Irritrol Rs1000 Rain Sensor problems

post by Meathead77 on May 2, 2023

Hooked up my new rain sensor and I am having problems with it constantly activating and deactivating. Sensor light stays solid, so it never loses communication. Yesterday it happened 243x. From my understanding, many other people have had this happen, but from the posts I have read did not see any resolution.

Due to this communication loss, it waters my lawn in 3-4 second increments…

From the videos I have seen I think it is wired correctly. White to common, Brown to S1, and Reds to 24v.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

post by Gene on May 2, 2023

Move sensor’s white wire to 24v- terminal. You’ll have two wires there, but that should not be an issue.

Issue is that Rachio’s Common terminals are actually tied to 24V+ terminal and zone wires are pulled “down” to 24V- when active.

P.S. This is the first time I’ve noticed the new screw type terminals.

I very much like the change @Rachio.

post by Thomas_Lerman on May 2, 2023

As @Gene said. It is of help, here is an official page, Rachio compatibility with Irritrol Wireless Rain Sensor. Guessing the screw terminals are from the R3 8-zone from Costco. I do like the push connectors, but the screws might have a slightly less chance of loosening?

post by Gene on May 4, 2023

Screws are a great improvement considering you only really need to use the screwdriver during the install. Here are just some of the advantages I can think of from the top of my head:

• Support multiple wires per terminal
• Support wider range of wire sizes
• Supports stranded wires
• Close to unlimited reusability
• Easier to clear in case the end of the wire breaks off
• Less likely to be broken due to excess force
• Easier to test with a multimeter

Most connector issues can likely be repaired with a quick trip to a home improvement store.