When one zone won’t turn on
When one sprinkler zone stops working and the rest of the system is fine, the problem is usually not the heads. It is the signal that tells the valve to open: the low-voltage wire from the controller, a splice in a valve box, or the solenoid on top of the valve.
We find which one it is, repair it, and run the zone from the controller before we leave.
How we trace a dead zone
- Controller first. We check the program and the station output, so we are not chasing a setting.
- Test the circuit. A meter reading at the controller tells us whether the wire is broken, shorted or fine.
- Run the valve by hand. If the zone runs when we open the valve manually, the valve works and the problem is electrical.
- Locate the fault. A wire tracer follows the cable underground to the break, so we dig in one spot, not across the yard.
- Repair and re-test. Waterproof direct-burial splices, a new solenoid if it failed, and every zone run from the controller.
What breaks sprinkler wire
- Digging. Shovels, aerators, fence posts, new trees and trenching for other work.
- Old splices. Wire twisted together and taped in a wet valve box corrodes until the signal stops.
- Rodents. Gophers and other burrowing animals chew through buried cable.
- A bad common wire. One shared wire serves every valve, so a fault there can take out several zones at once.
- Failed solenoids. Heat and age wear out the coil, and the zone stops opening.
Repair or run new wire?
Most faults are one break or one bad splice, and a proper repair fixes them for good. If the old wire is brittle, splices keep failing, or the cable was never buried deep enough, running new wire to the affected zones can make more sense. We tell you what each option involves before any work starts.
Brands
We trace and repair wiring on Rain Bird, Hunter, Orbit/B-hyve, Irritrol/Lawn Genie and Toro systems: Rain Bird, Hunter, Orbit/B-hyve, Irritrol/Lawn Genie, Toro.
Helpful guides
Written by ACRE Landscape Inc, Fresno & Clovis. Updated October 30, 2026.