You’re facing trouble turning on your Hunter sprinkler system. Isn’t it? If you are here to find out the reason why your Hunter sprinkler system won’t turn on, then not worry at all. You are at the right place.
When it comes to keeping your lawn fresh and well-managed, nothing beats the role of a sprinkler system. But the condition of your lawn will be in danger if the sprinkler system is not working in all zones too.
In this in-depth article, I will talk about all such issues and try to give you some effective solutions. Keep reading!
There are a number of reasons why a sprinkler won’t turn on. You know what? You’re not the only unlucky one facing it. It’s a common problem that most often people with any sprinkler system face.
So, don’t think your sprinkler system is faulty. Below mentioned are a few of the reasons why a sprinkler system won’t turn on:
Sprinkler heads getting clogged and filled with dirt isn’t something unusual to happen. Sprinklers remain within the soil and sprinkles water.
Hence, it is obvious that using it for a long time without cleaning the head, will result in it getting clogged with dirt and mud.
Therefore, if a particular sprinkler doesn’t turn on, then try removing the head, cleaning it well, and re-insert it in its place. Does it turn on now?
If so, then, congratulations! And if not, then check out the other reasons. Don’t be impatient!
There is a good possibility that maybe the sprinkler head of the particular sprinkler which doesn’t turn on got damaged. It’s not anything shocking.
They might have got broken internally due to force or maybe the plastic casing got cracked.
In this case, the only solution is to exchange the faulty sprinkler with a new one of the same model. Note that, these two reasons are applicable when only one or two sprinklers won’t turn on.
So, is in your case, the sprinkler system not working in all zones? Then you should check if any of the following reasons is causing it.
Did you forget to check whether the pipes connected to the sprinkler system contain any leaks? This can be the most probable reason for your sprinkler system not to work.
The pipes remain within the soil. So, any excess pressure on the soil, such as a car going over it, will easily damage the pipe. Again, if you have a tree in your lawn, then roots can be the culprit too.
It is repairable for sure. But unfortunately, there’s bad news. Which is, if any of the pipes connected to the sprinkler system actually gets broken, then you will have to dig through the lawn to find out the leak.
That’s indeed is bad news. But let’s not lose hope. Maybe this is not the reason in your case. Maybe something else. So, check out the following possible reasons first.
Sometimes, things turn to be much easier than we think they are. So far, we’ve been only talking about the serious issues which might need major alterations or tiring jobs.
But what if I tell you that there is a possibility that the cause behind your sprinkler not turning on is as simple as water.
Well, what I’m talking about is that maybe the valves of the backflow device have not been turned on. Did you check that? If you just found out that’s the reason, then just wipe your sweats off.
As there is nothing much needed for you to do now. Just place the valves and make sure both of them, that is, both the horizontal and the vertical are turned on. That’s it!
Yet didn’t work for you? No worries. We’re here to help you with more probable causes. Just keep reading.
Valves play a more important role than you think. A malfunction within the valve will cause the whole sprinkler system to disfunction. So, you need to make sure if your valve is working properly and isn’t defective.
I know what you’re thinking? If you’re thinking that how are you supposed to find out if the valve is defective, then don’t worry.
We are revealing that procedure for you too. For that, all you have to do is to test the resistance, symbolized by omega.
You need to turn off the whole system to do that. And then, turn on a multimeter to perform the test. If the OHMS shown in the multimeter is below the range provided in the user manual, then, unfortunately, it means the solenoid is damaged. The solenoid operates a control valve for a specific zone.
Changing the solenoids are way simpler than you think. Just ensure the controller and the backflow device water valves are turned off.
Then, open the control valve box and disengage the wires of the solenoid which is damaged. Unscrew it to remove it.
If any of the above problems aren’t seem to be the reason behind your sprinkler system not turn on, then most probably your controller doesn’t have enough voltage. In this regard also, to figure out if this is the cause, you will have to use a multimeter.
Check whether the voltage of the controller is within the required range for the system to work efficiently. If not, then you might need to change the controller.
Are you sure that you turned on your Hunter sprinkler system properly? Why don’t you just check again to find out if you missed out on any important step? Hey, let’s help you out!
At first, check if the sprinkler turns on manually but not automatically. If so, it might not be programmed properly.
We’re providing the step-by-step procedure to turn on properly a Hunter sprinkler system below. Just match your steps with it.
The monitor at the top left shows time. Check carefully whether the time is correct and accurately matches with the time at the watch. If it doesn’t, then reset the time matching with the current time.
This is the very first and crucial step. Because, if the time remains inaccurate, then all the settings of the system will work in the wrong way.
So, my dear, make sure that doesn’t happen. To ensure that, turn the dial on your system to “Current Day/Time”.
If the time appearing doesn’t match with the current time, then adjust it using the plus and minus buttons.
After adjusting the time matching with the time on your watch, press on the right and left arrows to reset the date and year if they aren’t the current.
There’s something you really need to check while resetting the time and date. That is, don’t let the units such as AM/PM for time or year/month for date fool you.
Make sure you are setting the time considering the units properly.
Done resetting the time? Now it’s time to set the time when your sprinkler will turn on. For that, turn the dial to “Start Times”.
Do you notice any changes on the monitor? Yes, a number appeared right beside the time.
Now, as per your planned watering schedule, set the starting time. Have you not made a schedule for watering yet?
Then better do it with proper calculations before setting the “Start Times”. This is very essential, as watering plants cannot simply be randomly timed.
Already have a planned schedule? Okay, then now just adjust the planned time. Use the arrow buttons like you just did while resetting the time, to switch between your first start times as in, morning and second start times as in, evening.
Okay now, this is a step you really need to do carefully, keeping the factors of season, location, station and so on into account.
Setting the run time indicates the amount of time your sprinkler will remain on before it automatically shuts off.
Set it wisely as per your plan and location. You can set different run times for each station your sprinkler is located. The run time should differ with the change of season.
Like, for spring and fall 10 to 13 minutes of run time should be enough. Whereas, you would have to set the run time quite more than that in summer, like about 12 to 17 minutes.
Many times, you might have to adjust your run time by monitoring the nature or behavior of your lawn. Here’s why, the quality, quantity, and growth of every lawns and garden differ from one another.
So, if you ever feel that your plants don’t really seem satisfied with the amount of water you provide, be generous to them and increase your run time.
You know how to set the run time right? Almost the same as we’ve done while setting the current and start time.
Turn your dial to the “Run Times” and adjust using the arrows. It’s just simple as that. Nothing to sweat on!
It’s time to decide the watering days now. You definitely will not water your lawn every day. Will you?
Hence, you surely need to set the watering days. You guessed it right! This time you have to turn the dial to the “Water Day”.
Now here’s a thing you need to know if you don’t already. To adjust like every other time, you have to use the arrows. Here, you will be using the arrow to switch between days.
You will notice a drop icon after you push the arrow which indicates a watering day. Again, there is also a drop with a dashed out circle through it, which is for non-watering days.
Make sure you don’t mess up these two icons!
Also, like every time, set the watering days as per your planned schedule. Don’t just set random days for watering.
Guess what? You’re done with all the necessary adjustments and settings you had to make. Now it’s time to find out if your sprinkler works properly.
For that, turn the dial to “Manual One Station”. Through this, you will be able to test each of your stations separately to make sure all of them run smoothly.
To adjust the run time for the first station, use the plus and minus buttons. 2 to 3 minutes should be more than enough for this step. And then change the dial to run so that the system starts automatically.
Done checking the first station? All working well now? Then, shut the system off or wait for it to turn off automatically after the time runs out.
Repeat the process to check all the stations one by one.
Is your sprinkler system still not turning on even after doing all the above steps properly? Then, maybe you didn’t do anything wrong rather, there has been an issue with your sprinkler system itself.
Don’t panic! Let’s find out what could possibly the issue be and how to solve it.
We really hope this article could help you find out why your hunter sprinkler system won’t turn on. But if you still think you couldn’t find an appropriate answer, then you can check the common hunter irrigation controller problems noted by the hunter industries.
But yes, do check all the causes mentioned above at first as they’re the most possible ones.
Thanks for reading till the end! We’re happy to help.
Traveler, food lover, interior designer, and blogger. I love gardening a lot! I designed my home myself with the help of my beloved wife. You are welcome!
