looks like we had gremlins. 2 of the solenoids no longer have wires to them! what do we open and how to take out the broken wires and strip a little insulation and put them back in? also what is the voltage so i can set the multimeter range? thanks all PS at least two of the plastic pencil lookalikes which do the spraying have been wrenched out. can they just screw into the old holes or do we need to make new holes in the underground pipes? and block of the old holes? thx
This forum is not the busiest, you might often have to wait a couple days for replies. I’ve never tried to take a solenoid apart. Typically they just get replaced, as that is much easier/safer/cheaper. They fail eventually anyway. Yours look on the older side. Mice do like to get in valve boxes and chew things! Could you take pictures of your broken off sprays? Can’t tell exactly what you mean. Keep in mind that once you have had a break, that allows dirt and debris to fall into the hole, and you need to flush it out ‘before’ you put the spray head back on, to avoid clogging it.
Leave the multimeter to the Automatic Range mode. If your multimeter does not have this mode, then start from the range, that corresponds to your grid's voltage, and then move towards lower ranges, if necessary. It should be pretty safe the opposite way also, as decent multimeters display overload indication, in case the voltage is higher than the selected range. Solenoid is hardly serviceable, if it was built for outdoor conditions. Usually it is still possible to cut them open, to fix, and close the opening with some dielectric epoxy resin, for instance. But then you should know by yourself what to do, as no one wants to be blamed in case of accident.
Thanks all I dont want to repair the solenoids, just re join the wires! i suspect there is a cap that comes off
These wires are integral parts of the solenoid, so reconnecting the wires = repairing the solenoid. AFAIK, there's no removable cap, the plastic shell is probably molded around the solenoid. The easiest fix would be drilling small holes next to broken off wires, so close, that drill would rip of the insulation from one side of the wire, and using small bronze screws to attach new wires. But it would be difficult to insulate these connections to avoid shorts in case of moisture condensation or ground water rise.
Thanks for your help let us hope new solenoids are not expensive. anyone know what they are supposed to cost
Look for what you need on westech irrigation website. They are the main supplier in Victoria, don’t know if they are on the mainland also, but you can get an idea anyway. Don’t forget new O-rings.
Prices of sprinkler solenoids in Chinese online shops start from ca 3 $, but it's tricky to find proper replacement for your model.
