I had this problem. Disconnnecting the AC and reconnecting it solved it for a short time (1 day). I finally bought a new one (its only $26 for the 6 channel dumb one). Worked for a couple of days, then failed the same way. I disconnected all the sprinklers and added them back in one by one. I found out that one of them was causing the issue. My guess is the solenoid failed and is shorted. Note that you can't tell by checking the solenoid resistance, because its a coil operated device, ie., the resistance is very low even in a good one. I don't know why Orbit does not mention the NO AC can have other causes.
@@camilomirosevic7260 I think it means that the A/C to DC converter can no longer supply enough current, IE., that the power supply dips below proper voltage. There could be a lot of causes for this. However, the thing about the solenoids is that they are directly fed by the AC adapter, I believe via a switching transistor. I believe that because I have previously blown out a channel such that one channel is bad and the rest are good, which supports the idea that a transistor blew out there. The power supply is a transformer only (26VAC out) and likely each channel is a switching transistor feeding the solenoid with the other side ground. Its a coil of wire wrapped around a plunger made of ferrous metal. If the solenoid shorts out, it can be anything from drawing too much current to practically a dead short, depending on which windings short out. Windings are several layers, so you can't say that the windings that short are adjacent (electrically). Why do they short? Just go have a look. My older solenoids are cracking open, probably a combination of heat and age, and are likely melting the insulation between windings. And once they short a little bit they can generate more heat and so on, and enter thermal runway and short completely. Thus one solenoid can suck all of the transformer current to ground. Remove that connection and the controller recovers. I think the lesson is that if you have a channel that does not operate, disconnect it. Its probably making things worse. PS. this is why reading short or open across a solenoid does not work. It has zero DC resistance. It does have AC resistance (impedance).
How do you remove the orange "thingy" without breaking it? I tried with my fingers, no go. One site said unplug grey ribbon but I don't know which side to open.
My system went down a few days ago, I have been checking wires plus other things....its night time at this moment, but tomorrow morning I will try what you did. Thanks for the info.
How do you remove the orange 24 plastic tab, I cant do it manually, can you explain or show another video please? I have the NO AC message, and everything else works even replaced the small circular battery,
@@gavypants100 unfortunately I don't have the orbit here, but I can upload a video in a couple of weeks. Anyway, you can remove the wire by pressing the device were it is located
