We recently bouht a house with this type of sprinkler system. The system was shut down before the winter and we are ready to get it running again. How do you get this system up and running after a winter shut down. Thanks for whatever help you can give.:)

We have the lawn genie L80306P. Both the battery and 120 volt electrical plug have been disabled. Yesterday, in 20 degree temp's, the system decided to turn on, by it's self. I tried plugging the electrical plug in and shutting the system down via the touch pad, with no results. I ended up turning off the water supply to the house in order to disable the lawn genie.
Any suggestions as to what my next move should be? Thanks in advance for any assistance with this matter.

Since you obviously live in a cold winter climate, the water supply should have been shut off for the season and the irrigation lines drained. What probably happened was that there is water inside your sprinkler valves, the water froze and expanded which allowed the diaphragm to open and allow liquid to pass through the system. It's also possible that a bit of water has frozen inside the solenoid and pushed the plunger up allowing water to pass through the valve.

I would wait for a semi-warm/warm day and turn the water back on. You'll need to check all your valves in every valve box and find which valve is allowing water through. Once you identify which valve is operating, turn the water supply off. You can easily check the solenoid. It should unscrew from the valve body easily. Remove it carefully -- older solenoids do not have what is called a 'captured plunger' and the plunger can drop out and get lost. Whether it has a captured plunger or not, you can check to make sure there is nothing fouling the solenoid plunger tube by either pushing it in and out with your finger (there's a spring inside) or, if a captured plunger, use a match stick or similar, (not something with a sharp point) to make sure the plunger is free. If that has been the problem, you should be OK from there on.

If that doesn't solve the problem, it's entirely possible that this particular valve has damage to the diaphragm or body and it will malfunction when you're ready to turn the system on, in which case the diaphragm or valve will need to be replaced. Replacing a diaphragm is easy -- sometimes finding a supplier is more difficult. And, because parts are priced differently that whole goods, sometimes it's less expensive to buy the whole valve and use it for parts. Depends on your area and local suppliers. If I were you, I'd try to find a local mom and pop irrigation supplier which will usually be happy to help a homeowner with advice and materials. They can also direct you to several of their customers who are dependable and knowledgeable to assist you in winterizing your system next year. Good luck!

DIY - what is your water supply (potable or well/pump)? What happens when you try to run the system?