves located in the box in the ground which I believe is the sprinkler manifold & valves - where you also have loads of wires. I have turned these manually direction of 'on' and 'off', and with clock settings, no water comes from any sprinklers located around the garden. New to this system so hope clear enough for you yo reply...
It may be that those 2 valves aren't getting power. Could be a break in the timer wire going to the valves, or even trouble in the wiring at the valves. You'll probably need a multi-tester to test the power at the valve box. Testing there you'll be able to tell if the problem is between the timer and the valves or in the valves themselves. See my video Troubleshooting: testing power to a sprinkler valve for tips on how to do this.
Sounds like you could have multiple start times programmed in. First check your start times on all the programs. Each program has 4 start times available. If you turn the dial to start times on program A and press the manual start button, it will show you if you have more than one start time for that program. After checking program A, move the selector to program B & C and repeat the same process. Eliminate the start times on each program that you don't want.
How many sprinkler valves do you have and when you open them manually do they water a certain section of your yard? If the answer is yes to this question then maybe your garden has been bypassed or is watered from a tap or other water source.
If you turned all the days OFF on program A for station 2, then there must be time and days turned ON on program B or C. First slide selector switch to program A & turn the dial to start times, then: 1. Set the start time for when you want to water. 2. Press manual start one time, this will take you to start time 2. Set it to blank. You do this by using the up or down arrow and running the time to 12am then one more push on the arrow set it to blank or this -- --.
It won't run the programs at the same time, it will run program A and then program B. Be careful you don't overlap start times in the programs. AND it doesn't matter where you leave the program switch/selector after you've done the programming, the timer will still water all information you've input into the programs. The timer has 3 separate programs and 4 available start times for each program. Please see my recent blog post on this at my website if this isn't clear.
First check that your pump is running when you advance through the stations. If it is then you need to isolate which sprinkler valve isn't opening when you advance through the stations, then repair this valve.
I like the way you present the information. Slowly, concisely enough to understand words and see what you’re doing. I’m trying to set station one to water four times a day so I can get grass seed to grow, but I want the other two stations to run only twice a day. Can this be done?
Yes. Put the two stations you want to water on program A then add in 2 start times. Put the station you want to water 4 times a day on program B and add in 4 start times. Be sure the 2 stations you have on program A don't have a station run time on program B, and make sure the 1 station on program B doesn't have a station run time on program A. Also be careful not to overlap start times between the programs.
thank you for your kind reply i have 4 stations 1=10 min - 2 =15 min - 3 = 30 min - 4 = 10 min , and the watering start times is 6 am and 7 pm , i think i don't have overlapping
So with a four station manifold and values system in the ground, my understanding is that each one of these feeds water to a zone and respective sprinkler outlets. I have five sunken sprinklers (which pop up when active) and four raised sprinklers in the front garden. For the rear garden i have six sunken sprinklers and three raised. No water is passing through any of these sprinklers, automatic or manual. I think it is either a valve, solenoid or problem with the water pump from the reservoir.
how does the module know when to turn on the 2nd valve and can I adjust that time? currently my first valve is set to come on at 3am but I do not know how to set the second valves turn on time. Thanks
Does the zone 5 valve shut off after the program has finished or is it running all the time even when the timer is off? If zone 5 runs all the time it is a problem in the valve. Check that the color coded wire on the zone 5 sprinkler valve is the same wire that is connected to the zone 5 terminal on the timer. The only scenario I can think of where a zone would water the full duration of a program is if it is connected to the master valve terminal.
Your reservoir is full? Is the buzzing coming from the sprinkler valve? You might have a bad solenoid. Try opening the valve manually and see if it will water. If the sprinkler valve will water manually and you're getting power to the valve then the problem is internal in the valve.
@astrology4me The controller comes with a master valve terminal for pumps on the first module. The wires from the relay attach to this terminal. The default is for all of the stations to have the Master Valve circuit on. I updated the video annotations to show where to connect the relay wires to the master valve terminal. Is this the information you were after?
@mattable123456789 Process of elimination time now. You need a volt tester. First manually start a valve and check that the timer is outputting power by testing the wires leaving the timer. 1 probe on common and 1 probe on station wire. Next go to sprinkler valve and test those same 2 wires that you tested at the timer. You should be reading 26-29 volts at both locations. If you're not getting this reading at the sprinkler valve you probably have a bad timer wire between timer and valves.
I'm assuming you're on program A. Turn the dial to start times. The 1st start time should be displayed. Press manual start to go to the 2nd start time. Is it displaying? Press manual start again. Start time 3 should be blank. Press manual start again. Start time 4 should be blank. Press manual start again. 1st start time should display again. Do the start times show up correctly when you do this?
I have a number of videos dealing with lawn sprinkler systems. Just visit my channel and type in a search term that you need help with. I also have a number of blog posts that are lawn sprinkler related including sprinkler system basics. You can access my blog from my channel page also.
I'm guessing you have overlapping start times. Add up all of the run times for your sprinkler stations. The 2nd start time must be after this amount of time. Example: You have 8 stations that water 30 minutes each, that is 4 hours of watering. Your first start time is 6am. Your second start time must be after 10am to keep start times from overlapping.
I don't think you have enough programs to do what you want. If your timer has A,B, & C programs your can do this: Program A: Turn Sun "ON" Set station 1-4 to water for 15 minutes. Program B: Turn Tue, Thu, & Sat "ON" Set stations 1 and 4 to water for 15 min. Make sure stations 2 & 3 have "0" for watering time. Program C: Turn Mon and Fri "ON" Set station 4 to water 15 min & set the other stations to "0". On all programs be sure to turn OFF days not watering. "Continued"
Have you tried removing and reinserting the module? If that doesn't work maybe try resetting the timer. Here's Rain Bird's instructions: Locate the RESET button on the back of the front panel. Using the tip of a pencil or other pointed object, press and hold the RESET button. While the button is pressed, the display will be blank. If that doesn't work I would call Rain Bird tech support: 1-800-RAINBIRD
@@Iscaper I have programmed "B", but now I need to complete cancel Program A how do I do that? For some reason program A is still on while I have the switch on "B"
Hello. Very useful video. I got my house and found this timer controlling 6 valves. After redoing the sprinkler box, setting wires,repairing valves, and changing solenoids, I did manual test of each valve and everything was ok; then I set up schedule and forgot about it, few days later I found the alarm light on. I made sure wires are not in short. I tested each valve using a 24V AC transformer directly to the solenoids installed. After that I took off all valves from timer, connected just 1 solenoid to test each channel in sequence. In each module I noticed the output was intermitent even using 3 different solenoids (Ran from 12 to 0V in a loop), I checked that the 24V transformer is working; I did reset, disconnected each module to see if there was something wrong and connected again. When doing manual test on first module. It only allows me to run chanel 1,2 and 4. when I try to adjust the time for chanel 3, it is expressed in hours and does not let me turn that valve on (With solenoid already installed or solenoid connected directly to the module). The sad part is that if the module is damaged it would be better to get a new timer because each module is over 50$ and a timer from 90$. Any other idea to work this out? thanks a lot!
If you test the output from the timer to the valves you should have around 29 volts. If you're not getting that from any of the 3 stations on the module, the module is probably bad. I would take the money you would spend on a new module and put it toward Rain Bird's WiFi timer. I installed one (ST8i-WiFi) at my place last year and love it. I can program the timer sitting on my couch. Here's a link to my video: ruclips.net/video/0gLlpBoIS8c/видео.html
@toddb0001 Try unplugging the timer, remove the battery, & wait about 3 or 4 minutes. Restore power and program the timer. After reprogramming press manual advance through the stations and see if the timer stays to the amount you put in on each station. If the timer keeps jumping back to 1 minute after doing this, there may be something wrong internally with the timer. Depending on how long you have had the timer, it may still be under warranty. You can call Rain Bird at 800-247-3782.
Thanks for the video. Your timer matches my timer exactly. You say it is an ESP series timer, but none of the Rain Bird manual downloads for ESP (I checked all 14 variants) match the timer that you and I have. Do you know how to find the exact model number that we both own? Also - can you explain Test All Valves? Is it going to automatically skip every 0:02 to the next valve?
On the cover page of my manual it says ESP Modular. If you go to my website I have the manual you can download. Here's the link: iscaper.com/downloads.php
You can also use the Manual Start/Advance button to check for a faulty valve. Press Manual Start/Advance and the first station in the program should start watering. Wait a few seconds then press Manual Start/Advance again to advance to the next station. Repeat these steps until you get the "#err" message. If you have a bad solenoid, using this method should quickly find the bad valve. If you're using more than one program you'll need to repeat these steps on each program until you isolate the faulty valve.
I watched your video, and appear to have done everything you showed. However my system still does not work...! my reservoir is full, and the four value that are in the garden are turned on and when their 'on' time has approached, there is a gentle buzz. However still no water from any of the four sprinklers... can you help?
That leaves Wednesday. If I were you I would add Wednesday to program A. Sunday is watering all 4 zones and you have Wednesday watering zones 2,3, & 4. If you had a program D you could put Wednesday on it, but the ESP doesn't have a program D. Let me know if this helps.
Ohh, so it will run program A and program B at the same time? I thought it was one program at a time (whichever it was set to). If that is the case, thank you so much!
thank you for this video and i have a problem , i did a programing for my timer and i did set two times for watering and the timer didn't work as the timer in the second time of watering , i want to know why >>>? . thank you again
The timer was working fine for years with 4 zone set to the program. After a sudden power failure, the timer never stops. If it is set for 10am , it does one complete rotation, and starts all over again from zone 1 to 4. I have reset the system and reprogrammed but still no success. what could be the issue?
Great video but here is my question: I have a 4 zone system How do I accomplish the following? Sunday- all zones 15 min Mon.-4 15 min Tues 1 and 4 15 min Wed 2,3,4 15 min Thurs-same as tues Fri- 4 15 min. Sat. same as Tues. Thanks for any help you can offer.
Just seeing this, I'm completely green on how it works. I have water in the front but not seeing any in the back, how would you test the back drips to see if they're working?
Turn the dial to the station that each drip is on and press Manual Start. The timer will water the amount of Run Time you have for that station then go back to the program.
Turn dial to "Set Watering Start Times", the first start time for the program will display. Press Manual Start/Advance once and the second start time will display. Use the up and down arrows to set the 2nd start time for the program. When finished turn the dial to Auto.
I have 4 zones and I want to set them for 30 minutes each. Zone 3 allows me to scroll through to 30 minutes. However, on Zones 1, 2 and 4, the least amount of time I can get is 1 hour, 7 minutes. I also have to wait a long time between decreasing the number of hours! Besides setting all Zones for an hour and putting seasonal adjust on 50%, how can I get minutes in the 3 Zones?
quick question Carie, i have had no issues whatsoever with this system .. until today.. it just isnt coming on..it didnt come on at the set time and we've been trying to manually start it with no luck either.,, any advice would be appreicated. the only other thing i thought might need to be changed was the sensor button which was on active (for past 5 year) i changed it to bypassed but no luck there either..
Hi - Excellent instruction. i agree with you that this is very simple ` however my sprinklers go off several times ~ It goes through its cycle then comes on again, and also a third time? I tried to correct this but no good ~ What am I doing wrong?? Thanks!!
Sounds like you may have multiple start times on your program or programs. 1. Select the program you want. 2. Turn the dial to “SET WATERING START TIMES.” 3. The display shows the first start time currently set for the program. 4. Press Up or Down arrow to change the start time. The time setting moves forward and backward in 15-minute increments. 5. To eliminate a watering start time,press Up or Down arrow until the “OFF” setting between 11:45 p.m. and 12:00 a.m. appears. 6. If you want to set or delete additional start times for this program, press “MANUAL START / ADVANCE” to display the next watering start time. Then repeat steps 4 through 6. 7. Turn the dial to “AUTO.”
I have the same Rain Bird system shown in the video. I have trouble with the system restarting over and over after it has gone through all 8 cycles. So I have to manually turn off. Any suggestions?
I have this system also and I reset the programming using the seasonal setting and clearing everything. Prior to that I had a zone 8 that was used to fill my pool. Now when I go to zone 8 it says no Mod 2. How do I get it to recognize zone 8 again?
***DISREGARD***
I found your forum and it answered my question. All programs will run regardless of the location of the program selector switch. Thanks again for all your well-documented info!
I just purchased a home and I have that system and I have no idea how to use it. I did not want to have to call in the irrigation company to teach me how to do it. Thank you so much. I will try to take it out there with me. I have to stand on it later and see what I can learn about it. I need to be familiar with my system again. Thank you 🙏😇
You're welcome!
OMG I LOVE YOU! IF I HAD THE LADY PARTS I WOULD HAVE YOUR BABY!
for almost a year my sprinklers have bin going on for like 15 sec and then off so i have bin watering by hand. turns out the seasonal adjustment was down to 3%!
THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Thank you so much this was so helpful! We just moved into a house that came with the Rain Bird system. This just showed me the basics and now we have working sprinklers! :) Thanks a bunch!
11 years later this is helping me tremendously thanks!
Thanks Andre.
Thank you very much, when I got home today I played with it and realized that there is no delay between station changes. Thank you again for the info *thumbs up*
Thanks for posting this easy to follow guide!
Thanks Tom, I appreciate the feedback.
Thank you for the explaining how to program a timer thoroughly and
legitimately
@LynnxHearts
Yes you are correct. You can turn the dial to the station you want and then push manual start to turn on that particular station.
Thank you so much!!! Yes, your comment was exactly what was wrong. I had the watering times set for 1, 2, 3 and 4. For some reason I was thinking this was setting the time for each zone. Thanks so much!!!!!!! It is now back to normal.
You don't need to set a start time for when the 2nd valve will come on unless it is on a different program. All stations in a program water in sequence. You only need the initial start time.
For example: You have six sprinkler stations on program A with 30 minutes on each station's run time. You set the start time at 3am. Station 1 will come on at 3am, station 2 at 3:30am, station 3 at 4:00am, station 4 at 4:30 and so on through station 6.
Awesome. I'm glad you were able to solve the problem. You've done your first bit of sprinkler troubleshooting.
Just what I needed. This is the second of your videos I've watched with great instruction for my novice-ness. Now, I have skills. Thank you sir.
+MrVeeBlog
Thanks, I appreciate the feedback.
Video was very helpful. Thank You! Manual was absolutely worthless so this helped a lot
Thanks for the comment, I'm glad the video was helpful.
after all that, it was the pump that was faulty in the reservoir in the garden. Appreciate your time and responses. Cheers
@dgtizer
1. Open front panel and locate reset button. Press and hold reset button. After resetting turn dial to auto and see if that works. If that doesn't work try:
2. Unplug transformer, remove backup battery, and leave unplugged for 5 min. Plug in transformer, reinstall backup battery. You will have to reprogram everything. If this doesn't work your timer may be damaged internally. You can call Rainbird tech support at 800-Rainbird to see if your timer is still under warranty.
I love your video because now my wife will get off my back about the timing thank you sir have a great day
@mohohato
Here are the instructions from Rainbird's website. If your following them and the timer won't shut off, there might be something wrong with the test circuit. Try using the manual start and advance feature instead and see if that works.
1. Turn the dial to "Test All Valves."
2. Display shows TEST and default run time is 2min.
3. Press MANUAL START to run test program. Then turn dial to AUTO.
4. While test is running, display shows valve number and remaining run time.
I am so glad videos such as this one are on RUclips. I just purchased a house that has this system and I have no knowledge on how to use it. It was working perfectly then one day it stopped. I had no idea what was wrong until the lanscaper that does both our neighbors yards was kind enough to look at the system and said someone turned the water off. What videos can you direct me too so that I can learn every inch of this system?
@MeredithWaters
When trying to adjust the time make sure the station you want to adjust is showing in the display. If the correct station is displayed try using the up arrow to get the displayed minutes you want by going past zero. If this doesn't work and you are using program A, set the start time on program A to blank(no start time) and try putting everything on program B. If this doesn't work there is probably something wrong with the timer.
This is the easy part, now I need to know how to set 3 valves to go on in the evening and 2 other valves to go on in the morning.
1. Use program A for 3 valves/stations to go on in evening.
2. Put station run times on the 3 valves/stations and zero out station run times on the other valves.
3. Add one start time for program A.
4. Go to program B and add station run times for 2 valves/stations in the morning. Zero out station run times on other valves/stations.
5. Add one morning start time for program B.
6. Remember to add days to water for each program.
@@Iscaper awesome thank you! I was messing with it last night and tried that but it kept showing all valves running each time. I’ll try again.
@@janetann7832 Good luck!
@@Iscaper I set it so now I’ll see how it goes tonight & tomorrow. Thank you.
Try disconnecting the rain sensor wires but leave the jumper, then press the manual start/advance and see if timer goes to station 1 and shows watering. Also double check that the transformer is plugged in and getting power from the outlet. Try these steps and let me know your results.
How can i save this to my phone please. My husband just passed so im trying to learn how to operate the sprinklers and this is a life savor. Thank you so much. 👵
You can click the Share button and send the video to your messages and/or email apps on your phone.
Thanks Joe for the feedback.
@iScaper1 Thank you so much! I found out today that I can set Zones by minutes with Program B, but for some reason A has the Zones in hours only. I will just use B. I really appreciate the help.
If you have an Err message in the display on valve/station 1 it means you either have a short in the solenoid on station 1 or there is a programming error. Most likely it is a short in the solenoid on valve/station 1. If you look at the wires connected to the timer they should be color coded. Check what color is wired to the station 1 terminal for valve 1 & then go to the valve box & check the wire colors to the valves. The wire connected to station 1 should show you the bad valve in the box.
@plant2007
Use 2 programs. For example: Put station 1 on program A to water at 8am every day for 15 minutes. Put station 2 on program B to water at 9am, 3pm, 10pm everyday for 10 minutes. This will water station two 30 minutes each day. Make sure station 1 run time is at zero on program B. You can change the start times, run times, & water days I have listed to whatever start times,run times, & water days you need.
3. Press manual start once. This will take you to start time 3. If it show a start time follow the directions in step 2 to make the display blank.
4. Press manual start once more. This will take you to start time 4. Repeat process described in step 2 to make display blank.
You now have one start time for program A. Next go to program B, and then:
1. Turn the dial to water days. Turn all the days off.
2. Repeat process for program C.
You should now have one start time on program A.
Video was really helpful.. thanks
Syed Aqdas next week
@MeredithWaters
Program A should behave the same way program B does, so there must be a glitch somewhere in program A. I glad this worked for you. KT
@shafarr1228
I'm assuming you have everything on program A. Go to program A, turn the dial to station 5, and use the arrows to take the time to zero. Next select program B, got to station 5 and put time on that station for your garden. Now turn the dial to the days of the week you want to water program B, and turn those days on. Finally, select a start time or start times on program B to water station 5(garden). Remember not to overlap start times, or program B will not work correctly.
Go to a separate program like program B and put time on that station/zone only. Then set your start time to 4pm. You'll also need to set the days that you want that zone/station to water.
Yes, we have a reservoir collecting rain water along with mains water which feeds the systems. In response to your comments, the buzzing comes from the valves located in the box in the ground which I believe is the sprinkler manifold & valves - where you also have loads of wires. I have turned these manually direction of 'on' and 'off', and with clock settings, no water comes from any sprinklers located around the garden. New to this system so hope clear enough for you yo reply...
On behalf of my Mom, thank you very much.
Thanks for watching.
It may be that those 2 valves aren't getting power. Could be a break in the timer wire going to the valves, or even trouble in the wiring at the valves. You'll probably need a multi-tester to test the power at the valve box. Testing there you'll be able to tell if the problem is between the timer and the valves or in the valves themselves. See my video Troubleshooting: testing power to a sprinkler valve for tips on how to do this.
THANK YOU SR!!! Thank you for posting this
Thanks Karen for watching.
Thank you for this video, very nice pace and explanation. you did very good karma.
Very helpful video, learning a few things to make my programming easier.
Thanks Paul for the feedback.
Thank you so much. Your guidance is understandable and now what I thought would be an arduous task ; I have been able to accomplish .
Sounds like you could have multiple start times programmed in. First check your start times on all the programs. Each program has 4 start times available. If you turn the dial to start times on program A and press the manual start button, it will show you if you have more than one start time for that program. After checking program A, move the selector to program B & C and repeat the same process. Eliminate the start times on each program that you don't want.
How many sprinkler valves do you have and when you open them manually do they water a certain section of your yard? If the answer is yes to this question then maybe your garden has been bypassed or is watered from a tap or other water source.
Thanks man. Straight forward and easy video.
You're welcome!
If you turned all the days OFF on program A for station 2, then there must be time and days turned ON on program B or C.
First slide selector switch to program A & turn the dial to start times, then:
1. Set the start time for when you want to water.
2. Press manual start one time, this will take you to start time 2. Set it to blank. You do this by using the up or down arrow and running the time to 12am then one more push on the arrow set it to blank or this -- --.
Thank you some landscaper was charging me $95 each time to come out and play with these settings
Ouch, that seems pricey. Hopefully you won't have to call the landscaper again.
Great video
Thanks!
It won't run the programs at the same time, it will run program A and then program B. Be careful you don't overlap start times in the programs. AND it doesn't matter where you leave the program switch/selector after you've done the programming, the timer will still water all information you've input into the programs. The timer has 3 separate programs and 4 available start times for each program. Please see my recent blog post on this at my website if this isn't clear.
First check that your pump is running when you advance through the stations. If it is then you need to isolate which sprinkler valve isn't opening when you advance through the stations, then repair this valve.
I like the way you present the information. Slowly, concisely enough to understand words and see what you’re doing.
I’m trying to set station one to water four times a day so I can get grass seed to grow, but I want the other two stations to run only twice a day. Can this be done?
Yes. Put the two stations you want to water on program A then add in 2 start times. Put the station you want to water 4 times a day on program B and add in 4 start times. Be sure the 2 stations you have on program A don't have a station run time on program B, and make sure the 1 station on program B doesn't have a station run time on program A. Also be careful not to overlap start times between the programs.
Thanks so much! I didn’t expect such a quick reply...I’ll give it a shot tomorrow.
Thanks for the feedback.
thank you for your kind reply
i have 4 stations 1=10 min - 2 =15 min - 3 = 30 min - 4 = 10 min , and the watering start times is 6 am and 7 pm , i think i don't have overlapping
So with a four station manifold and values system in the ground, my understanding is that each one of these feeds water to a zone and respective sprinkler outlets. I have five sunken sprinklers (which pop up when active) and four raised sprinklers in the front garden. For the rear garden i have six sunken sprinklers and three raised. No water is passing through any of these sprinklers, automatic or manual. I think it is either a valve, solenoid or problem with the water pump from the reservoir.
how does the module know when to turn on the 2nd valve and can I adjust that time? currently my first valve is set to come on at 3am but I do not know how to set the second valves turn on time. Thanks
Does the zone 5 valve shut off after the program has finished or is it running all the time even when the timer is off? If zone 5 runs all the time it is a problem in the valve.
Check that the color coded wire on the zone 5 sprinkler valve is the same wire that is connected to the zone 5 terminal on the timer. The only scenario I can think of where a zone would water the full duration of a program is if it is connected to the master valve terminal.
Your reservoir is full? Is the buzzing coming from the sprinkler valve? You might have a bad solenoid. Try opening the valve manually and see if it will water. If the sprinkler valve will water manually and you're getting power to the valve then the problem is internal in the valve.
Very kind, thank you.
@astrology4me
The controller comes with a master valve terminal for pumps on the first module. The wires from the relay attach to this terminal. The default is for all of the stations to have the Master Valve circuit on. I updated the video annotations to show where to connect the relay wires to the master valve terminal. Is this the information you were after?
@mattable123456789
Process of elimination time now. You need a volt tester. First manually start a valve and check that the timer is outputting power by testing the wires leaving the timer. 1 probe on common and 1 probe on station wire. Next go to sprinkler valve and test those same 2 wires that you tested at the timer. You should be reading 26-29 volts at both locations. If you're not getting this reading at the sprinkler valve you probably have a bad timer wire between timer and valves.
Thanks brother its really help me very much
Happy to help.
Thank you very much this video was plain and simple perfect!
I'm assuming you're on program A. Turn the dial to start times. The 1st start time should be displayed. Press manual start to go to the 2nd start time. Is it displaying? Press manual start again. Start time 3 should be blank. Press manual start again. Start time 4 should be blank. Press manual start again. 1st start time should display again. Do the start times show up correctly when you do this?
Thank you sir, great video
Thanks for watching.
I have a number of videos dealing with lawn sprinkler systems. Just visit my channel and type in a search term that you need help with. I also have a number of blog posts that are lawn sprinkler related including sprinkler system basics. You can access my blog from my channel page also.
I'm guessing you have overlapping start times. Add up all of the run times for your sprinkler stations. The 2nd start time must be after this amount of time. Example: You have 8 stations that water 30 minutes each, that is 4 hours of watering. Your first start time is 6am. Your second start time must be after 10am to keep start times from overlapping.
Thank you. This was extremely useful.
I don't think you have enough programs to do what you want.
If your timer has A,B, & C programs your can do this:
Program A:
Turn Sun "ON" Set station 1-4 to water for 15 minutes.
Program B:
Turn Tue, Thu, & Sat "ON" Set stations 1 and 4 to water for 15 min. Make sure stations 2 & 3 have "0" for watering time.
Program C:
Turn Mon and Fri "ON" Set station 4 to water 15 min & set the other stations to "0".
On all programs be sure to turn OFF days not watering.
"Continued"
Have you tried removing and reinserting the module?
If that doesn't work maybe try resetting the timer.
Here's Rain Bird's instructions: Locate the RESET button on the back of the front panel. Using the tip of a pencil or other pointed object, press and hold the RESET button. While the button is pressed, the display will be blank.
If that doesn't work I would call Rain Bird tech support: 1-800-RAINBIRD
Wow Nice video! Helped me a lot! Thanks!
Glad it helped!
@@Iscaper I have programmed "B", but now I need to complete cancel Program A how do I do that? For some reason program A is still on while I have the switch on "B"
Hello. Very useful video. I got my house and found this timer controlling 6 valves. After redoing the sprinkler box, setting wires,repairing valves, and changing solenoids, I did manual test of each valve and everything was ok; then I set up schedule and forgot about it, few days later I found the alarm light on. I made sure wires are not in short. I tested each valve using a 24V AC transformer directly to the solenoids installed. After that I took off all valves from timer, connected just 1 solenoid to test each channel in sequence. In each module I noticed the output was intermitent even using 3 different solenoids (Ran from 12 to 0V in a loop), I checked that the 24V transformer is working; I did reset, disconnected each module to see if there was something wrong and connected again. When doing manual test on first module. It only allows me to run chanel 1,2 and 4. when I try to adjust the time for chanel 3, it is expressed in hours and does not let me turn that valve on (With solenoid already installed or solenoid connected directly to the module). The sad part is that if the module is damaged it would be better to get a new timer because each module is over 50$ and a timer from 90$. Any other idea to work this out? thanks a lot!
If you test the output from the timer to the valves you should have around 29 volts. If you're not getting that from any of the 3 stations on the module, the module is probably bad. I would take the money you would spend on a new module and put it toward Rain Bird's WiFi timer. I installed one (ST8i-WiFi) at my place last year and love it. I can program the timer sitting on my couch. Here's a link to my video: ruclips.net/video/0gLlpBoIS8c/видео.html
Thanks for your suggestion. I got the St8, and Finally I got everything running!
Danke! From Germany
Bottle o water! From England
Hello Germany!!
Amazing video
Thanks!
what about master valve and pump stuff?
@toddb0001
pretty sure there is a reset button on the back of the panel
@toddb0001
Try unplugging the timer, remove the battery, & wait about 3 or 4 minutes. Restore power and program the timer. After reprogramming press manual advance through the stations and see if the timer stays to the amount you put in on each station. If the timer keeps jumping back to 1 minute after doing this, there may be something wrong internally with the timer.
Depending on how long you have had the timer, it may still be under warranty. You can call Rain Bird at 800-247-3782.
Thanks for the video. Your timer matches my timer exactly. You say it is an ESP series timer, but none of the Rain Bird manual downloads for ESP (I checked all 14 variants) match the timer that you and I have. Do you know how to find the exact model number that we both own? Also - can you explain Test All Valves? Is it going to automatically skip every 0:02 to the next valve?
On the cover page of my manual it says ESP Modular. If you go to my website I have the manual you can download. Here's the link: iscaper.com/downloads.php
Great thanks for the information!
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you. Very helpful. I will see if the error comes up with a number this time and try that.
You can also use the Manual Start/Advance button to check for a faulty valve. Press Manual Start/Advance and the first station in the program should start watering. Wait a few seconds then press Manual Start/Advance again to advance to the next station. Repeat these steps until you get the "#err" message. If you have a bad solenoid, using this method should quickly find the bad valve. If you're using more than one program you'll need to repeat these steps on each program until you isolate the faulty valve.
I watched your video, and appear to have done everything you showed. However my system still does not work...! my reservoir is full, and the four value that are in the garden are turned on and when their 'on' time has approached, there is a gentle buzz. However still no water from any of the four sprinklers... can you help?
That leaves Wednesday. If I were you I would add Wednesday to program A. Sunday is watering all 4 zones and you have Wednesday watering zones 2,3, & 4. If you had a program D you could put Wednesday on it, but the ESP doesn't have a program D.
Let me know if this helps.
Ohh, so it will run program A and program B at the same time? I thought it was one program at a time (whichever it was set to). If that is the case, thank you so much!
thank you for this video and i have a problem , i did a programing for my timer and i did set two times for watering and the timer didn't work as the timer in the second time of watering , i want to know why >>>? . thank you again
Thanks very much,,,,good luck
Thank you for your advice.
The timer was working fine for years with 4 zone set to the program. After a sudden power failure, the timer never stops. If it is set for 10am , it does one complete rotation, and starts all over again from zone 1 to 4. I have reset the system and reprogrammed but still no success. what could be the issue?
Thanks for the video. I just bought my dream home and it came with this very same system but I just couldn’t figure it out.
Great video but here is my question: I have a 4 zone system
How do I accomplish the following?
Sunday- all zones 15 min
Mon.-4 15 min
Tues 1 and 4 15 min
Wed 2,3,4 15 min
Thurs-same as tues
Fri- 4 15 min.
Sat. same as Tues.
Thanks for any help you can offer.
Just seeing this, I'm completely green on how it works. I have water in the front but not seeing any in the back, how would you test the back drips to see if they're working?
Turn the dial to the station that each drip is on and press Manual Start. The timer will water the amount of Run Time you have for that station then go back to the program.
which pickup works best at a recording and is passive for LL16 or active for LL-TA ?.
How do you set the 2nd watering time for the day?
Turn dial to "Set Watering Start Times", the first start time for the program will display. Press Manual Start/Advance once and the second start time will display. Use the up and down arrows to set the 2nd start time for the program. When finished turn the dial to Auto.
I have 4 zones and I want to set them for 30 minutes each. Zone 3 allows me to scroll through to 30 minutes. However, on Zones 1, 2 and 4, the least amount of time I can get is 1 hour, 7 minutes. I also have to wait a long time between decreasing the number of hours! Besides setting all Zones for an hour and putting seasonal adjust on 50%, how can I get minutes in the 3 Zones?
Just saw this. Is there any way to do this without manually switching between programs?
quick question Carie, i have had no issues whatsoever with this system .. until today.. it just isnt coming on..it didnt come on at the set time and we've been trying to manually start it with no luck either.,, any advice would be appreicated. the only other thing i thought might need to be changed was the sensor button which was on active (for past 5 year) i changed it to bypassed but no luck there either..
Hi - Excellent instruction. i agree with you that this is very simple ` however my sprinklers go off several times ~ It goes through its cycle then comes on again, and also a third time? I tried to correct this but no good ~ What am I doing wrong?? Thanks!!
Sounds like you may have multiple start times on your program or programs.
1. Select the program you want.
2. Turn the dial to “SET WATERING START TIMES.”
3. The display shows the first start time currently set for the program.
4. Press Up or Down arrow to change the start time. The time setting moves forward
and backward in 15-minute increments.
5. To eliminate a watering start time,press Up or Down arrow until the “OFF”
setting between 11:45 p.m. and 12:00 a.m. appears.
6. If you want to set or delete additional start times for this program, press
“MANUAL START / ADVANCE” to display the next watering start time.
Then repeat steps 4 through 6.
7. Turn the dial to “AUTO.”
Thank you so much!! I will try that tomorrow!!!
The warning signal works and when you press the power button it does not work and the valves are all out on the screen, so what is the malfunction?
Good Stuff!! thanks for the tips IScaper!!!!
I got it working. Thank you!
I have the same Rain Bird system shown in the video. I have trouble with the system restarting over and over after it has gone through all 8 cycles. So I have to manually turn off. Any suggestions?
What setting do I put the system on to water on selected days
ok when ever i set the test timer it does not turn off and i have to shut off the main valve how do i resolve this issue for the future
I have this system also and I reset the programming using the seasonal setting and clearing everything. Prior to that I had a zone 8 that was used to fill my pool. Now when I go to zone 8 it says no Mod 2. How do I get it to recognize zone 8 again?