CIT - Certified Irrigation Technician Certified Irrigation Technician Controllers and Programming 1

Question 1

A technician is programming a controller with three programs (A, B, C). Which scenario best describes the correct use of multiple programs?

Accepted Answer

Assign turf zones to Program A with frequent short cycles and shrub zones to Program B with less frequent deep cycles

Answer

Run all zones on the same schedule regardless of plant type

Answer

Use Program C exclusively for drip zones since drip systems require the most water

Answer

Set all programs to the same start time to ensure uniform watering across the property

Question 2

When using a cycle-and-soak programming technique on a controller, the primary goal is to:

Accepted Answer

Allow water to infiltrate before applying more, preventing runoff on sloped or clay soils

Answer

Reduce the total volume of water applied to each zone

Answer

Ensure each zone receives water at exactly the same rate

Answer

Eliminate the need for a rain sensor by breaking cycles into smaller increments

Question 3

A homeowner reports that their controller skipped several scheduled watering days after a large storm. The most likely cause is:

Accepted Answer

An active rain sensor or weather-based skip that suspended irrigation after detecting sufficient rainfall

Answer

A blown fuse in the controller's transformer circuit

Answer

The controller's seasonal adjust feature was automatically reduced to 0%

Answer

The master valve solenoid failed and disconnected the programming memory

Question 4

What does the 'seasonal adjustment' (or 'water budget') feature on an irrigation controller allow a technician to do?

Accepted Answer

Globally increase or decrease all zone run times by a percentage to account for seasonal climate changes

Answer

Add or remove irrigation zones without rewiring the controller

Answer

Automatically detect the soil type and adjust flow rates accordingly

Answer

Override individual zone schedules during peak demand hours

Question 5

A 2-wire decoder-based irrigation controller differs from a conventional multi-wire controller primarily because:

Accepted Answer

Each solenoid valve is assigned a unique address and all valves share a single two-wire communication path

Answer

It uses AC power at each decoder instead of low-voltage DC signals

Answer

It cannot support more than 12 zones due to signal degradation

Answer

Decoder systems require a separate controller module for each irrigation zone

Question 6

A technician notices the controller's display shows 'SENSOR OPEN' or a similar fault. The appropriate first diagnostic step is to:

Accepted Answer

Check the rain or flow sensor wiring for breaks, corrosion, or a sensor bypass jumper that may be missing

Answer

Replace the controller's main circuit board immediately

Answer

Reprogram all zones from scratch to clear the fault code

Answer

Increase the transformer voltage to overcome the sensor resistance