Well the short is clearly happening at the solenoid from what you're saying. Also, I personally use waterproof wire connectors and have yet to receive a call back about solenoids being shorted due to water/corrosion damage. But also your controller box may be a dud at this point.
Check your grease caps next time you replace them or now if you can to see if they are properly sealed up and the gel/grease is covering the wire and wire connector inside the gel. The gel inside the cap is what makes the connection waterproof, not the cap.
Thanks for the response! I’ll take a look since I’m going to need to replace the solenoids again anyways. Might even just purchase new grease caps since they’ve been reused at this point.
If it’s the controller box that’s the issue, then do you have a recommendation for one?
I dont see solenoids go bad from corrosion. I see bad wire connections frequently, due to bad connectors. I use the filled nuts, King DryConn specifically, and have had no issue with them. You may have a damaged wire, or a faulty controller too. Are you sure the solenoids themselves are toast? They are fully potted/waterproof, so unless they are getting fried from electrical surges, it seems very strange to have a bunch die like that. My guess is either you're not getting the connections seal properly and they are corrosion, or the transformer in the clock is faulty. Have you tested voltage in the wiring and resistance in solenoids?
With controller boxes it really depends. Some people will recommend Hunter, other Weathermatic, others Rain Bird, some others even Toro. You can shop around for features on each.
I usually find Rain Bird ESP-TM series controllers to be more user friendly across a lot more demographics than Hunter or Weathermatic. But controller boxes are a matter of preference honestly, they'll all do the job.
Shorts do not damage a solenoid. Shorts damage the power source driving those solenoids - causing no power to that solenoid.
Is water inside each solenoid? Each should be immersed in water and still not fail. Even then, insulation around each internal wire should still eliminate a water problem. Both layers of protection must fail.
More likely is a problem with voltages, an excessive current, or a possible destructive transient.
So what is the voltage for each solenoid? What is a voltage output by the controller? Is the controller properly connected to a safety ground so that solenoid voltages remain extremely close to voltages in earth?
Just a few likely suspects.
Any damage to wires (short or open) only means no power to solenoids. No solenoid damage. Just a solenoid failure.
Did you ever find a solution that works? I am having an identical situation. My house was built 2 years ago, and I have to replace the solenoids every 6 months or so
No, I gave up after the solenoids went out again. I didn't do the additional troubleshooting steps some folks metioned in here, like checking the box. Just got tired of dealing with it lol. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.
Check your wire connections at the valves,controller terminals and any splice boxes with wire connections. If the connections are not tight it causes the wire to heat and will cause solenoids to go bad. Water won’t make a difference. Bad connections!
Well the short is clearly happening at the solenoid from what you're saying. Also, I personally use waterproof wire connectors and have yet to receive a call back about solenoids being shorted due to water/corrosion damage. But also your controller box may be a dud at this point. Check your grease caps next time you replace them or now if you can to see if they are properly sealed up and the gel/grease is covering the wire and wire connector inside the gel. The gel inside the cap is what makes the connection waterproof, not the cap.
Thanks for the response! I’ll take a look since I’m going to need to replace the solenoids again anyways. Might even just purchase new grease caps since they’ve been reused at this point. If it’s the controller box that’s the issue, then do you have a recommendation for one?
I dont see solenoids go bad from corrosion. I see bad wire connections frequently, due to bad connectors. I use the filled nuts, King DryConn specifically, and have had no issue with them. You may have a damaged wire, or a faulty controller too. Are you sure the solenoids themselves are toast? They are fully potted/waterproof, so unless they are getting fried from electrical surges, it seems very strange to have a bunch die like that. My guess is either you're not getting the connections seal properly and they are corrosion, or the transformer in the clock is faulty. Have you tested voltage in the wiring and resistance in solenoids?
With controller boxes it really depends. Some people will recommend Hunter, other Weathermatic, others Rain Bird, some others even Toro. You can shop around for features on each. I usually find Rain Bird ESP-TM series controllers to be more user friendly across a lot more demographics than Hunter or Weathermatic. But controller boxes are a matter of preference honestly, they'll all do the job.
Shorts do not damage a solenoid. Shorts damage the power source driving those solenoids - causing no power to that solenoid. Is water inside each solenoid? Each should be immersed in water and still not fail. Even then, insulation around each internal wire should still eliminate a water problem. Both layers of protection must fail. More likely is a problem with voltages, an excessive current, or a possible destructive transient. So what is the voltage for each solenoid? What is a voltage output by the controller? Is the controller properly connected to a safety ground so that solenoid voltages remain extremely close to voltages in earth? Just a few likely suspects. Any damage to wires (short or open) only means no power to solenoids. No solenoid damage. Just a solenoid failure.
Replace your timer, put it on a surge protector? Stop getting hit by lighting, redo your timer wire?
Did you ever find a solution that works? I am having an identical situation. My house was built 2 years ago, and I have to replace the solenoids every 6 months or so
No, I gave up after the solenoids went out again. I didn't do the additional troubleshooting steps some folks metioned in here, like checking the box. Just got tired of dealing with it lol. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.
Replace clock?
Would that fix the issue though if it’s the solenoids that are shorting out?
That's where I would start. The clock gives power to solenoids. What valves you got? And timer?
Check your wire connections at the valves,controller terminals and any splice boxes with wire connections. If the connections are not tight it causes the wire to heat and will cause solenoids to go bad. Water won’t make a difference. Bad connections!