A diaphragm that will not seat keeps a zone running after the clock shuts off. A burned solenoid keeps it dead. Valve boxes in Austin fill with oak leaves and caliche dust, so we locate the box, test the coil, and rebuild or replace on the spot.
Valve boxes here fill with leaves, caliche dust, and the occasional fire-ant nest. We locate the box with a tracer if the lid is gone, then test the coil with a meter. A click and no water is often a stuck diaphragm, not a dead clock.
A zone that will not shut off is almost always the valve, not the program. Water at the lowest head after the cycle is the tell. We rebuild the diaphragm when the body is sound. We replace the valve when the threads are shot or the manifold is cracked.
In West Lake Hills and Rollingwood the boxes sit under oak canopy. Standing water in the box is a leak or a grade problem. We fix the valve first, then tell you if the box needs to come up.
What we look for
- A zone that will not shut off
- Constant trickle from the lowest head
- Humming in the box with no water
- Standing water around the manifold
On the visit
- Trace the wire and open the box
- Check solenoid resistance and controller voltage
- Rebuild the diaphragm or swap the valve
- Pressure-test the station under full flow
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