RainMachine is PAUSED! after rain sensor install
It rained on 4/21 and my rain sensor kicked on. I have a Rain Bird WR2 and the WiFi signal is good. The Rain Bird controller showed rain accumulation so it seems to be working. It hasn't rained since 4/22 and my RainMachine Touch HD still shows Rain detected and that RainMachine is PAUSED.
I have the red and black wire connected to the 24VAC. I have the green sensor wire connected to my first C (common) port on the RainMachine Touch HD. I have the white sensor wire spliced together with my common wire to the sprinklers.
I can manually activate each zone so that's working. I can activate my schedules manually so those are working. What am I doing wrong here?
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Depending on the rain sensor, most likely it is the kind that when wet expands these discs which presses on the trigger to indicate rain. Depending on how much rain, after the rain event is done it takes time for the discs to dry out and release from the trigger thus clearing the rain sensor event. I have found for me, even on a brand new replacement of discs, it still takes 1-2 days after some rain for the sensor to clear. I have a wifi sensor in the garage, so i can see the 'red light' on the sensor itself showing it is still triggered. Does your sensor show clear and the rainmachine is still showing detected? if so, then not sure, but it may just be that the rain event hasn't cleared yet.
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I have the same issue. Wired as shown. If Brandon's response above is correct (and Rain Sensor is not activated in the app), does the app know that rain has occurred and is locking out watering?
I'm trying to test this; I have poured water into the rain sensor and the RainBird's display indicates that it's raining--but the RainMachine's display (and app) show no indication of rain or lockout.
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On my Pro 16 I have the rain sensor activated in the app. When it does rain, it does show an additional restriction which was based upon a rain condition. The last rai condition for me (at least that triggered the sensor as a small amount of rain won't trigger it) was June 28th.
An easy way to see if it triggers is to change the setting away from normally closed (at least for me) and since the sensors and Rain Machine are not opposite of each other, the Rain Machine views it that there is rain. Be sure to change it back though and make the two in sync; i.e if your rain sensor is normally closed, then make sure the Rain Machine is set for the same.
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OK, I got my RainBird sensor working, but NOT using the wiring diagram I posted in the thread above.
I ordered the $3.99 connector for the rain sensor. I connected the sensor's red and black wires to the 24V connections in the Rain Machine, and the green and white to the two wires from the sensor connector. I enabled the rain sensor in the RainMachine app, set as normally closed.
Everything is now working exactly as it should. The RainMachine displays an indicator when the sensor detects rain. As soon as the sensor's rain indicator is disabled, the RainMachine's "Pause" mode ends.
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I just bought a Rainbird WR2-RFC for my Pro-16 and will install it this weekend to replace the bottom-end Hunter Clik that was installed by the irrigation contractor. Any other words of advice from folks out there with the same setup? As far as I can tell black/red wires to 24VAC, green/white go to R & C.
Any device setups recommended based on other user's experience that would be helpful? Thanks.
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See my comment above yours. I did not get it working that way, but I DID get it working after buying the rain-sensor connector from RainMachine.
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@David LaComb, disregard @Jonathan Perkins' recommendation about the optional rain sensor connector, since you have the Pro-16. The WR2 works best if you buy the optional rain sensor connector if you have the HD-12/16. However, since you have the newer Pro-16, it doesn't require an adapter harness. You can just plug and play. You are correct: black and red to 24VAC terminals and green/white to R&C terminals on the Pro-16. The rain sensor should still be selected activate and as "normally closed". If you have the WR2-48, which snoozes for 48hrs after rain (or 72hrs if selected), then you can keep the Pro-16 set to "resume normal operations" "after rain has stopped". The WR2 will show the Pro-16 as "open" (e.g. rain) until it resumes after the 48-72hrs, so you don't need to set "after rain has stopped" to snooze on the Pro-16. It's nice that RainMachine fixed the idiotic sensor setup from the HD-12/16 to the newer Pro-12/16.
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Installed my Rainbird WR2 this weekend, fairly easy with exception of getting the power wires in the same holes as the Pro16 power supply (wish the holes were bigger or had screw connections like my former HD-12), but got them in after playing a while. Fired it up and installed the rain sensor on the eave of my outdoor shed.
My RainMachine is installed next to the electrical panel in the basement and the wireless signal on the Rainbird came in at 3 out of 4 bars. No rain yet, so will give it a few weeks to test out before I remove the Hunter Clik in the lawn area just to be sure it works as expected. Here it is on the wall...
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