Ask your questions here – (They will appear shortly)

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To add a question, go to the bottom of the page, fill in the comment and click Post Comment.  

Please look at the DIY Troubleshooting section before posting; answers to most questions can be found there. 

You can also reply to other people’s questions if you like. (Thanks for helping)

Please try to include the following with your question, list:
1) the date code (located under the battery),
2) the model number shown on the face of the controller (usually below and to the left of the dial, e.g., RD-600 or RD-600-R).
3) Color (mostly Gray or Blue) based on the example rainDials shown at the top of the page.

1,205 thoughts on “Ask your questions here – (They will appear shortly)

  1. I have programmed my RD-600-EXT-R for 12 skip days on program B, however it comes on every 7 days. I check the today setting and it looks correct. What is wrong?

  2. The 24 clock keeps reading JUST PM even though I have cycled through the 24 hours. I even replaced the battery and unpluged it.

    Does the unit need to be replaced or just fixed?

    • Hi Irma,

      I think I already sent you an email…. Try following the factory reset instructions on my website’s DIY page and see if that helps. If not, you can send it in and I’ll try to see what’s going on. It may just be that the “leg” of the “A” in AM is not working, but the timer is actually still tracking AM and PM internally. It’d take some experimenting to figure it out so it’s up to you if you want to play with it or just send it in for repair.

      Thanks,
      Brian

    • Hi Brent,

      Yes, you can use 3 programs, A, B and C. Just make sure that none of the programs can ever overlap their start and run times. E.g., Most people pick a MWF schedule and a T,Th schedule to avoid any overlapping.

      does that help?
      Thanks,
      Brian

  3. Hey,
    I have a controller that the timer seems to be correct however the valves do not turn on, I’ve had this issue before but fixed it self. Once I close the box the power fades away and when the power comes on it will turn on the valve if I manually set it but in about 30 seconds will turn back off.

    • Hi Salvador,
      That sounds like a problem I typically see. I am going to send you an email with repair information – go ahead and bring/send both the controller and the back connector board.
      Thanks,

      Brian

  4. RD600. Waters everyday to the schedules I have programmed. Skip days is off. Problem is it is only supposed to water on Tues and Sat, not every day. All other days show OFF. Current day and time are correct. What is the problem? Correction? Thanks!

    • Hi Ayala,

      It sounds like some programming has been done that you don’t expect. I’d suggest following the factory reset instructions on my site (see the DIY page) and reprogram it. That should clear up the problem.

      Regards,
      Brian

      p.s., there’s a rare case where a failure could leave default programming enabled for 7am every day, every valve for 10 minutes that you couldn’t get rid of. If you think that’s happening, just contact me using the contact-us menu above and describe the problem and mention this post.

      Thanks,
      Brian

    • Hi Richard, No, 27VAC is perfectly fine for the output. Sometimes the specification is based on electrical measurement methods such as Vrms or Vpeak to peak. 27VAC”ish” is pretty much what all mine measure.

      Good question, thanks for posting.
      Brian – aka the Irritrol RD600 Sprinkler Timer Repair ‘doctor’

  5. My timer works but when I turned it on for first time now that winter is over the sprinklers do not pop up and no water is coming out. I made sure the water was not turned off. Thanks

  6. My RD-600-R unit has a power interruption when moving the neutral wire on the circuit board. Wires are tight…..seems to work properly when heat from the sun heat the board? Solder problem?

    • Hi Frank,

      I think you’re on the right track. I’m happy to repair it for you as well as replace some other components that typically fail. This way you’ll know it will last for a long long time. Here’s a link to the repair info.

      Thanks for posting.
      Brian

  7. Hi when my i turn my sprinklers on to run the A setting zones 1-3 don’t turn on and zones 4-6 do turn on. They will not turn on if i turn them on manually. When looking at the wiring the wires seem to be in 1 and 2 but not in 3. Im not sure how to go about fixing this problem.

    • Hi Allison,

      You can try loosening the wire on number 1 and touching it to the right most of the 24VAC terminals for several seconds and watching to see if the water comes on. This should make it turn on and you’ll know the wiring and valve are working. There’s some similar descriptions of this on my page about testing the transformer if you want to read more.

      If the valve turns on, send both the timer and backboard in for repair. Two videos on that page show you how to easily remove them. I’ll have it back in the mail to you the next day.

      If you have additional questions, just contact me using the contact us tab above.

      Thanks for posting,
      Brian

        • Hi Phil,

          If you send it in, I can replace the + button and I’ll also update several other things in the timer that typically go wrong. You won’t have any more problems for a long long time.

          If you have other questions, feel free to contact me via the contact-us menu on this website.

          Thanks,
          Brian – aka the RD-600 series irritrol rainDial Doctor

  8. My Irritrol RD-900 does not display anything. I suspect it shorted out because I had a bad solenoid and it got submerged under water. Should I purchase a new timer only or should I purchase the entire controller?
    MS

    • Hi Mark,

      Please don’t get a new one, they are really good timers and I’ve repaired ones as old as 1992, so they have a *lot* of life left in them and they’re quite expensive. I’d recommend bringing it by or sending it in along with the back terminal board. There’s no repair charge if I can’t fix it and we may have other replacement options anyway.

      Drop me an email using the contact tab above, I’ll send you all the details… I’m also around most weekends if you want to schedule something.

      Regards,
      Brian – aka the RainDial Irritrol RD600 ‘repair doctor’

  9. My RD-600-R has lost all power, no display. power is available to the controller, but nothing is displayed. Any suggestions

    • Hi James,

      Thanks for posting. I repair that problem frequently, but you first need to know if the transformer is working. If you have not already determined if it’s working, check out this page for several ways to test it:https://raindialdoctor.com/testing-the-transformer/

      If it’s working, I’d send the timer and back terminal board in for repair. We turn them around next day and would appreciate your business.
      If you don’t think you’ll be sending it in, drop me an email at rainDialDoctor@gmail.com and let me know.

      Thanks for posting,
      Brian

  10. Hi Brain,
    Date Code: June 11, 2006
    Model Number: RD-600
    Color: Mostly Gray

    Recently I had 4 sprinkler heads capped. About 2 weeks after that I noticed dry spots in the yard. I checked the timer program, all good. I tried to turn my sprinkler stations on manually and none of them would turn on. Display reads small number in the upper left corner corresponds with Valve # I’m trying to turn on manually, M:01 reads in Display, nothing happens. I tried resetting the controller and still not able to turn stations on manually. Do you suspect Controller and /or Board are bad?

    Thank you,
    Kathie

    • Hi Kathie,
      I don’t think it’s a timer problem. Does it still show a display when you remove the battery?

      Let me know and I’ll help more.
      Brian

      • Hi Brian,
        I removed the battery and the Display still shows the time. The time is correct and my watering programs are all correct. I checked the fuse, it is good. I also checked the wiring at the box and at the valves, all good, nothing loose.
        Could there be a problem in the wiring from the Controller box to the valves? How would I check that, most of it is buried.
        Thanks,
        Kathie

        • Thanks for the info,that helps.

          If u have a simple volt meter, let me know. You don’t have to have one, but it makes things a little easier. There’s usually a way to turn on the valve at the valve itself. Sometimes there’s a relief screw, sometimes there’s an on off by turning the solenoid. I would suggest trying to turn the valve on that way first. If that doesn’t work then you know it is a valve problem. If it doesn’t work, let me know and we will figure it out.

          Brian

          • Hi Brian,
            I was able to turn the valves on manually, I have 3 Superior Valves. Unfortunately, the Bleed screw on one of the valves broke so I had to shut off the water supply to the sprinkler system. I also discovered that I have a broken sprinkler line (damaged during a stump grind from tree removal) and will need to have that repaired before turning my attention back to the Controller.
            Thank you for your help thus far.
            Kathie

  11. i have a brand new rain dial 600 installed yesterday. i am familiar with the system as i replaced a very old one.
    when the toggle is in the off position all the way to the left. OFF does not appear, the time remains.
    how can i fix this?

    • Hi,

      when the switch is in the ‘off’ position, you won’t necessarily see the words off in the display. The off position just stops the timer from running the schedule. It’s working as it was designed to work. If you find that the timer is still watering when it’s ‘off’, let me know and we’ll figure out what could be wrong.

      Bottom line: You won’t see it say ‘off’, the time showing is normal when the dial is pointed to ‘time’.

      Regards,
      Brian – aka, the RD600 RainDial Doctor.
      If you wouldn’t mind, please consider making a small donation on our site – This blog is purely done to help people out, I don’t get paid anything for it.

  12. Hello
    I have a RD-600. it works good but only works when I put in a new 6V battery. then in a week it drains that battery and I put in a new 6V battery for another week. I did this all summer here in flagstaff. Now that it’s winter I shut off the winter. So do I send you my controller or circuit board or both?
    thanks let me know

    • Hi Duane,
      That sounds like the problem I typically repair. You can send me just the controller, but I always recommend sending both the timer and backboard to touch it up and take a look. It’s up to you. Instructions on removal and how to send it my way are included here on my website in the “How to Get it Repaired” tab.

      Brian – The Rain Dial Doctor

      • Hi Brian – my transformer is working showing 27 volts but the unit only works on battery which I need to keep changing every few days. I know you can fix this if I mail to you. But can I possibly fix this myself at home in LA?

        • Hi Fahd,

          Yes, that’s a common problem I can repair. Most people just send them in for repair. I typically get them back in the mail the next day. If you really want to try it on your own, use the contact form on my website and let me know how your soldering skills are and what your availability to parts would be. Then we can decide what to do next.

          Regards,
          Brian

  13. RD1200-R, blue, date code 9-7-16 controller has 0C-2 in the display alternating with the time. It is connected to an Irritrol WeaterLogic unit. I believe (but not sure) code started after replacing battery. Unit seems to work OK in manual mode. It’s been rainy so WeatherLogic has stopped automatic watering.
    What does ‘0C-2’ mean? Do I need to do anything?

    PS: I tried to post this last week, but it never showed up.

    • Hi Steve,
      I’m really sorry for the delay – had a hiccup on my notification emails and missed several posts in the last couple weeks.

      OC is strange – is it possible that your in a set-date mode and OC stands for october? What position is the dial in when you see this message?

      Thanks,
      Brian – the RD600 series raindialdoctor

    • Hi Steve,

      Look at my DIY page – there’s an entry about the display showing OFn or something similar to that. It’ll tell you what to do.

      Thanks,
      Brian

  14. 10/13/08
    Model #RD600
    Color Gray
    I have the sprinklers turn off, yet they still come on, what is causing this to happen?
    Thanks,
    Kelly

    • Hi Kelly,
      sorry for the delay – had a hiccup on my notification emails.

      If you turn the timer’s switch to the OFF position, they should not come on any longer. If they do come on, and the timer indicates it’s turning them on by displaying the little valve number on the top of the screen, it’s likely that the timer’s ‘off’ position is not being detected. That’s something we can repair. Let me know about what you see on the display and we’ll go from there.

      Thanks for posting,
      Brian – aka the RD600 series rainDialDoctor

    • Hi Alex, try following the reset instructions on my DIY page, that should get it done. If not, let me know.

      Regards,
      Brian- aka the rainDialDoctor for rd600 series sprinkler timers

  15. I checked input voltage which is running ~27 volts to my rd600 terminal board, but when I check each of the output terminals the voltage is jumping between 0 and 27 volts. Is this something you can repair? (edited)

    • Hi John,

      Yes, we repair that problem frequently. We’re not busy now so we’re turning them around in a day, sometimes less. Send it in and we’ll take care of it for you.
      Thanks for posting,
      Brian

  16. My Irritrol Rain Bird control panel keeps flashing FU5 with the number 9 above it. It doesn’t appear that zone 9 is working. What does FU5 mean and what should I do.
    Thank you

    • Hi Bill, — look at my DIY Trouble shooting page for the entry about the FUS message. I have a lot of information there to help you.
      Regards,
      Brian – aka the rainDialDoctor. for RD600 series timers.

  17. i just changed the current time back to one hour earlier for daylight savings time, The time Blinks and I don’t know if this is the way it should be. I seem to have figured out with much difficulty how to select the stations, does — means ON and OFF means off?. I have kept Set Programs in the middle yet the time was not blinking before I moved it back one hour. You system is complex and I have had to hire somebody to deal with helping me and paid a total of 160.00 for two home visits.

    • Hi Carol,

      You should know that I’m not the company who made the timer, I’m just someone who likes helping people with them and getting a little for the repairs I do. Please don’t hire anyone to come out, instead, make an appointment with me and we can go over it together on the phone. This way, you’ll learn how to do it so you don’t need to hire anyone any more.

      With that in mind, I’ve put together some tutorial and overview information on my website to help people understand how they work. Believe it or not, the rainDial timers are actually the easier ones to understand, all you need is a few key bits of information and it’ll make more sense.

      The blinking time could simply mean that there was a power outage, or that it needs repairing. They tend to behave intermittently as they fail.

      Although I’d need a little more info about the current switches and settings to answer your question, I believe you probably have the timer in Skip-Days mode. This means it runs every N-number of days depending on what you set N to. If you’re in skip-days mode, it doesn’t make sense to have an on-off setting for a day of the week. I.e., if you skip every 10 days starting today, you don’t really need to set Tomorrow (say Sunday) to be on or off, it just runs every 10 days regardless of what day of the week it is.

      To put it simply, You’re trying to set the day of the week to be on or off when you’re in skip day mode. It will behave the way you would expect if (an ‘on’ and ‘off’ option without –), if you are not using the skip-days feature. If the LCD screen shows SkipDays in the corner, then you’re in that mode.

      You’re probably wondering “how do I turn off the skip days feature that is confusing to me?” Simply put the dial on skip-days, the bottom switch in ‘set-programs’ and press the +- buttons until it goes down to 0, or off. Now you can set the dial to a day of the week and you’ll see ON and OFF as you’re expecting.

      Let me know if that helps,
      Regards,
      Brian

      p.s., I agree, sprinkler timers can be a bit complicated sometimes 🙂 I’m also way cheaper than that other guy and you’ll learn how to do it yourself.

  18. i have a RD900 when i try to manually switch to a zone, zone one comes on if im on zone 2,3,all the way to 9. i have to keep trying sometimes it take many tries to get it to go one for the zone selected. any ideas ?

    • Hi Tom,

      I have a few thoughts, but need a little more info: Do you have a water pressure pump as part of your system, or just the basic valves? Also, when 1 comes on when you don’t expect it to, do you see ‘1’ in the upper row of the display?

      I can guide you further if you provide a little more info. You can also reach me at rainDialDoctor@gmail.com.

      thx,
      brian

  19. As a follow up to my question about rain dial displaying “OPEN” on all stations when trying to manually start the station. ..

    It is a blue rain dial plus 6 station. Date code 072898. I coudln’t find the model number. I am not the original home owner.

    Can this be fixed?

    • Hi,

      OPEN usually indicates that the wiring is not connected somewhere. The timer tries to turn things on and then detects current flowing. If it doesn’t see any, it declares it ‘open’.

      Check the wiring at the timer box as well as the valve box(es). If you don’t find anything, let me know. If it’s a total control, it may be something I can repair, you’d just have to mail the dial portion as well as the back terminal board, but not the case or transformer.

      Regards,
      Brian

  20. When I manually try and run a sprinkler all it does is display “Open” and nothing happens. It does this for all 6 of my values. Always worked until recently. Any ideas? Thanks

  21. I wanted to run my values manually so I selected the value put in the time and hit run. “OPEN” appears and the sprinkler does not turn on. This has worked for 20 years so not sure what the problem is. Tried it with every value and the “OPEN” message appears for all and none turn on

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