Hunter Sprinklers 526200 Pro-C and PCC Controller Front Panel

My Hunter panel had the dreaded LED problem, where you couldn't read it. This made it nearly impossible to set the time or change zone settings. I delayed replacing it, which was foolish. Once I replaced it, this panel was super easy to setup and install. All the things that were hard to program (like zone water times) are much, much easier to setup when the LEDs work correctly. Also, the zone that I thought was broken was actually working, it's just the old display was broken and wasn't turning it on correctly. With this new unit, that zone now works, saving my lawn and saving me from having to call a professional. This panel was well worth the cost, as it saved me a repairman, and they would have charged almost double to replace this versus getting it on Amazon.

Last week when I tried to turn on my irrigation system to start the summer watering schedule, the controller was acting wacky. The numbers didn't make any sense when I try to adjust the number of interval days. I only could pick 4-7 before it cycled over. When I tried to adjust the date, it said the current year was 2047 and again I couldn't adjust beyond 2044 to 2047. I couldn't manually turn on the system. I tried the hard reset, replaced the 9v, etc. Nothing worked. Now I was faced with getting this repaired before the summer heat burns up my yard. I was worried that this would cost alot of money to repair. After 17 years, I guess this was bound to fail. After doing a bit of research, I realized that I was fortunate to have a pretty nice, easy to repair/maintain setup. Hunter control boxes are pretty straight forward. I realized that it's likely that the control panel just needed to be replaced and it can be done without needing to do alot of work with wires and such. It was designed as a separate item from the rest of the irrigation system which is great! This item, as it is described, is just the front control panel. You need it to communicate and control the rest of the system which sits behind this panel. The connection is done via one single ribbon cable. Given my control panel is 17 years old, I had the ORIGINAL PC-300 model (no part number) version. This item is no longer made by Hunter. And since then there has been an updated font panel PC-300 (526200; 2006 to Current). There is also a FX version. BE AWARE there is also a newer PC-400 front panel. DO NOT get this as this will not be a compatible replacement for older PC-300. I think PC-400 has a different ribbon cable. THIS newer panel (part #526200) is a 100% compatible replacement for the original PC-300. Aside from the color scheme, the only other difference is the "adjust for season" arrow buttons on the left side of the display has been replaced with a mode dial option. This panel will work with the ribbon cable. Replacement is SUPER easy. FIRST thing you MUST DO, is to TURN OFF THE POWER to the unit either via your circuit breaker or plug if it's locally plugged in. The control panel comes with warning labels saying DO NOT unplug ribbon cable when power is on. All of the online instructional videos I watched also stated to remove power to the system before replacing. I don't know what happens if you don't. Also keep in mind that the unit has a backup 9V, so when you disconnect AC power, the display will either go out OR it will flash "No AC". To completely power off the panel, disconnect the 9V batter backup. After this, simply unplug the one ribbon cable, pull down on the hinge release, replace with the new panel, and re-attach the ribbon cable. THAT'S IT!!! If your 9V is old, you can replace with a fresh one (which I did). Then turn on AC power to the unit and voila you're back in business. For me, I was able to immediately re-program everything and my irrigation is back online! It was 10 mins worth of work at most. LOVE IT!!!!!

The digits on my old face plate were garbled. I was told by my irrigation company that the front panel was no longer available and I would have to replace the whole control unit. True the EXACT panel is no longer made BUT the redesigned unit works fine. My old face plate had additional arrows on the left (for seasonal adjustment), the newer face plates do not have these buttons on the left side. Instead the seasonal adjustment is on the dial. This is not an easy unit to program but there are many youtube videos that will help you program and troubleshoot any problems you may encounter. My box would not recognize all stations after the new face plate was installed. But by doing a search there was a couple videos out there that instructed me in simple terms. By doing my own research I found this face cover and saved a couple hundred dollars by not listening to my irrigation company who wanted to install a new control box. Works perfect now!!

I purchased a new home and noticed after a couple weeks my green grass dried up and the front bushes were watered to the amount of 25,000 gallons in one month, killing 5 of them due to root rot and bugs. Looked at my existing irrigation controller and found the LCD was on but illegible and changing watering amounts, zones, and times. Ordered this new one which was easy to replace and set up...monthly water usage dropped from 32k gal per month to 6k gal per month, grass is green again, and new bushes will be just fine. Overall the panel I purchased and replaced my broken one with is working great and all is on schedule again.

Talk about a simple "plug & play" replacement! My sprinkler system went "OOC" (Out Of Commission) and so in a hopeful manner, I replaced this portion of the system after checking the OEM's website (which is well organized and informative). My old controller did not have a 9V battery installed, which says it allows programming without the 110V connection (this did not work for me and programming outside can be buggy with gnats!). However, the sprinkler system immediately started working (with the exception of "Station 4"). However, the darn thing is DREADFUL to program. I did have the presence of mind to "screen capture" a portion of the website explaining how to reset the controller to "factory settings." My goal is to program a couple of days per week for some prolonged (30 minute) watering in order to encourage deep roots. My yard has at least 8 sprinkler stations (and I think one of them, #4, is OOC so that means another pending purchase). It's simple to manually program a watering per station (instructions for that are inside the cover which was already installed). But when I place the entire system on "Run" every station waters TWICE A DAY and NOT twice a week. Somewhere I have a printed copy of the manual but failed to survive the gnats attack when trying to follow it. Looks like there may be a new manual (48 pages!) which I downloaded in hopes I can decode the instructions for operating this "professional sprinkler system controller" in my desired manner. The attached video (mmmm Safari has a button which does not work, and Explorer has no button to insert photo/vid...mmmm?) shows it doing some very odd sprinkling at 0500 in the dark. I've read that sprinkling at night is not recommended and indeed the front lawn where this gang of sprinklers is going is my worst grass area to maintain (live oak tree shade with load shedding dead leaves GALORE). These complaints are "heat in the kitchen" comments which a real sprinkler pro would probably laugh at but because I am such a cheap .... (and retired engineer), I am DETERMINED to "break the code" and make it WORK!. If all else fails, I will call the OEM for tech assist by phone (and golly do I regret having to do that if the new manual does not help).

I had an 8 year old Hunter Pro-C controller (which by the way is a great sprinkler controller) that was being used to control 4 drip sprinkler zones and a water feature (2 zones-12 hours a day). The problem was when it rained over .25 inches, the next day the entire system would be shut down because of the rain sensor. This meant that to operate the water feature, it would have to be turned on manually. I really didn't want to add a second controller because of the difficulty of wiring behind a stuccoed wall. When Hunter brought out the latest version of the Pro-C they added the capability of operating any zone independent of the rain sensor. The design of the Pro-C is such that you can change out the front panel only and not have to replace the entire controller, which meant I was able to upgrade to the new firmware with a simple 5 min. operation. A great controller with excellent technical support.

I purchased a foreclosed home in May 2011. It had a sprinkler system with a Hunter Pro-C but it wouldn't work. I could go and manually turn the sprinklers on at the valves so the pipes were good but I kept getting error messages for each valve. Looking online, it looked like the timer had gone bad so I picked up one of these. It was extremely easy to take off the existing timer and connecter this replacement. I programmed it up and turned it on and everything worked fine. I got some expansion modules later this summer and installed some sprinklers in my back yard. I've had this for about 4 months now and haven't had any problems. I'm very happy with the purchase and can't beat the price.

Exact replacement controller. Pulled out the old by disconnecting the ribbon cable and pushing the hinge release lever. I checked to make sure the 24Vac was working and that the sprinkler valve solenoids were not shorted or open before I ordered this (should be about mid twenty ohms). It worked perfectly. I think the old one failed because of a power glitch, so I also put a surge suppressor on the incoming ac. Good unit and good price.

My sprinkler service guy told me I had to change the whole unit, because the panel was blank. I saw youtube videos that suggest to change only the front panel. Came in 2 days and I saved $300. Easy to install, all you have to do is program your settings which is not that hard if you have done changes in the past. Works like a charm.

Excellent ,MAKE SURE that each solenoid cable plus the common line are insulated before installing. Start on station 1 always to protect the unit in case of a dead short./incorrectly connected live wire. Easy to install and program. Remember TO PRESS THE RESET BUTTON ON THE PRESSURE SWITCH after reinstalling the controller.

A power surge destroyed my unit, so I ordered the panel as a replacement. Arrived on time and was easy to install. It was better than purchasing a complete system.

Fit like a charm, works perfectly.

Replaced my module as the LCD read out was gibberish. Plug & Play. Real simple swap. Product delivered fast and was an easy fix.