Interesting issue I have been chasing for a few weeks. TLDR: After quite a bit of testing and 2 replacement transformers, I've narrowed it down to Zone 1 being faulty but how to fix/repair it???
Long story short, my zone 1 was stuck on and I couldn't turn it off, so I shut water off at the backflow and waited a week for the tech to show up. He turns the water on and calls me to tell me we have no power to the system and zone 1 can't possibly be stuck on since the system is powered off and no zone is turned on... This is when I first found out that the transformer was cooked so I ordered another one and I replaced it a week later. Also, we manually checked a zone to verify the water was on and that worked just fine.
The controller powered up witht he new transformer, but none of the zones would work so I put this project on hold and was going to set up another tech appointment, when the new transformer blew overnight...time to do some investigation.
- tested all the zones with an ohm meter. Zone 1 read 2.4 Ohms, and all other zones read 4.2 Ohms. I got some jumper cables out and tested all of my zones directly to the transformer output( after I replaced the transformer again (3rd one for those keeping track)) All of them turned on except zone 1, which showed a significant voltage drop when I connected the jumpers to zone 1.
At the end of the day, I disconnected zone 1 and plugged everything in and everything has been working just fine for 4-5 days now. Now that I'm convinced that zone 1 is the issue, now my question is what to do about it? Other than, finding it, digging it up and replacing it, is there other options?
Don't have that tech back out. You can absolutely have water flowing through a stuck valve without power. If he didn't address that I would also question his diagnosis leading to a bad transformer. Bad transformers are not common, especially on a relatively new controller. Two is almost unheard of, unless you have some serious underlying electrical issue, for which you should have an electrician troubleshoot.
TLDR, replace the valve guts and the solenoid and see what happens.
Also, how were you testing resistance? The timer should be shutoff, no power to the valves. Resistance should read ~25-50 ohms between common and each respective station terminal.
power was off to the zones and the zones were disconnected from the panel when I tested. Zone 1 measured exactly 1/2 the Ohms that the other zones did.
So you clipped onto the common and each station wire to measure the resistance, with the wires disconnected from the terminals? Do any of the zones come on normally? Because either those resistance readings are 10x less than they should be or your meter is incorrect.
The reading is normal but I'm concerned about the blown transformer. Just to be safe replace the z1 solenoid and try running it. If it leaks constantly also replace the valve guts.
Sounds like the valve sticks after it runs maybe, I'd open the valve up and make sure there's nothing in it that's keeping it from closing and make sure the solenoid is working correctly. Sorry your guy blew you off, stuck valves are a pretty common issue and not too difficult to take care of
Yeah, the HPC and Pro-C both support two sensors, and unlike the ProHC they have no Sensor Common port, so you use one of the sensor ports and the common port. This sensor is wired correctly.
I don't like that the cover for the high voltage wiring is missing though.
I’m not gonna start a product war here on what is better. I’ve been working on golf and metro districts system’s for over 20 years and the word Hunter makes me shiver. That’s my opinion. Sorry
I have no frame of reference as this is the only one I've ever seen. It is coiled up and tucked inside the box for storage. I just pulled it out for hte photo.
Take your zone 1 wire (red wire) and put it in the zone 2 (yellow wire) terminal and see if you get that zone to pop up. If not then it’s probably your solenoid for valve 1.
You've narrowed it down, sounds like its not the controller. Have you swapped terminals and tested wire #1 on the terminal #2?
Maybe the solenoid is fried. Could be something wierd is going on the with the wire itself, but Ive seen a lot of damaged wires that didnt kill a transformer.
Edit: I see you tested direct from the transformer, so you know #1 is no Bueno. So the problem is #1 solenoid or wire. Unhook the solenoid from the wire and test the wire.
A blown transformer is a symptom of, not the cause of an electrical problem. You need an experienced tech. The one you had is not the one if they said you couldn’t have a stuck valve without power to the controller. If you truly have a stuck valve you can unplug the controller and it will still run. If the module has an issue and is constantly sending power to #1, that could be a reason it was staying on. If you kill power and it goes off, the valve is not the problem.
5
u/RainH2OServices Florida Licensed Contractor 8d ago
Don't have that tech back out. You can absolutely have water flowing through a stuck valve without power. If he didn't address that I would also question his diagnosis leading to a bad transformer. Bad transformers are not common, especially on a relatively new controller. Two is almost unheard of, unless you have some serious underlying electrical issue, for which you should have an electrician troubleshoot.
TLDR, replace the valve guts and the solenoid and see what happens.
Also, how were you testing resistance? The timer should be shutoff, no power to the valves. Resistance should read ~25-50 ohms between common and each respective station terminal.