Hey all.
Got a 4 zone sprinkler system Had a similar issue in the past and watched Youtube videos and was able to fix by replacing diaphragm in the Zone 3 controller.
But that didn't work this time.
Then I replaced the Solenoid, still not working.

I can turn the Solenoid 1/4 turn (in the On direction) and when I turn the valve I do hear water going through... the sprinkler head that broke that was NOT first one in line, i.e. if something was blocking in the pipes it seems like the sprinklers before that one head would still work.

other 3 zones work fine.

Kind of at a loss for the next step to try.

Any ideas outside of that. I figured the 1/4 turn of the solenoid would work.

This started the day one of the sprinkler heads in Zone 3 broke. I replaced that easily enough but now Zone 3 just doesn't want to work.



Thanks in advance.

If there is still a break in the line it may be that water is going through but not pressuring up enough to activate the whole zone.

I would keep checking for leaks. Cracks in PVC can be hard to notice sometimes.

Sims said:

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If there is still a break in the line it may be that water is going through but not pressuring up enough to activate the whole zone.

I would keep checking for leaks. Cracks in PVC can be hard to notice sometimes.

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Thanks the sprinkler head that broke just had the actual.head that pushes up to spray in 180 degree pattern fly off... the water was just gushing straight upwards.

I suppose it could be possible that right after this, an underground pipe could have broken, but just doesn't seem.likely.

I think at the very least I would dig down to the lateral where the T is.

It's probably a 1" or 3/4" pvc lateral with a T and a reducing fitting...after that, it either goes straight up to the sprinkler head (that solid connection on a 90 deg is easy to break if someone were to kick it or hit it with a mower)....or it goes from the fitting to a flexible pvc line then to the head...those break much less easily.

In any case...maybe its none of that but its where I would check first.

If you dont want to do any digging, get a 0-360 adjustable spray pattern head and put it on that exact sprinkler...then close it all the way to 0 degrees and turn on the zone.

Before you dig anything up, can you turn on the station and check the flow indicator on your water meter to make sure water is actually flowing?

I had a similar issue. After replacing the diaphram and solenoid, I replaced the entire valve with a new one and it was working again.

If you are in Houston, call Matt at Applied Sprinkler Solutions. Awesome Ag and great company. I'm sure he can help out. He's on this board as well so maybe he'll see this and provide some basic insight.

So i had to dig to replace the broken sprinkler head... I left it "undug" and could see the 90 degree pipe fitting where the head screwed in and then turned on the zone, both electrically and with 1/4 turn of the solenoid. Nothing.

I may try the whole valve but.thats gonna be an adventure with removing and fitting it back in

So, when I cycle through Zones 1, 2, and 4 I can audibly hear the water running through inside our house in a specific spot where we could always hear it. When i turn on Zone 3, I don't hear anything. I would think that would eliminate it leaking so much underground that it couldn't get any water through any of the sprinkler heads.

Gonna mess with the valve again.

this is so frustrating.

Something is not adding up for me. You mentioned turning your Zone 3 valve by hand and hearing water moving. Was the Master valve also open at this time?

Could it just be that you were hearing the slug of water between the closed Master and open Zone 3 valve running down the pipe? If you run the sprinkler system on Zone 3 (which should open the Master valve as well), and manually open the Zone 3 valve, are you getting flow?

BenTheGoodAg said:

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Something is not adding up for me. You mentioned turning your Zone 3 valve by hand and hearing water moving. Was the Master valve also open at this time?

Could it just be that you were hearing the slug of water between the closed Master and open Zone 3 valve running down the pipe? If you run the sprinkler system on Zone 3 (which should open the Master valve as well), and manually open the Zone 3 valve, are you getting flow?

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For that last question, the answer is no.

I hear water go in to to valve 3 initially and if I turn the solenoid to almost taking it off, water starts spraying out of it where it connects to the valve.. gonna try a whole new valve top if Lowes has them in stock

91_Aggie said:

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BenTheGoodAg said:

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Something is not adding up for me. You mentioned turning your Zone 3 valve by hand and hearing water moving. Was the Master valve also open at this time?

Could it just be that you were hearing the slug of water between the closed Master and open Zone 3 valve running down the pipe? If you run the sprinkler system on Zone 3 (which should open the Master valve as well), and manually open the Zone 3 valve, are you getting flow?

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For that last question, the answer is no.

I hear water go in to to valve 3 initially and if I turn the solenoid to almost taking it off, water starts spraying out of it where it connects to the valve.. gonna try a whole new valve top if Lowes has them in stock

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I just did the valve top not the entire thing. Didn't mean for you to have dig the whole thing up and tie the new one in

The one you dug up….take the sprinkler head off. Turn on valve. If water is gushing out it's the valve. Problem at least homes in on at that point.

91_Aggie said:

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So, when I cycle through Zones 1, 2, and 4 I can audibly hear the water running through inside our house in a specific spot where we could always hear it. When i turn on Zone 3, I don't hear anything. I would think that would eliminate it leaking so much underground that it couldn't get any water through any of the sprinkler heads.

Gonna mess with the valve again.

this is so frustrating.

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Does your valve have a manual "Flow Control" on its top? If you are getting water to the solenoid, but not down the line, it may be something as simple as you closed the flow control or possibly installed the diaphragm incorrectly.

Some residential valves have "Flow control" and some do not. It is a handle of some kind to manual close the water going through the valve.

If you aren't sure - post a pick of the top of the valve.

I think I figured it out... I'm a space cadet.

The valve I thought controlled zone 3 is actually the master valve.

Several years ago I had to rent a "valve finder" because 2 zones were not working. Once I found 4 underground valves (they are spread out in the yard, not all in one place) I figured I found all them not thinking about the master valve might be one of them.

At that time zone 3 was working fine so I didn't even try to test it out with the solenoid twist as I found each one... just used process of elimination because I found others first.

So there's the valve control for Zone 3 somewhere in my yard that I need to find.

Thanks for everyone's input. I'm a doofus.