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Please look at the DIY Troubleshooting section before posting; answers to most questions can be found there.
You can also reply to other people’s questions if you like. (Thanks for helping)
Please try to include the following with your question, list:
1) the date code (located under the battery),
2) the model number shown on the face of the controller (usually below and to the left of the dial, e.g., RD-600 or RD-600-R).
3) Color (mostly Gray or Blue) based on the example rainDials shown at the top of the page.
I am a 10 year retired landscape contractor after being in business for 30 years as a select Rainbird Contractor. My neighbor has the rd600 solenoid chattering problem. Seemed like a water hammer problem to me but his repairman knew about this circuit board problem with the rain dial controller and replaced the entire controller. Is this something inherent with these controllers?After installing literally thousands of Rainbird ESP’s I had never experienced this kind of a controller failure. I love your business model and mission and wish you the best.
Hi Doug,
Nice to meet you. The problem usually occurs after some time, and is aggravated by the heat above all else. I see it quite often, but I only hear from people when they’re not working 🙂 Besides this little thing, the timers are amazing; I repair them with mfg dates back to 1991 and they go back in service for a very very long time. I’ve only had like 1 come back for the same issue in over 13 years. People often think of upgrading for wifi and app usage, but these have been around longer than cell phones have, so it’s hard to think that any of the newer models will be last half that long.
Anyway, Keep me in mind for the future, I hate seeing good equipment being thrown out when it can be repaired for a fraction of the cost of a new one, and I warranty the repair the same as a new one… Thanks for your best wishes; and back at ya.
Regards,
brian
Hi, My RD1200 is not actuating the values even through the display says the zone is manually on. I testing the voltage out of the transformer and it says 17 vac; which may be too low. Is this indicating a bad transformer needing to be replaced. ?
Hi Paul,
If the 24VAC input voltage is between 24 and 30VAC, the transformer is fine. I’m guessing that you measured the voltage to the valves, which is driven by the timer. If it’s low, when the valve is on, then it’s a timer problem. This is a common thing to happen and something that I repair. See the ‘how to get it repaired’ menu for details. you can also use the contact form to reach me.
if you see low voltage on the 24VAC input, that would be extremely rare; tranformers rarely fail partially, and are almost always ‘good’ or ‘bad’. Let me know more about what you’re seeing and we can go from there.
Regards,
Brian
Hi Brian,
Thanks for all your expertise – I have an RD600, and some sprinkler/drip stations are continuing to run even after I turned it off. I removed the battery and unplugged the ribbon as well, so no power to the unit but the water didn’t stop. I turned off the supply, but is this an issue with the unit that can be repaired, or?
Thanks again.
Hi Matthew,
Look at the DIY Troubleshooting page under behavior problems for stuck-on valves… it should help. If it does, please leave us a donation, if not, let me know and I’ll try to help further.
Brian
Hello, My Irritol system does not come on and just pulses on the popups that pulse up 1/4 inch and back down and up again. Originally thought it was a temp issue. replaced everything from the backflow to the actual valves. Now they just click and do nothing. Can you help ? ? Thank you for your time
Hi Ric,
Yep – send it on in, we’ll get it back to you super fast.
See the details on the menu above that says ‘how to get it repaired…’
thanks,
Brian
I have an RD 600 R dated 09-25-13 I replaced the battery yesterday, when I noticed the absence of characters on the display. I was then able to deliver water to one zone manually for about 6-7 minutes, until the sprinkler heads started sputtering and finally stopping..
Please advise.
Rd 900 station 1 does not shut off station 2 will not come on station 3 And 4 work ok. Have done factory reset twice no change. Have cleaned 3 valves no change?
Hi David,
At the back terminal board, try taking the wire from a working valve and swapping it with a non-working valve. If the valve still doesn’t work, it’s likely a valve issue. If it now works, send the timer and back terminal board in for repair and we’ll get it working like new again. See the ‘how to get it repaired’ menu above for details.
thanks,
Brian
My RD 600R is flashing “SEn”. What does that mean. Trying to get the sprinkler system to come on temporarily and not the normal schedule.
Hi Frank,
Check out the DIY Troubleshooting page – it explains everything you need to know about the Sen message. If it helps, leave us a donation, if not, let me know and we’ll figure it out.
Regards,
Brian
Have 6 station controller dated 10/5/93. Works good as programmed. Three issues. 1. when trying to run manual on any station + key is sticky and has to be pressed many times . 2. have to jiggle dial to get the right thing to show up on the display. 3. ran a semi-auto. Later in the day one of the stations came on without any input from me. Is it repairable and what do I need to send to you?
Hi Sol,
I can repair buttons, switches, etc… I sent you a separate email with details; if you don’t get it, let me know
Regards,
Brian
RD-900. One station does not come on via the timer anymore. I can turn it on manually at the valve and it works. Why won’t it come on using the timer.
Hi Rick,
I think you sent an email too. Try switching the wire going to the one bad station with the wire for one that’s working. that way you’ll know if it’s the timer causing trouble or the valve/wiring is bad. hopefully that makes sense; if not, let me know.
Brian
Hardie 1994 system. Works on scheduled time, but will not run manually. Repair or replace?
Hi Susanne,
they’re excellent timers that can go 30 years easily. If it’s in good condition physically, I’d say try the repair. If isn’t doesn’t seem like a good candidate for repair, I’ll let you know and we can look at other options. The newer timers are proving to not be as reliable as the older ones, so I’m a fan of them.
See the ‘how to get it repaired’ in the menu for all the details.
Thanks for posting,
Brian
Hi, I am working on a RD-600 for a family friend here in Tucson. She has been having intermittent issues with it for a while. I guessing its a controller issue. The 9v battery doesn’t last long. Last week every time I would snap the controller in place the display would shut off. Today when I was there the display was blank, the battery was dead, we had 27vac on the terminal board. I pulled the controller and the terminal board off today and brought them home with me, incase i need to ship them to you (She lives almost an hour away. I also know she was getting a FUS 2 fault. I measured the resistance of valve 2 and it was shorted, read about 6 ohms. I am assuming its a bad valve, but will check that later. Anyway what do you advise? Should she upgrade to the RD-600-R?
Thanks in advance,
Galen
Hi Galen,
You’ve done a great job troubleshooting. I’d agree that there are multiple issues. The solenoid needs replacing, and I’ll send you all the repair information for the timer.
Thanks,
Brian
Hi Brian, I’m having trouble with the controller. I’ve reset everything after the water was turned back on. Normally everything is still set from last year. This year we had to reset everything and now it is erratic. It comes on at different times and when we tried to program it a second time program B has a message EVR. I don’t know how to set it to go back to original default and that my not even help. Its over 15 years old and I have an extra one that you repaired last year so if it’s something that isn’t worth repairing let me know.
Hi Bud,
I haven’t seen an EVR message before, that’s strange. I’d say send it in. They can go easily to 30 years of life after repair. If I can’t repair it, there’s no charge. I’m glad you’ve got a spare to work with for a while.
Look at the How to get it repaired menus for additional info if you don’t have it.
Have a good weekend,
Brian
Mr Irritol system is set to come on 5:30 AM and 7:00 PM. The AM does not come on and just pulses on the popups that pulse up 1/4 inch and back down and up again. If I attempt manual the same thing happens but the night time setting works perfectly. Any recommendations?
Hi Freddy – yep, it’d be a standard repair item – I’ll send you email with the details.
Thanks
Hi. Only 1 of my 4 zones is working. Plus none of the 4 zones will work if I set to manual. Thank you.
Hi Robert,
That’s usually due to a valve or wiring issue. Try looking at the section about testing the transformer in the RD600 troubleshooting section. You can bypass the timer and connect the valve to the transformer directly to test it. If you have questions, let me know.
Regards,
Brian
Hello Dr. R! I am trying to troubleshoot a problem with a 1200. One zone does not turn on. I have tested that solenoid with connection to another zone wire and it works fine. Deduction is that its the Zone 4 live wire problem. When I put a continuity tester on #4 on the circuit board it is fainter than the other zones. are the circuit boards prone to problems like this? tx, in advance. btw, I sold my house and am trying to get out of this for as cheaply as possible!!
Hi Scott,
After conversing on email, it sounds like there were two problems I’m glad it’s all working well again.
Regards,
Brian
Train Dial 600 R
The initial watering valves 1&2 are working fine, however, when their watering, both #1&2 immediately repeat. What do I need to adjust.
Thank you Don
That’s a scheduling conflict, usually with overlapping or too many start times. Look for that on all schedules, a, b and c.
If all else fails, do a factory reset by following the DIY Troubleshooting page instructions.
I can also do a phone consultation to get you going again, and am happy to help.
Let me know what you think and we can go from there.
Regards,
Brian
I have a brand new RD600R. My installer said that there is an out of the box failure. There is no 24 VDC on the MV/Pump contact…which is where he is connecting a pump start relay switch wire. Are out of the box failures common on new units?
Hi Patrick,
We had some emails going to figure it out. For the readers wondering about this RD600 issue, here’s the result: The timer has a feature that turns on the pmp/mv circuit when a station is on. This feature can be turned on/off per station. The feature was simply turned off. Once turned on (see the manual), everything worked normally.
Thanks for the generous donation Patrick, I appreciate it.
Brian
I have reset my RD1200 both ways still no power. The valves turn on manually. It is only @3 years old. Any suggestions?
RD1200 ext-r blue
Hi Terry,
When you turn them on manually, do you mean manually at the valve itself, or using the manual function on the timer (Pressing the Manual On button after adding some minutes)?
Brian
At the valve.
I did lose power a few times this winter.
Ok, thanks. That helps. I’ll send u a separate email with som options…
hi, I have a RD-600-R. only using 2 stations. B station doesn’t always come on as programmed. any suggestions?
I sent you a separate email with some additional questions and info; if you didn’t get it, post back here and let me know. You might want to review the DIY Troubleshooting page for the programming tips and information. Stations have nunbers and schedules have letters.
thanks
Brian
My rd600-ext-r has one set of valves cooing like a dove and they continuously leak water if I turn the cap it leaks into the valve box but the cooing stops. What do I need repaired?
I sent you a separate email with some additional questions and info; if you didn’t get it, post back here and let me know.
thanks
Brian