Irrigation · Service

Sprinkler repair — find the actual fault first

Heads, nozzles, valves, wiring and controllers all fail in ways that look identical from the lawn. Work out which one you have before anyone digs, then get matched with a local irrigation pro.

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In short

What is sprinkler repair?

Sprinkler repair covers everything from a snapped pop-up head to a solenoid that will not close. The useful first split is whether the problem is one head, one whole zone, or every zone. One head is almost always mechanical and often a ten-minute fix. One zone points at the valve, its solenoid or its wire. Every zone points upstream — the controller, the main supply, or the backflow device.

Triggers

Signs you need sprinkler repair

One zone will not come on at all, while the rest of the system runs normally
A zone will not shut off, and water keeps running after the controller has moved on
A head sits below grade and never pops up, or pops up and stays up after the cycle ends
Water fountains or bubbles up out of the ground next to a head instead of spraying
One arc has gone dry and green grass surrounds it in a distinct wedge shape
Heads mist into a fine fog rather than throwing droplets — a pressure symptom, not a head fault
The controller shows a fault or short on a specific station number
Something in the yard was dug, edged or fenced recently and a zone stopped working the same week

Seeing something not on this list? Browse irrigation problems by symptom →

The job

How sprinkler repair actually works

Establish the scope: one head, one zone, or everything

The technician runs each zone manually from the valve rather than from the controller. If a zone runs at the valve but not from the controller, the fault is electrical — wire, solenoid or controller station. If it will not run at the valve either, it is hydraulic.

Watch for: Anyone who starts digging before running the zones manually. This test takes minutes, costs nothing, and eliminates most of the possible causes.
Head-level faults and nozzle work

Broken risers, heads mown off at grade, clogged nozzles and seized wipers are the most common single-head faults. Replacement is like-for-like where possible, then arcs and radius are reset so the repaired head still overlaps its neighbours.

Watch for: A replacement head with a different nozzle or precipitation rate than the rest of the zone. That zone now waters unevenly forever, and the symptom shows up next summer as a patch nobody can explain.
Valve diagnosis

A zone that will not stop usually has debris under the diaphragm, a failed diaphragm, or a solenoid stuck open. A zone that will not start is more often a solenoid that has failed open-circuit, or a wire nut corroded green in a valve box that filled with water.

Watch for: A whole valve replaced when a diaphragm and a clean-out would have done. Ask what was found inside before the valve was condemned.
Wiring and controller checks

Field wire is tested station by station. Common findings are a nicked common wire from a fence post or edging blade, a corroded splice, or a controller station that has genuinely failed.

Watch for: Splices made in the ground rather than in a valve box with waterproof connectors. It works for a season and then fails somewhere you cannot find.
Repair, re-test and re-set arcs

The zone is run again end to end, heads are re-aimed off pavement and walls, and the controller schedule is checked in case a run time was changed while people were troubleshooting.

Watch for: A repair signed off without watching the zone run a full cycle. Diaphragm faults in particular often only reappear after the valve has been under pressure for several minutes.

Money

What does sprinkler repair cost?

Most single-fault repairs — a head, a nozzle, a solenoid, a splice — are a short service call plus parts. Costs climb when a lateral has to be excavated or several valves have failed together. Full pricing sits in the Cost Guide.

See the full sprinkler repair cost guide — by material, size and region →

Straight answer

When sprinkler repair is the wrong call

Everyone else ranking for this is paid when you say yes. Here's when you shouldn't.

Every zone is dry and the meter is not moving. That is a supply problem, not a sprinkler one — an isolation valve left closed after other work, a failed backflow device, or a shut-off you forgot about. Check those before booking irrigation repair.
You are repairing the same zone for the third time in two seasons. Repeated failure in one place is a design or a pressure symptom. Paying for a fourth repair buys you a fifth. An audit or a zone redesign is the cheaper answer.
The system is thirty years old with brittle pipe and obsolete heads. When replacement parts no longer match and the pipe cracks near every repair, per-fault repair becomes an expensive way to postpone a decision.
The symptom is misting, not a break. Fog instead of droplets means the zone is running above the head's design pressure. Replacing heads does not fix it and they will mist again. That is a pressure regulation job.
Nothing is broken and the lawn is just dry. Uniformly thin coverage with everything working is a scheduling or a design shortfall. A repair visit will correctly find nothing wrong and you will still have a dry lawn.
The ground is still frozen. Diagnosing and pressurising a system in freezing conditions risks new breaks. If it failed in autumn, book it into the spring startup instead.

Straight answer

Can I do this myself?

Reasonable to DIY

Swapping a broken pop-up head for the same model. Dig a small hole around it, unscrew from the riser, screw the new one on, flush before fitting the nozzle.
Cleaning a clogged nozzle and filter screen — the most common cause of a single head throwing short.
Adjusting arcs and radius. Every manufacturer publishes which way its adjustment screw turns, and it costs nothing to try.
Raising a head that has sunk below grade so the mower clips it.
Running each zone manually from the controller to narrow the fault down before you call anyone. Doing this first genuinely shortens the visit.

Call a licensed pro

Anything you have to excavate to reach — a suspected lateral break under turf or a driveway.
Valve and solenoid work if you are not confident isolating and depressurising the system first.
Electrical fault-finding across multiple stations, which needs a meter and a method rather than trial and error.
Any work on or near the backflow preventer. In many jurisdictions that device is regulated and re-testing after disturbance is required.
Repeated failures in the same zone — you want a diagnosis of the cause, not another replacement part.

Before you sign

What to check when hiring for sprinkler repair

Do you charge a diagnostic fee, and does it come off the repair?

Irrigation repair is priced very differently between companies. Knowing whether the first hour is billable changes which quote is actually cheaper.
Will you run every zone before quoting, not just the one I reported?

Faults cluster. A system with one failed solenoid frequently has a second one halfway gone, and finding it on the same visit costs far less than a second call-out.
Do you carry parts that match my heads and valves?

Mixed-brand repairs are where uneven zones come from. If your system is one manufacturer, you want a van stocked with that manufacturer.
If it is a valve, will you try a diaphragm and clean-out before replacing the body?

The cheaper repair is often the correct one. You want to hear that the valve gets opened and inspected, not swapped by default.
How will you locate a buried break — and what does the yard look like afterwards?

Excavation is the part of irrigation repair people regret. Agree in advance how the turf is cut, set aside and put back.
What is warranted, and for how long?

Parts often carry a manufacturer warranty while the labour carries a much shorter one. If the same zone fails again in a month, you want to know which applies.

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Local pros

Sprinkler Repair near you

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Related work

Often done at the same time

Irrigation Leak Detection

When the loss is invisible and the bill found it

Sprinkler Maintenance

Catching faults before the lawn shows them

Irrigation Audit

For uneven coverage with nothing actually broken

Irrigation System Redesign

When the same zone keeps failing

All irrigation services →

FAQ

Sprinkler Repair — questions people ask

Still have a question? Talk to our team →

Why does one zone not come on when the others do?

Run that zone manually at the valve itself. If it runs there but not from the controller, the fault is electrical — usually a failed solenoid, a corroded splice, or a broken field wire. If it will not run at the valve either, it is hydraulic: debris under the diaphragm, or an isolation valve closed. This one test cuts the possibilities roughly in half.

Why will a zone not shut off?

Almost always the valve, not the controller. Grit lodged under the diaphragm holds it fractionally open, or the diaphragm has perforated, or the solenoid plunger is stuck. Closing the manual bleed and the flow control on that valve stops the water while you wait for a visit. If every zone runs continuously, look upstream at the controller or a stuck master valve instead.

My heads are misting instead of spraying. Is that a broken head?

No — misting means the zone is running at higher pressure than the heads are designed for, and it wastes a surprising amount of water to drift and evaporation. Replacing the heads gives you new heads that also mist. The fix is regulation: pressure-regulating heads or stems, or a regulator at the valve. Treat it as a system correction rather than a repair.

How do I find a leak in a buried lateral pipe?

Symptoms come first: a zone that has lost pressure at the far heads, a persistently soggy patch, or water surfacing when one particular zone runs. Isolating zone by zone narrows it to a single lateral. If the loss is constant rather than tied to one zone, the problem is upstream of the valves and belongs with mainline leak detection, which is a different job.

Should I repair an old system or replace it?

Two honest triggers to stop repairing: parts no longer match anything still made, and pipe that cracks again a metre from every previous repair. Short of those, a well-designed old system that is being maintained beats a new one that is badly zoned — age alone is not the argument. Get an audit before anyone quotes a replacement.