FirstCheck
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🍁 Conçu pour les foyers canadiens — rédigé selon les codes canadiens et les règles provinciales. N’est pas destiné à un usage hors du Canada.
ÉBAUCHE — cette page n’a pas encore été révisée par un professionnel licencié. Aperçu éditorial seulement.

One sprinkler zone won't turn on

One dead zone while the rest of the yard waters is usually a small, local problem — a program setting, a stuck valve, or a nicked wire — not the whole system failing.

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In Canada, start at the controller. Use its manual or "test" mode to run just this zone for a minute — if it fires when commanded, the schedule was the problem: a zero run time, a paused controller, a seasonal adjustment, or a rain/soil sensor holding it back. Free to rule out, and the single most common reason one zone stays dark.

Classé selon des données de pannes réelles. L’ordre s’ajuste selon vos observations ci-dessus.

Causes probables, dans l’ordre à vérifier

Ordre typique affiché
Pour débutant Faisable, avec soin Sécurité critique Appelez un pro

visibilityHow to check

warning Keep water away from the powered sideThe valve and solenoid run on low-voltage 24 V and are safe to handle, but the controller's transformer plugs into 120 V. Do the wet work at the valve, keep hands and water clear of the transformer and any outlet, and if the transformer or outlet looks scorched or smells hot, stop and treat it as the escalation above.
  1. Command the zone to run at the controller. At the valve, turn the black solenoid a quarter-turn counter-clockwise (the manual bleed): if water flows this way but not on the controller's command, the solenoid or its wiring — not the valve body — is the suspect.
  2. Snug the solenoid back down. Disconnect its two leads and set a multimeter to ohms across them: a healthy 24 V AC solenoid usually reads roughly 20–60 ohms. An open (infinite) or near-zero reading means the coil has failed.
  3. If the solenoid reads in range, the problem is likely the wire feeding it — move on to the valve-wiring check rather than replacing a good solenoid.
buildmultimeter schedule15 min

handymanHow to fix it

Shut off the system water, unscrew the failed solenoid from the valve (it hand-threads out with the wires attached), thread in a matching replacement, and reconnect its two leads to the valve wires with waterproof connectors.

  1. Turn off the irrigation supply so the valve isn't under pressure, and pause the controller.
  2. Unscrew the old solenoid counter-clockwise out of the valve body; a little water in the chamber is normal. Cut its two leads free, keeping the wire tails long.
  3. Thread in a solenoid that matches the valve brand and 24 V AC rating; snug it hand-tight plus a touch — do not force it, the threads are plastic.
  4. Join each solenoid lead to a valve wire with a direct-burial waterproof connector, restore water and power, and command the zone to confirm it opens and closes cleanly.
schedule30 min savings$15–25
24 V irrigation valve solenoidMatch the valve brand/model (Rain Bird, Hunter, Toro, Orbit) — thread and coil rating vary
gavel Vérifiez d’abord votre province AB: permis au propriétaire · BC: permis au propriétaire · ON: permis au propriétaire · PE: permis au propriétaire · QC: permis au propriétaire
Swapping a 24 V solenoid is low-voltage work generally permitted for homeowners; no province reserves it. Confirm the local rule before publishing.

visibilityHow to check

  1. At the controller, check that this zone's wire and the common wire are seated tightly in their terminals — a wire backed half out of a terminal is a common, free find.
  2. With the controller off, measure resistance from that zone's terminal to the common through the buried run: a good circuit reads roughly the solenoid's resistance (about 20–60 ohms). Infinite resistance means a break; a very low reading can mean a short.
  3. Inspect any reachable splice — buried connections corrode and rodents chew them. Green, crusty, or bare copper at a splice is your answer.
buildmultimeterbuildscrewdriver schedule20 min

handymanHow to fix it

Reseat a loose wire at the controller, or cut out a corroded/broken splice and rejoin the run with direct-burial waterproof connectors. A break in the middle of a buried run may need a locator or a new wire pulled to the valve.

  1. With the controller off, reseat both this zone's wire and the common in their terminals; test the zone. A loose terminal is the fastest, cheapest fix.
  2. If a splice is corroded or broken, cut back to clean copper on both sides and strip about a centimetre of insulation.
  3. Rejoin the conductors with direct-burial (gel-filled) waterproof connectors — ordinary indoor wire nuts corrode underground and fail again.
  4. Restore power and run the zone. If the run still reads open with no reachable break, the buried wire is damaged and a new conductor should be pulled to the valve.
schedule45 min savings$10–20
Direct-burial waterproof wire connectorsGel-filled / DBY-DBR style rated for underground low-voltage splices

handymanHow to fix it

Open the system's main shutoff and turn the backflow preventer's valves back to the run position, then re-pressurize slowly. If the backflow device itself is cracked or leaking, it must be serviced or tested by whoever your province permits.

  1. Find the system's main supply valve (often in a basement, pit, or near the backflow assembly) and confirm it's open.
  2. On the backflow preventer, turn both ball valves and the small test cocks back to their normal run position — after winterizing they're often left angled/open to drain.
  3. Open the supply slowly to avoid a pressure surge, then run the affected zone. If the backflow body is cracked, dripping, or was frost-damaged, stop and have it serviced by a permitted tester rather than forcing it.
schedule15 min savingssouvent gratuit
gavel Vérifiez d’abord votre province AB: permis au propriétaire · BC: réservé aux licenciés · ON: permis et inspection requis · PE: permis au propriétaire · QC: réservé aux licenciés
Opening a closed supply or backflow shutoff is homeowner-permitted; testing or repairing the backflow assembly may require a certified tester — confirm the provincial/municipal rule.
warning The transformer side is 120 VEverything past the controller is low-voltage and safe to handle, but the transformer itself plugs into a 120 V outlet. Unplug it before you inspect or swap it, replace the controller's fuse only with the same rating, and if the transformer or outlet is scorched or smells hot, don't re-energize it — that's an electrician's call, not a reset.
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Pourquoi la liste est dans cet ordre

Nous ne classons pas seulement selon la probabilité. Nous classons comme le ferait un bon artisan honnête : éliminer d’abord les causes gratuites, sûres et courantes. C’est pourquoi les vérifications peu coûteuses passent avant les réparations chères — et pourquoi tout ce qui est dangereux reçoit un arrêt net plutôt qu’un encouragement. Cet ordre existe pour vous faire économiser, pas pour vous vendre quelque chose.