Rain Bird ESP Modular Problems
As you may already know, I love and always use Rain Bird products for all of my new sprinkler systems and for repair. The Rain Bird company has great engineers, sales reps, and everyone in between. From time to time a new product may have some slight design flaw or just something that may need to be improved after extensive testing by contractors using the actual products out int the field.
Sometime last year we started using the Rain Bird ESP Modular timers for systems 13 zones and under. This helped consolidate stock because then we didn't have to keep inventory of numerous different timers, (Rain Bird ESP 4, ESP 6, ESP 8, ESP-12LX, etc...). Now we just have to keep the ESP Modular Timer and extra 3-station modules. These are great timers, with a large, easy-to-read digital display and pretty simple programming. But a certain batch had a design flaw that has been very irritating for myself and our service techs!
These timers "flip out" and go haywire displaying an "MV error", "Err 1", etc... This normally indicates a bad solenoid or shorted wire at the master valve (pump start relay or actual electric valve) or at an individual valve. This message had my techs automatically re-setting the times with the reset button on the inside panel and also checking our system wiring. It would seem that we had it figured out and then we'd get another call-back at the same residence for a similar problem! The second visits we would normally end up replacing the timer and this would solve the problem, but for a few I would have another negative call-back about the timer doing the same thing again!
After talking with the Manager of our Irrigation Wholesale and Rain bird Distributor it turns out the Rain bird has been made aware of the problem and the engineers were right on it. Actually they had already pin-pointed the problem as well as coming up with an implementing a solution! It turns out that the ribbon that connected the Rain bird ESP timer control panel/digital display to the main circuit board was getting shorted out in the bend. The newer timers now have a ribbon that disconnects from both sides, thus reducing the bend and eliminating the short causing the MV and other errors.
The company has not pinpointed an exact dates that these timer went out because it has been hit and miss. There are some with the same date codes that have no issues at all, which is also what we have noticed.
So, if you own a Rain Bird ESP Modular Timer and keep getting a repeated "MV error, Zone 1 error, zone 2 error, zone 3 error, zone 4 error, ect... Then you need to warranty your timer (if it is within the 3 year warranty period.
Scott Young
http://www.autolawnsprinklers.com
Sometime last year we started using the Rain Bird ESP Modular timers for systems 13 zones and under. This helped consolidate stock because then we didn't have to keep inventory of numerous different timers, (Rain Bird ESP 4, ESP 6, ESP 8, ESP-12LX, etc...). Now we just have to keep the ESP Modular Timer and extra 3-station modules. These are great timers, with a large, easy-to-read digital display and pretty simple programming. But a certain batch had a design flaw that has been very irritating for myself and our service techs!
These timers "flip out" and go haywire displaying an "MV error", "Err 1", etc... This normally indicates a bad solenoid or shorted wire at the master valve (pump start relay or actual electric valve) or at an individual valve. This message had my techs automatically re-setting the times with the reset button on the inside panel and also checking our system wiring. It would seem that we had it figured out and then we'd get another call-back at the same residence for a similar problem! The second visits we would normally end up replacing the timer and this would solve the problem, but for a few I would have another negative call-back about the timer doing the same thing again!
After talking with the Manager of our Irrigation Wholesale and Rain bird Distributor it turns out the Rain bird has been made aware of the problem and the engineers were right on it. Actually they had already pin-pointed the problem as well as coming up with an implementing a solution! It turns out that the ribbon that connected the Rain bird ESP timer control panel/digital display to the main circuit board was getting shorted out in the bend. The newer timers now have a ribbon that disconnects from both sides, thus reducing the bend and eliminating the short causing the MV and other errors.
The company has not pinpointed an exact dates that these timer went out because it has been hit and miss. There are some with the same date codes that have no issues at all, which is also what we have noticed.
So, if you own a Rain Bird ESP Modular Timer and keep getting a repeated "MV error, Zone 1 error, zone 2 error, zone 3 error, zone 4 error, ect... Then you need to warranty your timer (if it is within the 3 year warranty period.
Scott Young
http://www.autolawnsprinklers.com
posted by Irrigationman at
2:45 PM
3 Comments:
Great stuff, and thanks so very much for the information. Now it's a matter of finding the paperwork for the module...
To obtain a new ribbon, contact your irrigation contractor or your local irrigation supply house. i.e. Atlantic Irrigation etc.
Thank you for the information. I own a RainBird esp 6 and it keeps giving me the message Error station 4. Where can I find some one that sells the "ribon" in the area of Stuart Florida.
Thanks
Sami
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