Ask your questions here – (They will appear shortly)

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

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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. Hey Brian,
    How do I send you a picture of my controller, After the fires here in Nor cal and the evacs I get back and it is froze with the number -94 on the screen in between AM & PM, I change the battery but that did not help, Let me know thank you

  2. My RD-1200 only says OFF on the display. I have tried to change all my timer settings and I get no response just stuck on OFF display.

    • Hi Rob,
      I would recommend trying a reset – if that doesn’t work, we can take a look to see if its repairable. I have some details on how to reset the controller here.

      Brian – the RainDial Doctor

  3. My RD-1200-R is programmed to run for 20 minutes per station, but will only run each station for about 5 minutes. Any suggestions???

    • Hi Stephen,

      I suspect it’s a programming related issue. Try doing a full factory reset following the procedure on my DIY page.

      Let me know if it works,
      thanks,
      brian
      aka – the Irritrol Rain Dial RD600, RD900, RD1200 repair doctor.

  4. I have an RD600 with 2 stations operating. The time that the stations actually run is always shorter that the times I program in. For instance, if I set a station for ‘1 minute’, it runs :30 sec, programming ‘2 min’ gets 1:30, and ‘3 min’ results in 2:45. This is exacerbated now when I need many short cycles (6 x 1 minute)for winter rye grass. This is happening whether it’s programmed or manual. Help!
    Thanks

    • Hi James,

      That’s an odd problem to have. I’d suggest trying the full reset and see if that will get it back going on track again. Be sure to leave it powered down without the battery for several minutes. I’ve had other people send them to me with that scenario and often I cannot repeat the problem. If it’s consistent for you, send it in and I’ll see what I can do.

      Regards,
      Brian

  5. Hi. Good site.
    I have a Hardie RD-1200 and the plus button on the control box is physically stuck pushed in so I can’t program the unit. The plus button can not be physically pushed in and out so is stuck on one position which I think is pushed in. The minus button can be pushed in and out normally and other functions seem fine. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
    Thank you!

    • Hi Tom,

      You could try taking it apart and re-position the buttons to try and get them aligned properly. Otherwise there’s not much you can do. If they’re damaged, or if the button’s don’t seem to work correctly even after repositioning them, you can send it in for repair. I have extra housings and buttons that would do the trick.

      Drop me an email at rainDialDoctor@gmail.com if you have any other questions or if you want more info on the repair besides what you see on this site.

      Let me know what you decide to do.
      Regards,
      Brian – aka the RD600, RD900, and RD1200 sprinkler timer ‘doc’

  6. Hi My raindail 900 was installed 26 years ago and has been reliable. Lately it intermittently loses power If I open the door and play with it it sometimes gets power back. If this a connector issue?

    • Hi Michael,

      That sound like a familiar problem to me, I would suggest sending it and the back terminal board in for repair. I’ll fix that problem and replace some other parts that often fail as it gets older. You won’t have any trouble for another long time.

      You can reach me at rainDialDoctor@gmail.com if you have other questions.
      Regards,
      Brian

  7. Hi, I have a RD1200-INT-R and what is strange is that one of my stations, which is for program B, station 2, which is for 45 minutes… the RD is counting down incorrectly… so I manually turned it on for 45 minutes later, and in the past few weeks I noticed it counts down really slow… ( so for every real 14 minutes, it is counting down 3).. meaning after 10 minutes, it should read 35 minutes.. but it reads something like 41 minutes… so if left alone, it will go one for a few hours.. but for other programs and stations I don’t seem to have that issue… those are usually 7-9 minutes of watering.. please help
    thank you

    • That is a very strange problem. I’d suggest doing a full factory reset and reprogram it to see if that helps. Be sure to follow the detailed instructions on my diy page for the blue -R model.

      Let me know how it goes.
      Brian

    • Hi Sheiva, I thought I had already responded, but I dont’ see it here. I’d suggest doing a full factory reset and see if that helps. The problem you describe is fairly strange since the clocking mechanism is the same for all valves. Be sure to do the full factory reset for the -R model that’s listed on the DIY page. If you still have trouble, send it and the back terminal board in for repair and try to include a description of How I can recreate the problem.

      Regards,
      Brian – aka the RD600 RainDial Repair ‘doc’

  8. I have a RD600-INT controller that went bad. I bought a used Rain Dial Plus 9 controller to replace it. Are these two models interchangeable? Obviously I will use only 6 of the 9 stations in the Rain Dial Plus 9.

    Thank you.

  9. Hi,
    I have a Rain dial Hardie with 9 programs setting.
    On automatic mode, the controller skips from 1 to 6 and starts from 7.
    On manual or semi automatic mode, when I try to turn on any of these from 1 to 6
    the screens shows “off” right after.
    7,8,9 work well as usual.
    Do you have any idea what could cause these issues?
    Your thoughts would be very helpful.
    Thank you for your reply in advance.

    All the best.

    • Hi Oz,

      That’s odd indeed. do you hae vales 1-6 going to one set of valves, like maybe the front yard set, and the others to another set of valves in say the back yard. I’m looking for something that would explain why one ‘section’ would be different than another one.

      Also, do you have a ‘well pump’ or booster pump where you have a wire to the raindial timer connected to the MV terminal on the backboard?

      Let me know and we’ll troubleshoot it further; sounds like an interesting problem which I enjoy figuring out.
      Regards,
      Brian

    • Hi Gary,
      No, you would send it to Irritrol. We do repairs for the RD600, RD900, and RD1200 and -R models if you would like a repair.

      Brian – The RainDial Doctor

  10. Hello,

    We had to replace the battery on the control panel. After doing so and resetting everything the sprinklers do not turn on. Even when I use the manual button. We even unplugged the ribbon cable and reset everything again and the system appears fine as far as the display… goes but sprinklers do not turn on???

    Any suggestions?

  11. I have a 1990’S RD-900 controller with 8 stations hooked up. The number one station intermittently works. Some times it will under automatic, or it will turn on and then turn off after a minute. Sometimes it does not turn on at all. Sometime it works as it should. I have new valves with new solenoids. It does not turn on on the manual mode. If I turn the valve on at the valve it works fine. I have reset to factory settings as suggested and reprogrammed. I replaced the 9V battery. All of the other 7 stations work as the should during automatic, semiautomatic ad manual modes.

    Thank you

    • I apologize for writing so quickly. I went old school, low tech and cleaned the control box terminals. The system seems to be working correctly in all regards.

      Thank you for this great web site.

      • Oh, I just read and responded to your last message about the RainDial timer. My suggestion would be to keep a close eye on it; they tend to be intermittent as they fail. If the timer gives you any more trouble, keep me in mind. I’m glad things are working well for you now, hopefully they will continue.

        Regards,
        Brian

    • Hi George,

      Answering this question will help me help you 🙂
      When the RD-900 turns off, does the display indicate that it turned off, or does the water just stop and the display indicates the RD900 should be on?
      Finally, do you see a flashing display at any time on the RainDial display?

      Thanks,
      Brian

      • The timer still indicates that it is running down but the valve has not opened. If I let the station 1 run its course, then the station 2 starts and the rest work fine. Right now things are working in automatically and manual so we shall see.

        Thank you for the responses.

  12. I have an RD-600. I had 6 valves running off of it. 2 of 3 in the backyard are running automatically with no issues.The 3rd is turned off. In the front yard, I have 3 valves. 2 (going to the lawn) which is now bark are turned off and cleared out in the RD-600. The 3rd in the front is supposed to be automatically running through the RD-600 for my front plants. It is not working.
    I can turn the manual bleed screw cw on the valve and it turns on, and off when I turn the screw CCW. But in the ccw off default position, the valve won’t work when I run the RD-600 manually for that valve and put in 10 min. on the clock. What could be wrong with the valve such that it won’t turn on.

    • Hi Yale,
      It sounds like there could be a wiring issue or a solenoid problem. I am writing you an email with some further questions so we can figure out what is going on.

      Thanks for the inquiry,
      Brian

  13. My RD600-IRT is 20 years old. It does the default 7:00am for 10min. everyday. The only way to set the clock is to unplug it and start at 12:00. Nothing else works to reprogram this unit. Time for a new one?

    • Hi Wayne,
      Thanks for the inquiry. That sounds like a problem I typically see – go ahead and send it in. I will send you an email with detailed repair information.

      Meghan – Irritrol RainDial Doctor in Training

    • Hi Michael,
      That is an odd problem. I would recommend doing a reset and then reprogramming the timer. I have reset instructions on our website here.

      Hope that helps,
      Meghan – RainDial Doctor in Training

  14. I am getting a number on the controller screen when I turn to valve that is on. RO3,RO1,etc What do these represent? Btw,I could not get stations 3,4,5,to go on,I changed the solenoids,still no go.I flushed the valves,and checked the wire conections,still no go. RD600plus

    • Hi Stan,

      is it possible you’re seeing A03, A02 and A01 representing the minutes counting down as schedule A runs a valve? the captial A and R are similar on the display.
      If so, that’s expected as it is just showing a countdown of the schedule as it runs schedule a.

      Try doing tests with just the manual button: set switch to run, set dial on station 1, add some minutes by pressing + and press the manual-on button. This is a good way to test the valves. If you see a little number 1 on the top row of the display, it indicates the timer has tried to turn on the valve and is probably working as it should.
      Post back more info and I’ll offer more suggestions,
      Regards,
      Brian

  15. I have a malfunctioning RD 600 Ext. I wanted to buy an upgrade to the RD 600 R. Looks like they are sold out. Should I buy a refurbished one?

    • Hi Robert,

      We just chatted via email and decided it’d be best to just send in your failing timer for repair. If it doesn’t seem like a good repair candidate, I’ll see what I can find for an upgrade.

      Thanks,
      Brian

  16. Rain Dial RD-900, serial no. 011398

    Transformer was unplugged for few hours. After plugging that back in Time clock shows frozen at 8:57. None of the control button is working. Prior to the unplugging everything had been working fine.

    Please suggest next steps.

    • I’d suggest unplugging and remove the battery as well for at least 5 minutes. If that doesn’t work, try following the reset sequence for the more blue -R timers. You’ll find a link on how to reset them on the DIY page.

      If that doesn’t work, post back here and let me know.
      Brian

  17. All station work ok but one will not work but if I turn the value with a screw driver it comes on can you help me
    Thanks
    H Cox

    • Try switching the wire for the bad valve on the back terminal board with one that works. If the problem follows the suspect valve then it’s a wiring or solenoid or valve problem . When u say it doesn’t work, does the timer shut off or does it appear to be turning on the valve?

    • Hi Garland,

      That’s usually caused by one of three things:
      1) either a wiring issue,
      2) a ‘weak’ valve, meaning that the diaphragm inside one of the valves is starting to fail and a pressure change due to another valve turning on causes the ‘weak’ valve to turn on.
      3) a programming issue. If you see both valve numbers appear on the top of the display at the same time, then the timer is doing it and you have it incorrectly programmed (probably unintentionally). Look for overlapping schedules (ABC) that have the same startimes, or if you have one sequence of valves running that overlaps another sequence.

      Please post back and let me know what you find out.
      Brian – aka the RainDial RD600 series ‘doctor’

  18. My weather matic Rd 600 has been acting erratic. I have ordered new solenoids S20P to replace M24E. Will that renew my system

    • I’m not familiar with the weathermatic products, but solenoids usually do not cause intermittent problems. They usually fail completely.

      Sort I can’t help more.
      Brian

  19. I have Rain Dial RD600-EXT, serial no. 501358. I’ve lost all power. Nothing comes on. I’ve checked the battery and fuse. What can I do further to solve the problem?

    • Hi Carol,

      You should first try to determine if your transformer is working. See the DIY page for a link on how to test it. Also, if you haven’t done so already, do a factory reset before doing anything else.

      If the transformer is good, send the timer and backboard in for repair. If you suspect it is bad, let me know and we can discuss options.

      Thanks for posting
      Brian

  20. My controller defaults to program A and 10 minutes each station each day. This occurs randomly but every few weeks. Is my transformer failing or do I have a more serious problem? I have 3 other controllers on the same circuit and they are not showing any issues with the power supply. Any ideas or suggestions?
    Thank you
    Steve

    • Hi Steve,
      That problem sounds familiar. I believe your transformer is just fine but you should send the timer in the back terminal board in for repair. I’ll drop you a separate email with details

      Thanks,
      Brian

  21. Rain Dial RD600, appeared to be dead no lights nothing. Changed the battery, the display is showing but will not go on in semi auto or manual mode

    • Hi Val,

      The first thing to check is if the transformer is working or not. There’s a section for testing it on my DIY page. Take a look there and let me know if you think the transformer is good, or if you’re not sure after doing the checks on that page.

      If the transformer is good, just send it in for repair and we’ll get it back to you quickly.

      Let me know what you find out either way,
      Regards,
      Brian

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