Sprinkler Valves Need Repair

Craig, I have a 6 zone drip system in Az. I have 2 zones that have been coming on at will. I have hunter controller that I had checked by a hunter service center.It appears to be running fine and activates all the zones but there will be another zone running for no reason.

Nancy Kelly

Hi Nancy, I can't tell from your email if the rogue sprinkler valves that need repair are running 24 hours a day, or only in conjunction with the irrigation valves that are supposed to be running.

If the valves are always running watch this video sprinkler valve repair. If the wrong sprinkler system zones are running only when you turn on the controller, the problem is electrical. You've had the controller checked, so we know the problem is in the irrigation field wiring.

What I think is happening is that the electrical current from the sprinkler valve you want to run is bleeding into another valve. This is also known as "ghosting". To make certain that this is the case, while the errant sprinkler valve is running, disconnect the terminal wire from the valve and it should turn off. Unless the errant lawn sprinkler valve is the last one on the circuit, common wire splice will have 3 wires (one solenoid wire and the common going in and out) and the terminal valve will have two (one terminal wire and one solenoid wire).

Now, finding the spot where the irrigation wires are "bleeding" can be challenging. Here are possible areas to look.

Are all the sprinkler valves in one valve box? If so, re-wire them all.

Is the wiring multi-strand? If so, look where the black sheathing has been opened to pull the wires out. The colored wires may have been nicked. Check first in the irrigation controller, and then in the valve boxes. Also check and see if you have a splice box where the wires go into the ground.