Sprinkler Fix LabResidential irrigation diagnosticsDiagnose a problem
Symptom-first diagnostic

Sprinkler Troubleshooting Decision Tree

Choose the symptom and record what the valve actually does. The result gives you a fault boundary and the next test—not a parts-list diagnosis based on one clue.

Does the valve open with its documented manual override?
Do you hear or feel the solenoid click when the zone starts?
Most useful fault boundary

One observation will split the diagnosis

Use the valve's documented manual override briefly while watching the affected heads. The result separates the water path from the controller-and-wiring path.

Stop if a valve box contains exposed line-voltage wiring, a pump circuit, an unknown backflow assembly, or water moving toward a building.
One-zone troubleshooting guide

Why these three observations matter

A controller display only confirms that the controller believes it issued a command. A solenoid click confirms movement or vibration, not adequate voltage or water flow. A successful manual opening is the strongest simple separator: it shows that the valve and downstream piping can pass at least some water.

Use the result as a boundary

Work from the shared supply toward the failed zone and change one thing at a time. After a repair, run the same zone three times, check that it shuts off cleanly, and inspect the valve box again after ten minutes.