There are a few reasons why your sprinkler pump might not be pumping water. One possibility is that the pump is not getting enough electricity. Another possibility is that there is a clog somewhere in the pump or in the pipes leading to or from the pump.
If you hear a click but no water comes out the valve is bad. If you don't hear a click then the solenoid, the part with wires coming out, is bad. Either way, one of them needs to be replaced.
The Water Won't Shut Off
If you have this problem, it's very likely the solenoid. A problem with the plunger can prevent the solenoid from closing the valve when it's time. That means your sprinklers will keep running after they're supposed to stop. If you run into this problem, the first step is to turn off the water.
How to fix: To clean a clogged sprinkler head, turn off the system and remove the head by unscrewing it from the base. Rinse it under running water to dislodge debris and use a small brush or toothpick to remove any stubborn buildup. Reattach the head and test the system to ensure proper water flow.
You can snake the line and use a camera to determine if debris has become clogged, and if so, where. You can also walk the irrigation line and look for puddles of water or depressions in the ground, which might indicate that the pipe has in fact broken due to the pressure surrounding the clog.
Inside of your sprinkler system, it is possible for all kinds of dirt and rubble to build up inside the individual parts of the sprinkler. Often small clogs are found inside of the connections of the sprinkler pipes, the sprinkler risers and the sprinkler system nozzles.
Water leaks: High pressure from a broken solenoid can put a lot of stress on your sprinkler system and burst small or large leaks throughout it. Low water pressure: Low water pressure can be just as much of a problem.
If one irrigation system zone isn't working, the problem could be an electrical issue. Or a controller problem. Or a defective solenoid. Or a broken line.
Some of the early signs for a solenoid valve not yet closing or opening correctly are rusting, power failure, irregular pressure, missing equipment, an invalid quantity of voltage or current, crud stuck in the system, and corrosion.
Answer: Dry running of the pump can damage the mechanical seal and the motor. For this reason, the float switches should be arranged so that the fill level in the shaft does not fall below the minimum level required to operate the pump.
More often than not, systems fail to work because the control valves are turned off. This factor accounts for over 50% of sprinkler failures.
Valves will give you 10 to 15 years of service, while controllers 5 to 10 years.
Often, the malfunction of a solenoid valve can be attributed to easy to fix issues, such as dirt in the valve (80% of the cases). Another common issue is a too low differential pressure for indirect operated solenoid valves.
Calcium carbonate obstructions are most common in sprinkler systems supplied from non-potable wells or surface water in places where water supplies are known to be hard. These blockages can't be detected or corrected by normal flushing operations.
Most lawn sprinkler developers recommend the air blow out system to winterize an irrigation system. Forcing air through the valves, pipes and sprinkler heads completely rids the system of water. If you're a DIY'er, you'll need an air compressor that's able to put out the right air volume and pressure at the same time.
Not all systems need to have the water blown out of them. You can winterize a sprinkler system without an air compressor if all of your irrigation lines are buried at a slight downhill slope. Simply shut off the main water supply to your system and open the drain valves at the end of each zone.
Building owners and facility managers usually expect fire sprinkler systems to last 40 to 50 years. However, due to the presence of oxygen, water, and metal, corrosion issues can cause wet water systems to start failing in 15 to 25 years and dry water systems in eight to 12 years.
If the water pump is running but no fluid is being pumped this could be blocked inlet suction filter, check valves failed with pumps bypassing, blocked discharge lines, electric motor polarity is incorrect or incorrect pressure settings parameters amongst other issues.