# Valve not opening much



## fusebox7 (Jul 27, 2017)

I have one zone's valve that doesn't open much when solenoid activated so I can a nasty loud sound due to the water pressure. I replaced the solenoid thinking that was the issue to no avail. If I manually turn the solenoid to open the valve fully the valve seemingly operates as normal. However, then I have to manually shut the valve by doing the opposite. If I turn the valve off via the controller, it will stay open. I've read quite a bit on this subject and it seems as if it's either something more to do with the valve or a wiring issue (low voltage). Both of these issues seem difficult to both diagnose and repair.

Does anyone have any experience or pointers to fix this without going full surgery (digging up the yard to get the valve replaced or running a brand new wire to the valve from the controller)? Thanks in advance!


----------



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Try swapping the inside of the valve only. No need to replace the plastic.

You can also test the wire by running an above ground wire from the controller. If it works with a new wire, then you know that it is a wire problem.


----------



## fusebox7 (Jul 27, 2017)

Thanks. I know of the running wire above ground test but I should probably do a voltage/ohm test first. I don't have any wire to do that ATM. I have been reading about a clogged or malfunctioning diaphragm causing my symptoms so I'll try taking that off and inspecting/cleaning it before I do anything more invasive. I'll post back if it ever stops raining and I get a chance to work on it.


----------



## hsvtoolfool (Jul 23, 2018)

I agree with g-man, inspect/clean the valve innards and replace if needed. If this is not an extremely low voltage issue, there may be sand or dirt stuck in there. The solenoid opens the valve indirectly by moving a small valve which allows water to flow through an orifice behind the main diaphragm. Once the pressure behind the diaphragm exceeds the spring pressure, the diaphragm moves to the fully open position. My bet is that you need to clean out that small orifice or clean out the main diaphragm area. If possible, use a compressed air blow gun after removing the diaphragm, spring, and everything else inside the housing.


----------



## jimbeckel (May 27, 2018)

I would put a volt meter at the zone connection and ground when the zone is activated and see what your voltage is at the source, note the reading. Go to the valve and check the voltage reading, they should be almost the same, if not, you have a wiring issue. Sounds like you already replaced the valve so that is not a suspect. It is also possible that the problem zone is bad at the controller. There are probably built in relays that fire each zone, the zone in question could have a bad relay as well. You can pm me if you need help troubleshooting or we can talk through the issue over the phone. I believe each zone is typically in the 16-24 volt AC range


----------

