What a Gentleman !! I had a bad Rain Bird sprinkler where the solenoid was shot due to lightning. I have searched on Internet and landed to this video. I called Jimmy and left a message. Jimmy called back and helped me troubleshoot the issue with my multi meter and told me where exactly was the problem. Thanks so much Sir. You helped me save my yard, time and so much money.

This video is the best!. My son lives in New Jersey, we did the tests and checks and were still stymied. We called Jimmy and left a voicemail, explaining exactly what we tested and what the problem was. Within an hour we received a phone call back. He asked us a couple questions and had us explain what we saw on the control box wiring. He explained we had a master control valve problem. We located the master valve and he was 100% correct. An animal had decided to eat thru the wiring. We replaced the wiring and had success. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Jimmy is a perfect example of why the internet is so awesome. My brother just called with a random question about a broken system and was able to get it fixed in 20 minutes. Thanks again!

Wow! You went to a lot of work to make this video. Thank you for setting up a mock system and explaining the components so well. I really appreciate your efforts.

You are probably if not the best in this industry thanks for returning my call and solving the problem.

Just an amazing video. This guy deserves an Oscar.

While I don't live close enough to physically have their services I was struggling with my system since it wouldn't work for the last few weeks. I called Jimmy and he provided me with some incredibly useful information which allowed me to fix my issue in 5 minutes. Thank you so much Jimmy!

This is wonderful! Thanks for taking the time and using your expertise to show us exactly how a system should be wired and how to use a multimeter to diagnose common wiring problems in home irrigation systems. I particularly appreciate your telling us the normal resistance readings we should be expecting. Your video is clear, well thought out, to the point, and presented extremely well. This video is a shining example of how a KZfaq video should be made and presented.

Thanks for the video. Watching what you do , I noticed that I had my power wire installed in the pump port and not in the common port. Thought I put all wires back when I replaced the new box. Apparently not! Keep up the good work. Sincerely, DeWayne

You did a lot of work to produce this video and show us how this works, and then you started cutting wires! Thank you very much!

Thanks for the video. System stopped working after some trenching work. Watched your video and used a multimeter to determine that the MV circuit to the pump was the problem. Did some more digging and found that the pumps’ control wire had been cut. Repaired and the sprinkler system works like new!!!

Thank you tremendously. The ground wire and the other cords disconnected and your video saved me lots of weeping and nashing of teeth.

This is one of the greatest home-esque videos I've ever seen. Thank you for taking the time. I'm a visual dude and this connected all the dots for me.

I replace controller last year with an Orbit B-Hyve Wi-Fi indoor. Worked great until about a month ago. Zone 3 will not come on unless I do a Manual Watering for it. All other zones work fine. I switched Zone 1 and Zone 3 wires at the controller and now all zones work as scheduled. Hope I didn't mess up anything. Enjoyed your video!

Great videos, Jimmy! Appreciate your servant attitude in helping DIYers. I'm trying to diagnose my system which is not working properly and your videos have given me a good intro to how things should work.

That was a great video my friend. Real nice work!

Thank you so much for your expert troubleshooting advice. We got our sprinkler system up and running again. All this time it was one of the white common wires that disconnected somehow. Easy fix! Imagine we almost called a repair guy. $$$

This video and your other on layout of a sprinkler system has been extremely helpful. Now I know what to look for and see if I can fix/troubleshoot before I need professional help. Thanks!!!!!

You are a wonderful person Jimmy!! Beautifully explained how everything works! God bless you!!

Most excellent explanation of the function and troubleshooting of the irrigation system, it helped repair mine today...Big thanks

Thank u I highly appreciate ur time on making this video I learned so much by the way ur explanation

Clear and concise, wonderful!

awesome video.

You sir, are a sprinkler god! Thanks so much for posting this excellent primer on basic irrigation wiring.

You’re a life saver. Keep up the good work.

Jimmy you're the best! Thanks for all the great service with my sprinkler problem!

Awesome. Thank you for a fantastic lesson on wires.

You couldn't have made it easier. Thanks.

Excellent video though many years ago!

one of the better videos I have seen. I'm diagnosing an 8 zone system in Gadsden Al (mine) with numerous problems. Getting smarter all the time but certainly not an expert. I have a large box with a ball valve and two zone solenoid controls. One was a standard Irritrol but the other is MUCH larger and the local Plumbers Wholesale didn't recognize it or have one in stock. The valve body and diaphragm housing is 4" diameter and has 10 3/8" screws that are not Phillips or Torx, they were removed by socket. The last two were under the solenoid and it needed to be screwed out of its hole in order to remove the final two screws. The faucet type handle is completely immobile so would like to replace the innards. I'd send a picture if you give me a method. Would really like to know what kind of valve this is and where I can order a replacement?

Great video, thanks, I have some sprinkler work to do during home isolation.

So many guys performing irrigation work for a living, don't have this basic understanding. I'd wager that at least 80% of the entire service industry doesn't know this stuff. It costs everyone involved lots and lots of money.

Omg. Great video from Keller Texas!

Very good and we all need to know 😎

Awesome! I’m brand new to this and your explanation was simple and informative.

Very simple and to the point. Thank you very much for taking time to explain this important function.

Great job!...this really makes it easier to troubleshoot wiring problems.

Hey thanks for posting this, It allowed me to fix my sprinkler system!

What an incredibly clear explanation. Thank you so much!

Loved the explanation! Well done!

Great video! Thank you.

Great video(s) and this helped me understand and troubleshoot my problem and get it working.I'm still confused on how my 5 zone system worked in the first place until I attached the common wire to the controller.There was a red stranded wire attached to the common on the controller.All the other wires were copper,not stranded. I had an old Rainbird ESP-6si controller that was working fine but I wanted a WIFI so I installed Rainbird ESP-TM2 6 and wired it exactly as the old controller but no valves came on.I thought I must have fried something so I re-installed the old controller and it didn't work either. I then dug up the valve box which probably hasn't been opened since the initial install 17 years ago and could see the 5 valves and their corresponding colored wires and a white common (not red).I went back in the garage and connected the white wire to the common on the old controller and it then worked.I then re-installed the new controller and it worked as well.It wasn't a case of me not wiring properly.The white wire at the controller had not even been stripped until I did it! It just blows me away how it worked to begin with and I have no idea what that red stranded wire is.Maybe it's a rain sensor but I don't want that hooked up any way.

Excellent description and valuable content. Thanks!

If you could zoom in on the wiring to the timer, I would have been able to 👍 and share it with a Facebook group. Since you didn't, I'll give you an A for effort because you do know what you're talking about.

Wow you just instilled a bunch of knowledge, took my meter and quickly found my problem, Thank you so much...

Helps and should be included in book for dummies.

Great video thank you

Hi, thanks you for making this informative video, my first zone keeps blowing my controller fuse, i did ohm test on solenoid and also wiring, both test show within range but almost 1ohm less reading, what could be causing the fuse to blow,all other zones work normal if i disconnect zone 1wire or turn its setting to zero on controller.

Like it. Good explanation of wiring.

Your beard is impressive! And such a clean garage!

Exactly what I needed to know for diagnosing a system today. Thank you so much!

Extremely informative. Great learning tool. Thanks.

Thank you!

Infinitely helpful, thanks!

Awesome, echoing what's been said prior, this video is very clear; thank you. It's been 5 years but... what if you have a pump start relay between the water-pump and the sprinkler timer? I have a 6-Zone Rain Bird system that's connected to a relay, there's power going to the relay from the breaker, and the Rain Bird system is also powered, all the wiring running to and from both units look good, but I cant' get the water-pump to turn on. Where or what else should I be looking for?

Thank you for the excellent demo, i noticed that you used the red wire from the Multimeter for the common and the black(ground) for the zones, does it make any difference when measuring resistance ??

Oh you did cover it! How would you expect to find this underground? Would all 4 dedicated wires run along side the supply lines and the common wire? What about for a 15 zone system? Is there really 15 wires in the ground? Thanks again

Excellent 🙏

Thank you Im glad I found you now I can trouble shoot my system

Great explanation…Thx

Excellent video!

Awesome video. Thank you so much

Great video, Thanks for the help.

very nice way of explaining the "sprinkle wiring issues". My sprinkler system was working until three days ago. Today, when I switched it on, one specific zone (3), it didn't work. I tried all other 5 zones. none of them were working. Checked the back flow valve and found it working. Controller is working. Checked the transformer and found working. There is one white and 6 colored wires. Does it mean, I have a master valve? My last try is to check the white wire and master vale. Since, none of the zones are working, based on your video, I am suspecting common wire and or master valve. My neighbor was repairing his lawn at the zone 3. Can it be due to some damage to the zone 3 water line? or does it impact only zone 3? Please give me your insight.

You are the greatest

I’m my goodness I could literally cry! I have spent hours and hours trying to figure this out AND someone cut my “white” and I had idea how to fix! Now I see why nothing o past a certain zone will work and I just need to figure out how to fix the cut wire. A worker cut my 1” blue pen pipe and the wire. The pipe has a red wire sorta of under it but almost too close to cut the pipe. I have dug out the area but can’t find a good answer for repairing pipe as I think I have to remove about an inch or little more and the couplings are so short! I found a barbed coupling but my hands are weak and these are so hard for me to push in. The other coupling is one of those that goes on the outside, slips on and stays because of the tiny metal teeth inside the rim. But I’m not sure I have enough pipe to reach once I remove an inch. And now I’m off to see what other videos you have because you are the best “teacher” I have found after weeks of searching! Thank you for taking time to make these videos. By the way I’m in Texas as well, little town just outside of Austin.

Hi Jimmy I bought an old house with a sprinkler system that was working with a very old rainbird controller and a pump relay. It was working great with 2 zones and I disconnected the controller to replace with a newer one, first mistake!!!!! now I cant get any valve to work. the wiring is confusing. the controller wiring hooks to the relay using brown and white then continues to the valves . All common wires are connected to white and other wires connected to red... then there are 3 "harder wires coming up inside the valve box that are connected to the common wires. At the controller I connected the withe to common and brown to MV and the red to zone 1 I get nothing except the pump turns on but no valves working. I tested the valves manually and they are fine.

Thank you for the great video. I have a 20 year old 6 station system run by a Rainbird ESP-8 controller. Problem that just started is that when timer turns on station #1 - three other stations come on. Wondering if my controller is in need of replacement ?

Thank you I found the problem...it was the water sensor that was in series with the system my dog ripped it 🤦‍♂️so it wasn't completing the circuit

Soild info - Great job on the videos

Thank you so much for this video. So helpful. However I have one question...zone 1-4 are wired by the same wire spool. Zones 2-4 work but Im getting an open on zone 1 and solenoid is good. Doesnt make sense that zone 1 would have a cut wire and not the others since they are in the same strand. Any ideas?

Good job jimmy

Is it difficult for a home owner to install an inground sprinkler system like this? 1. Should valves be located at each zone or should it be cluster into one box (pros/cons) 2. Best way to run wire to each zone? Great videos...

Hello sir, Thank you for all of your informative videos. I am reaching out to you to see if I can email you and learn about irrigation design, specifically line of sight measurements,etc...?

What a great video

Thanks for the Video. Have a Hunter Sprinkler system with an Orbit B-Hyve controller. Everything was working fine till a few weeks. I was watering manually using the Orbit app and we had a week of sporadic rain in Toronto so didnt need to water. This weekend tried to water and there was no water in any zone using the app. Deleted and reinstalled the app. Checked the voltage and Ohm at the controller end. Also tested each solenoid and had a steady reading. Even replaced the controller. I can turn on the water for each zone by turning on the solenoid using quarter turn but other than that I cant get the controller to water. Not sure where the fault is. Appreciate help

I’ve got a 4 zone system the previous home owner put in, with 2 extra colored wires not connected at the control box or to any valve. The solenoids are like 250’ from the controller box. Will this work to test the continuity of the unused wires as I’d like to use them to add zones, and not damage anything while testing ? If I unplug the power to the control box from the wall, take the two colored unused wires and touch a 9v battery lead to each wire. Then at the solenoid 250’ away test the voltage of the 2 unused colored wires with my multimeter connected to each wire. Will this work as a continuity test? If any voltage shows up, it shows the wires have no breaks. And if anything is connected to those wires it shouldn’t damage it right bc it’s only 9v, right? Thanks for any help on this.

When turning my Hunter SRC from manual station to 'run', it doesnt activate the zone run timer as usual and defaults back to the date display. I cant get it to run, it keeps resetting back to date display. No error code or anything. Ive used multimeter on the AC power, checked the fuse, unplugged it for a while, changed the battery, reset the unit, re-programmed the timers and zones, checked the ohms from the controller to the solenoid, everything checks out. Bad controller?

Great video , easy as cake .

Thanks for your video, I had an french drain installed. After completion, My zone 1 will not turn on, and my zone 2 water comes out very weak. The rest of my zones are fine. I think a wire was cut in the process. can I run a wire instead of digging up the yard trying to find where the cut is located?

Great videos! I have six zones in my sprinkler system but only one thru three zones are working. I checked the continuity and they all have 24 to 27 ohms. Zone one thru three have 24 volts. However, there are no voltage on zone 4 thru 6. Please help. Thanks!

Very helpful video, thanks!

What would be the problem if I don't get any resistance in any zone? And when I turn on a single zone all of them get voltage at the same time? Everything was working just fine a month ago. But now I can't get them to turn on.

@4L irrigation repair. If you have a damaged wire what's the remedy? Run a new wire from the sprinkler box to the sprinkler valve?

My sprinkler pump when turned on keeps tripping the breaker, The pump does work because its starts then about to 10 secs later trips the breaker. The old underground wiring wound up breaking for some reason so I bought romex i think its called and ran it in like 1in pvc. Its the white wiring thats used in like new home construction for prob electrical outlets. Anyway..The run from the pump is about 110ft long. I have an old timer and the heads are the manual kind. The breaker is 2x 110v breakers together. Thats about it. The pump was installed about 2 years ago but only used about 10 times because I didnt have the money to have them come out again. Any help would be appreciated...Thank you soo much. Btw your video is great and I now know more about that type of heads..q

I need to replace my current sprinkler system. The sprinkler system that I currently have is a Weathermatic sprinkler system. I has up to 16-station connection. My lawn uses 14-station. I am unable to find any Rainbird sprinker system that can handle 14-station. The most I have seen is 12-station evan for any sprinkler system. Can I use a 12-station sprinkler system on a 14-station lawn? Can I use station 13 & 14 and plug it to the station 11 & 12?

No MV - Just 5 valves. 1st valve 1 red wire connects with common and rest of the 4 valves red wire and then the 2nd red wires connect to individual zone wires. There is also a rainbird wiring connection for rain delay to the 1st valve

Love those ground faults!

I'm right down the road from you! I have 2 questions: what should the resistance be for a lawn genie solenoid? I'm getting around 18. Second, I have 2 zones that are dead. I believe the common was nicked by a sharp shooter. They show 30 volts at controller but only about 8 volts at solenoid. Could I just run a new common from the controller to each of them to fix this? Also, a bonus question: the color of the wire at the valve is not the color at the controller. How and why did the installer do that?

I have a problem of rain bird which is when the station stop outometaclly, still the water is coming out .....why ? Thanks for responding

Great video! Would it be possible to make a video focusing on wire tracing with a locator?

Thank you for your video Jimmy. I got a Rain-bird SST9, got a red wire going to zone 1, an orange wire going to zone 2 and the rest are white wires, how can I find out which one of them is the common wire

Thank you for the explanation. I’m guessing you have the controller off when you check ohms on each zone?

Thank-you for this informative video. I have an issue I've not read in the comments here, yet. Perhaps you can get me pointed in the right direction. My control box is inside the garage, and power is tied into the same line as the garage door opener, yard light, two wall outlets and a GFCI located at the back of the garage. This year, a little while after I run the sprinkler system, I lose power to all the listed points. It's as if water is getting into the ground and shorting something. First time, I changed the GFCI and the breaker in the electrical box in the basement of the house. After a couple days, seemingly when things dry out, I'm able to reset the GFCI and everything works fine until the next time I water the lawn again and power is lost. The breaker in the basement has never tripped, Just the GFCI. Any ideas? Thank-you.

Hi! Thanks for the helpful video! I recently moved into a new house and 2 of my 3 zones are not functioning. The valve box I have found only houses the piping/valves that are located to the left of your master valve shown on this video. It does not have any of the solenoid valves or wires within this box. Would the solenoid valves for each of the zones be in a different area in the yard? And do you have any tips for locating them? I would like to try to manually turn on each zone at the solenoid valve to verify functionality.

What does it mean if when you check the common wire and dedicated wire and the reading is way below 20?

Hi there. I loved yr video, explaining the master valve, I understand that one of its wires is wired to the common wire, but I am confused what the other wire is connected to. I thought u said in the video that it gets connected to any one of the coloured wires, if this is correct. then what makes this the master valve different from the other valves. Is the difference between how you treat them back at the control box. Does the master valve wire go somewhere other then in a station number slot.

There's some controls.or timers that control the irrigation pump also controls the valves at the same time..what happens if one of the valves won't open. & the pump is running?

Great video! Thanks!

Jimmy, thanks for the great video. I just removed my rainbird timer and installed Orbitz b-hyve. The rainbird had a MV wire, however, on the Orbitz there is no slot for MV, do I connect this wire to common or pump? Thanks!