Hackaday · Creativity & design

Water Timer Teardown and Repair

A user successfully repaired a malfunctioning Insoma water timer that failed to dispense water.

The timer, responsible for automated lawn and garden watering, stopped working on all three outlets. Instead of replacing it, the user disassembled the device.

The timer's design features three solenoids to control water flow and a control board for user interface and operation. Initial inspection revealed no visible damage, and the solenoids tested functional.

The issue was traced to the control board, which was outputting only 2V, insufficient to activate the 6VDC solenoids. This voltage drop suggested a problem within the potted circuitry.

Upon removing the potting compound, the control ICs, H-bridges, and a power boost circuit with an electrolytic capacitor were exposed. Suspicious liquid near the capacitor indicated it was the likely failure point.

The electrolytic capacitor had failed after only four months of use, but its replacement resolved the timer's malfunction. The article notes the inconvenience of such an early failure.

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