Caretaker Pop-ups all come on at once

[jimahs]

I have a 12,000 gallon pool with a caretaker pop-up cleaning system. It has three zones and has worked okay since I bought the house ten years ago. There always seems to be a few areas that it misses, but that just makes me brush my pool regularly, so no big deal.

This last season I noticed the pop ups don't cycle anymore, but instead they just all come up and stay up. This means I'm getting less pressure per pop up, and the pop ups don't get the opportunity to rotate.

No noticeable changes in the system otherwise. I don't know too much about the control valve module. I replaced the top housing, gasket, and pressure gauge a few years ago because it was leaking. And it worked fine after that. I just checked and noticed the pressure gauge is reading zero. But that could just be a faulty gauge, right? No pressure would mean none of the pop ups would pop up, I would think.

Thank you, Jim

 

[proavia]

Hi Jim - welcome to TFP

Where is Escalon? Ok, I admit I do know where it is (CA), but others probably don't. Please edit your profile so it shows over there <<<<----------. Also, please fill out you signature as explained here: Pool School - Read This BEFORE You Post

While the gauge may or may not be bad, it sounds like the water valve is not functioning properly. You may need a rebuild kit to fix it. But first you will need to open it up and inspect the innards to see if they are worn and/or installed incorrectly.

Here's a parts diagram of the internals of the water valve: https://www.jandy.com/~/media/media-database/products/in-floor/5port-parts.pdf?la=en

If you determine you need a rebuild kit, look around on the net - prices can vary quite a bit. Here's just one example (for pre-2010 units): Buy Polaris Caretaker Rebuild Kit $79.99 OEM 5-9-2001

Let us know what you find. Oh - and we love pictures - so include some if you can.