Step-by-Step Guide
Starting Your Day with WeatherTRAK Central
Before using WeatherTRAK Mobile for on-site troubleshooting, begin each day with WeatherTRAK Central. This is an important water management practice that provides high-level visibility across your entire portfolio of controllers.
1. Log in to WeatherTRAK Central each morning to review reports and check for any issues from the previous day.
2. Review all alerts displayed in the system. WeatherTRAK Central collects all data and presents it in a user-friendly format that makes it easy to see alerts across all sites.
3. Begin diagnosing what could be causing each alert before dispatching technicians to the field.
4. Inform your technicians in the morning before they head out so they can start working on identified problems immediately.
This centralized visibility is particularly valuable for managers overseeing teams of irrigation technicians across school districts, cities, or large corporate campuses. WeatherTRAK Central allows you to gather around the computer and establish marching orders for the day, identifying all the different systems that need hands-on attention.
You can also sign up for text and email notifications through WeatherTRAK Central to stay informed of issues as they arise.
Logging In to WeatherTRAK Mobile 3.0
Once technicians are dispatched to the field for on-site troubleshooting, WeatherTRAK Mobile becomes the primary tool for alert management and resolution.
1. Ensure you are using WeatherTRAK Mobile 3.0. Versions 1 and 2 do not have the same feature set required for comprehensive alert troubleshooting.
2. Log in with your username and password.
Alert management is the primary focus of day-to-day WeatherTRAK operations. Once you have dialed in your weather settings, alerts become the main reason for on-site visits and ongoing system maintenance.
Viewing Alerts at the Site Level
WeatherTRAK Mobile provides alert visibility at multiple levels, starting with the highest-level site view.
1. From the Sites screen, you can see a summary of alerts for each site directly on the main page. Each site displays the number of red alerts and gray alerts present.
2. Tap on a specific site to view the Overview page for that site.
3. On the site overview screen, you will see the site picture, weather predictions, and a summary of all alerts for that site, including both controller status and controller alerts. This view consolidates information from all controllers on the site.
4. Scroll down to see the breakdown of alerts across all controllers on the site.
Understanding Red Alerts vs. Gray Alerts
WeatherTRAK Mobile differentiates between two types of alerts to help you prioritize your response.
Red alerts are major and critical alerts that can immediately affect the health of your landscape. These alerts demand immediate attention and typically require a technician to visit the site. Examples include station high flow alerts, station low flow alerts, valve no connect alerts, and similar system issues.
Gray alerts are minor or non-critical alerts that do not require immediate field response. These are often informational alerts that help you understand system behavior but do not indicate a problem requiring urgent repair. Common gray alerts include climate control rain pauses, water window alerts, and water day alerts.
Gray alerts are typically managed by the water manager rather than field technicians. Some gray alerts are designed to run their course naturally—they indicate the system is functioning as intended in response to weather or schedule conditions.
Viewing Alerts at the Controller Level
1. From the Sites page, navigate to the Controllers page to see all controllers listed for your selected site.
2. On the controllers list, you will see the controller status icon for each controller, which indicates whether the controller is off, on, or manually irrigating. This provides at-a-glance information about what each controller is currently doing.
3. You will also see the count of red (major and critical) alerts and gray (minor) alerts for each controller.
4. Tap the settings button for a controller to access controller-level commands and detailed alert information.
Accessing Detailed Alert Information
The controller settings page provides five tabs with different utilities, but the system defaults to the Alerts tab, which is where you will drill down into specific alert details.
1. On the Alerts tab, you will see a list of all active alerts for the selected controller.
2. Prioritize red alerts, as these indicate problems that need immediate resolution. Within red alerts, consider how long the alert has been active—an alert that has persisted for months may indicate a different priority than a new alert.
3. Look for relationships between alerts. For example, if you see both a high flow alert and a station high depletion alert, fixing the high flow issue may automatically resolve the depletion alert, since the station will be able to irrigate normally again.
Understanding Individual Alerts
WeatherTRAK Mobile includes built-in training tools to help you understand what each alert means and how to resolve it. This is particularly valuable for technicians who are new to the WeatherTRAK system.
1. Tap on any alert in the alerts list to view detailed information about that specific alert.
2. Read the Description section, which provides information specific to your controller or site. This tells you exactly which stations are affected and where you need to focus your troubleshooting efforts.
3. Review the Severity information to understand how important the alert is and how closely you need to monitor it.
4. Read the Definition and Possible Causes section to understand what the alert is actually telling you about system conditions.
5. Check the Controller Action section to see what the controller has done in response to this alert. This is critical information because each alert type has its own unique response. Not all alerts shut down the entire system—WeatherTRAK is designed to keep stations that are not affected by a problem running on schedule while protecting against water waste and landscape damage.
6. Review the Possible Remedies section for places to start looking for a solution and guidance on where to point your troubleshooting efforts.
7. If you need more information after reviewing the alert details, tap Click here to see how to resolve this alert at the top of the page in the app.
Accessing Knowledge Base Articles and Videos
Each alert type has a dedicated knowledge base article with an embedded video that provides comprehensive troubleshooting guidance.
1. When you tap the link to resolve an alert, the system opens the relevant knowledge base article for that specific alert type.
2. Each knowledge base article includes a video (typically around two minutes, though some are longer) that addresses what the alert is, what it means, and what steps an irrigation technician should take to resolve it.
3. Watch the video for step-by-step guidance on troubleshooting and resolving the alert. For example, the station high depletion video demonstrates how to reset depletions on WeatherTRAK.net.
These resources allow technicians to understand controller feedback and continue working efficiently without needing to call a manager or customer support. You do not need to be an irrigation expert to resolve many of these alerts—the step-by-step guidance is designed to be accessible to technicians at all skill levels.
Managing Station High Depletion Alerts
Station high depletion alerts are particularly common when coming out of winterization, especially if controllers were left in the off position and have been accumulating depletion.
WeatherTRAK Central provides tools to independently manage depletions for every station. If you see station high depletion alerts on multiple controllers after winterization, you can use WeatherTRAK Central to reset those depletions across your system.
When prioritizing alerts, consider that station high depletion may be a secondary issue. If you also see alerts like high flow or no flow on the same controller, fixing the primary flow problem first will often allow the station to irrigate normally and resolve the depletion issue automatically.
Clearing Alerts to Test Repairs
When an alert is active on a station, you will not be able to run that station manually. This means you cannot test your repair until you clear the alert.
1. Navigate to the Stations page or Manual Irrigation function to see which stations have active alerts. Stations with alerts will not display the button that allows manual irrigation.
2. After you have identified and repaired the problem (for example, turning the water back on after finding it was shut off), return to the Alerts page.
3. At the bottom of the alerts page, you will see three buttons: Clear Flow, Clear Electrical, and Clear Both.
4. Tap the appropriate clear button based on the type of alert you have resolved. For flow-related alerts like no flow, tap Clear Flow.
5. You will see a message indicating that this is a process that may take a few minutes. Unlike manual irrigation functions, which respond quickly, clearing alerts requires the system to send a test to the controller, execute it, and send results back.
6. Tap OK to begin the clearing process.
7. Wait for the process to complete. When alerts are successfully resolved, they will disappear from your mobile app.
8. Once alerts are cleared, you can use the manual irrigation function to test your repair and verify that the station is operating correctly.
Using Clear Alerts for Two-Wire Troubleshooting
The ability to clear alerts from your mobile device is particularly valuable when troubleshooting two-wire systems and valve no connect alerts.
When retrofitting new biCoders or troubleshooting connection issues, you may receive valve no connect alerts for multiple valves. The clear alerts function allows you to work efficiently in the field:
1. Review the valve no connect alerts to see which valves are affected.
2. If you have a site map, use it to identify the first valve in the sequence, as connection problems often start at the beginning of the valve chain.
3. Make your repair at the valve location.
4. Use the clear alerts function to resend the test through the system.
5. Verify whether the connection is now correct without having to walk back to the controller.
This eliminates the need to walk back and forth between the valve box and the controller repeatedly, saving hours of time when chasing two-wire connection issues. Every connection in a two-wire system is critical, so the ability to test repairs immediately from the valve location is a significant time saver.
Testing Manual Irrigation After Clearing Alerts
Once you have cleared alerts, the manual irrigation function becomes available for affected stations, allowing you to test your repairs.
1. Navigate to the Manual Irrigation or Stations page.
2. Select the station you want to test.
3. Start manual irrigation on that station.
4. Use this function to verify repairs, flush out lines, flush out heads, or run a valve for a few seconds to clear debris after making repairs.
The ability to test repairs from your pocket—standing right at the problem location—is a critical part of efficient field troubleshooting. You can complete the entire repair and verification process without ever visiting the controller.
Troubleshooting Low Flow Alerts on OptiFlow Controllers
OptiFlow controllers have unique capabilities for troubleshooting low flow alerts, particularly when multiple stations may be involved.
1. When you receive a low flow alert on an OptiFlow controller, check the alert details to see exactly which stations were running when the alert was detected.
2. Note that low flow is a no-response alert—it does not interrupt irrigation. The controller continues irrigating in spite of the alert because the system does not detect that water is being wasted.
3. To test what the system is doing when all the affected stations are running, navigate to the Manual function and select Multiple.
4. By default, the multiple stations page is set to run stations sequentially (one at a time). At the bottom of the page, you will see an icon indicating this sequential mode.
5. Tap the icon at the bottom of the page to switch to multi-manual mode, which allows an OptiFlow controller to run multiple stations simultaneously.
6. Select the stations that appeared in the low flow alert report—the stations that were running when the alert was raised.
7. Tap Next to confirm your station selection.
8. Tap Start All to begin manual irrigation on all selected stations at once. You can run up to nine stations simultaneously in this mode.
9. Go to the controller panel to view the real-time flow reading for all running stations.
10. Compare the real-time flow reading to the flow measurement recorded in your alert report to identify discrepancies and determine why you are seeing low flow issues.
This multi-manual capability allows you to duplicate the exact conditions that triggered the alert and diagnose the problem more effectively.
Using Manual Irrigation for General Troubleshooting
Beyond alert-specific troubleshooting, the manual irrigation function from your mobile device is a powerful tool for general irrigation system maintenance and diagnosis.
When you are on site in a zone area, you can start and stop irrigation for that zone directly from your mobile device. This allows you to:
- Walk directly to a head and control irrigation without returning to the controller
- Check if heads are turning properly
- Verify coverage and system performance
- Diagnose issues that are not necessarily related to electrical or flow alerts
The ability to perform your job without ever going to the controller represents a significant paradigm shift in irrigation maintenance. You have all the tools you need in your pocket to troubleshoot issues on site, eliminating the need to open the controller box, deal with dust, or fight off bees that may have nested inside.
This streamlined process allows you to walk directly to the problem, turn on the valve you are inspecting, and complete your work efficiently—all without the traditional back-and-forth trips to the controller that used to be required for every adjustment and test.
Video Walkthrough
Video originally published May 2021.
If you have questions, here are 3 ways to get answers:
1. Search within this WeatherTRAK knowledgebase
2. Visit the WeatherTRAK 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.