Step-by-Step Guide

Understanding Over Current Issues

Over current issues are among the most common support problems encountered with two-wire irrigation systems. These issues rarely occur on conventional wire systems unless the controller board has been severely damaged.

Symptoms: The first symptom is a message on the controller screen that says "over current" with a countdown timer. Depending on your controller's software version, the system will either shut down your two-wire path completely or continue testing the wire path every two minutes. On a BaseStation 3200, this appears as a yellow and red pop-up on the display. On a BaseStation 1000, it displays in black and white. In BaseManager, you'll see a "two wire over current" message displayed on the screen.

Can You Clear the Message? While you can attempt to clear an over current message like other errors, this only works about 10% of the time. Most situations require you to disconnect the wire path, retest the system, and determine if the message returns before you can continue operation.

Common Causes of Over Current

Over current issues typically result from shorts in the wire path where the black and red wires are touching each other, either through physical contact or through conductivity via water. 

The most common causes include:

• Bad wiring: A nick in the wire that allows corrosion to develop over time
• Failed devices: A malfunctioning moisture sensor, biCoder, or other device on the wire path
• Poor splicing: Improperly made splices that fail over time
• Water-filled valve boxes: Valve boxes that fill with water and compromise bad splices, causing temporary or intermittent over current conditions

Approximately 75% of over current issues are wire-related, while only 25% are device-related. It's important to note that you might not see an over current immediately after installation—water can compromise a nicked wire connection over three to four months, causing problems to appear later. Over current issues are most commonly discovered during system startup after winter, when wires have been corroding throughout the off-season while not in use.

Troubleshooting Over Current Step-by-Step

1. Disconnect the two-wire path from the controller.

2. Power cycle the controller completely.

3. Use a voltmeter to take readings at the controller terminals to verify the controller is putting out proper power.

4. Once you've determined the controller is functioning correctly and providing the correct voltage readings, plug the two-wire path back in.

5. Check whether the over current message appears immediately or review the amperage reading shown on the run screen.

6. Compare the current reading to the number of devices on your system to determine if the amperage is too high at rest or at the correct level, then proceed with further isolation as needed.

Success in resolving over current issues over the phone depends heavily on whether you have the correct tools available and knowledge of how the wire path runs through the system. With proper information and tools, the issue can often be isolated to a specific section or device. Without these resources, troubleshooting can take several days.

Device Communication Errors

Device communication errors occur when the controller cannot communicate with a specific device on the system. On a BaseStation 1000, this displays as "no reply." On a BaseStation 3200, it shows as a communication error. These errors can affect any device assigned to the system, including biCoders, sensors, or substation boards.

Understanding Two-Wire Communication: A two-wire path functions as a data cable first and a power cable second. The controller sends a data packet to a biCoder device and expects a response confirming that packet was delivered. If communication fails, it means the confirmation packet isn't getting back to the controller. However, it's possible that the outgoing packet is reaching the device (so a valve might turn on), but the response cannot get back due to a compromised connection or wire issue. A communication failure does not automatically mean the biCoder itself is bad.

Causes of Device Communication Errors

Approximately 95% of device communication errors are caused by wire path issues, while the remaining 5% are due to failed devices. 

Wire path problems include:

• A cut in the wire
• Excessive voltage loss somewhere along the wire path
• Incorrect splice connectors (not using the recommended 3M DBR Y-6 splices or equivalent)
• Corrosion or rust inside splices that impacts data transmission
• Damaged wire sections that have corroded over time
• A nicked black wire that dumps voltage straight into the ground
• Splices that are touching and connected but have become intermittent or contain corrosion

Device failures can also cause communication errors, including bad biCoders, failed sensors, or malfunctioning boards, depending on your system setup.

Testing for Device vs. Wire Path Issues

The easiest way to isolate whether you have a device problem or a wire path problem is to bring the suspected biCoder directly to the controller and plug it in.

1. Disconnect the biCoder from its location in the field.

2. Bring the biCoder back to the controller location.

3. Plug the biCoder directly into the controller.

4. Test the biCoder. If it tests successfully at the controller, you can be 100% certain you have a wire path issue, not a device failure.

This technique is accessible to almost anyone and doesn't require cutting and re-splicing until you've confirmed where the problem lies. One of the most common support calls involves contractors who have installed five new biCoders and cannot find them when performing a search. The first troubleshooting question is always whether they took the old biCoder back to the controller to test it—90% of the time, this reveals the issue is with the wire path, not the device.

Troubleshooting Device Communication Errors

When troubleshooting device communication errors on a BaseStation 3200, follow these steps:

1. Take a biCoder straight to the controller to isolate between a device issue and a wire path issue.

2. If you've determined it's a wire path issue, take a voltage reading at the controller terminals.

3. Compare the controller voltage reading to what you're measuring out in the field at the device location.

4. Begin isolating sections of the wire path based on where you're losing voltage.

While over current and device communication errors are related and can have similar causes (such as bad splices or wire nicks), they are troubleshot differently. With over current, you're looking for high amperage on the wire path. With communication errors, you're looking for voltage loss along the path.

Substation Communication Errors

Device communication errors can also occur between a BaseStation 3200 and a substation. A substation is essentially a wireless extension of a BaseStation 3200—it's not physically wired between them, but if communication is lost, it's as if that wire connection is separated or broken.

When a substation stops communicating with the 3200, troubleshoot it similarly to how you would troubleshoot a controller: check how much power the system is outputting, then look for where voltage is being lost on the wire path. 

Additionally, since substations use radio or WiFi communication, factors that can impact signal integrity include:

• New obstructions that have appeared and are interfering with the signal
• Growing tree canopies
• New buildings or structures
• Other sources of radio frequency interference

Controller Offline Messages

A controller offline message means the controller has stopped connecting to BaseManager. The causes and troubleshooting techniques vary depending on which communication method your controller uses to connect to BaseManager.

Communication Methods:

• Hardwire Ethernet connection
• Cell modem
• WiFi
• Ethernet radio to a gateway to the cloud

Troubleshooting Controller Offline Issues

1. Verify the controller has power and is up and running. If you're remote on BaseManager and the controller shows as gray (disconnected or offline), you won't know if there's no power at the site or if there's a network issue until someone visits the site.

2. Once you've confirmed the controller has power and is running, identify how it's connected online.

3. For hardwire Ethernet or WiFi connections:

• Power cycle the controller to see if it can obtain a new IP address
• If that doesn't work, investigate whether there have been any network changes
• Check if the port the controller is using is still working
• Review any settings that might have been changed on the network

4. For cell modem connections:

• Check for obstructions such as growing trees that might be interfering with the cell signal
• Power cycle the cell modem or device, as carriers sometimes send updates that require a power cycle to reestablish connection
• Determine if the device itself has failed and identify what caused the failure

For both WiFi/Ethernet and cellular connections, there's a good chance that someone else has made a network change—either on the cellular carrier's network or on the building's local area network—that is impacting your device's ability to communicate. These may not be hardware issues at all but rather network configuration changes.

Understanding Power Cycling

Power cycling reestablishes the connection between the controller and either the carrier (for cell modems) or the modem/router (for Ethernet/WiFi connections). If a carrier update caused the controller to go offline, power cycling reestablishes that connection and allows the controller to reconnect. The effectiveness of simply turning a device off and back on cannot be overstated—it works across many different types of technology and communication issues.

Interpreting the "No Cable" Message

A "no cable" message indicates that the controller is not detecting an Ethernet cable in the back of the controller. This could indicate either an issue with the Ethernet port on the display itself or a problem with the actual Ethernet cable coming from the cell modem or radio to the controller.

The Ethernet port on the back of the display powers all communication options and is a smart port—it knows when a cable is plugged into it. There are small LED indicator lights on the Ethernet port that should illuminate when a viable cable is connected. Both LED lights should be green when the cable is functioning properly (they may turn orange temporarily when data is being transmitted). On the controller's run screen in the top right corner, you'll see status messages such as "no cable," "BaseManager connected," "pending," or other connection status indicators.

Blown Fuse Symptoms and Diagnosis

Blown fuses typically cause communication errors with all devices on your system. Everything will turn red on the Quick View screen if you're using BaseManager.

1. Check the power output on the black and red terminals. If you have zero power coming out of those terminals, check the fuse immediately.

2. If you have partial power (for example, 15 volts when you should have 30 volts), this usually indicates that one of the two fuses has failed.

3. Locate the fuses on the controller board. Remove the plastic plate to access the board. On a two-wire board, you'll see two fuses. On a conventional system, check the C1 location.

4. Use a multimeter to check if the fuses are viable by testing voltage at the appropriate points on the board.

Additional Resources for Troubleshooting

Beyond calling technical support, several resources are available to help you troubleshoot issues:

YouTube Resources: Search for "Baseline Web Training" (all one word, no spaces) on YouTube to find:

• An early Tech Talk Tuesday episode dedicated to troubleshooting
• An approximately eight-minute tutorial specifically on over current issues, which demonstrates troubleshooting on a mock wire path layout
• Other tutorials organized in troubleshooting playlists

Product Manual: The controller manual contains extensive troubleshooting information, including a dedicated section on over current troubleshooting with diagrams. You don't need the paper copy—a PDF version works just as well and is easier to reference.

Baseline Website: Visit baselinesystems.com and navigate to the Support tab to find:

• Spec documents with detailed splice information
• Technical documentation on proper installation procedures

3M Resources: Since Baseline recommends 3M DBR Y-6 splices (or equivalent, though true equivalents are rare), 3M provides excellent resources for proper splice procedures and techniques.

Training Portal: At baseline.learnupon.com, you'll find an installation training course that walks through splice procedures and the steps for creating a clean wire path. Following proper installation procedures from the beginning helps avoid many common problems.

These online resources are particularly valuable if you're in a different time zone than technical support, if you want to attempt troubleshooting on your own schedule, or if you've encountered the issue before and want to reference the solution. Utilizing these resources helps manage the support demand that peaks during irrigation season and allows you to resolve issues more quickly.

Video Walkthrough

Video originally published September 2020.

If you have questions, here are 3 ways to get answers:

1. Search within this HydroPoint knowledgebase

2. Visit the HydroPoint support page

3. Call 800-362-8774 or email support@hydropoint.com, hours are Mon-Fri 3:00 AM – 6:00 PM PT and Sat 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM PT.