On rare occasions something occurs that causes the processor to lock up.  Sometimes the programming acts strange, or the clock even quits working.  This would most likely happen when during power outages or transients.

The good news is that it rarely occurs and is easily fixed by doing the following, depending on whether you have an older or new model controller.

Follow the steps for either A or B below based on what timer you have.

A) describes what to do for Older timers (If it doesn’t work for you, do B)
B) for Newer timers

A) For older controllers: Perform a complete reset by: (note, this will delete all your programming)

1. Remove the battery
2. Pull off the ribbon cable from the back connector board (white or yellow board with all the screw terminals) by holding the gray ribbon cable close to the back terminal board and wiggling it off.  It’s a press-fit connector that should be relatively easy to remove
3. Wait 3 minutes or so for any residual power to completely drain from the unit.  (Newer controllers do need a lot of time to discharge so it’s worth taking the time)
4. Plug in the ribbon cable again (it should power up)
5. Reconnect the battery.
6. Reprogram the controller.
   Note: The older model sprinkler timers will have default schedule which is something similar to:every day, 7AM, every station for 10 minutes.  Make sure to go through all the station settings when you re-program the controller or your sprinklers may come on when you don’t expect them to.
7. If this doesn’t work, you may have a timer that has newer internal circuitry but the older case.  Try following the steps below for the newer controllers.

It should start with a blinking 12:00pm and now work as expected; you can now set the time and re-program the schedule.

B) For newer controllers (Typically the -R models), you can restore the factory default settings by doing the following: (note, this will delete all your programming).

1. Before you do this procedure, you should try doing the basic reset for older controllers first (see above).  It may work, and you won’t lose your program settings.
2. Set the dial on the current Time.
3. Place the Function switch in the Set Programs position.
4. Place the Program switch to select program “B.”
5. With AC power connected, carefully disconnect the control module ribbon cable from the back PC Board by grabbing the ribbon cable close to the back terminal board and wiggling it till it comes off.
6. Open the battery compartment and disconnect the battery.
7. Press and hold the Manual button in and KEEP HOLDING IT IN while performing the next step.
8. Reconnect the ribbon cable, then release the Manual button. Note: The display should now show 12:00 AM indicating the controller has reset. If it does not, repeat the procedure as necessary.
9. Reinstall the battery.
10. Reprogram the controller.

How do I know if it took the reset or not? 

If the reset worked, the Time will say 12:00 and schedule A will have a default schedule of: Start time of 7:00AM, Every day (M-Su), all valve run times set for 10minutes.  If you don’t see this then carefully re-read the steps and try again.

What to do if that doesn’t work

If you reset the  controller and that seems to help, but it still behaves strangely now and then, it probably needs repair.  The sprinkler timers tend to get intermittent before the completely fail.  If you can’t get the reset to work, contact us about a repair.

Contact us – we’ll send you repair details.

Good luck,
Brian

(c) This material is copyrighted