Rewiring Irrigation Controller After Losing Wire Labels

Homeowner replaced controller but didn't label wires. Now fuse blows. Needs wiring guidance.

Standard Wiring Method

1. Find valve box(es)
2. Identify common wire: single color (usually WHITE) connected to ALL valve solenoids
3. Connect common to controller C/COM terminal
4. Remaining wires = zone wires (different colors)
5. Touch each zone wire to controller terminal #1, manually run zone 1
6. Label wire by which valve activates
7. Connect to desired terminal numbers

Key Point

Common wire = ONE wire to ALL valves. Zone wires = ONE wire PER valve. Never guess—test each.