Problem with sprinklers

[sparilis]

I have several sprinklers in the back yard and some of my sims are obsessed with them. That's fine. The problem is that they are often in the house when the "Play with Sprinkler" or "Play with Water Toys" action appears in the top left corner, then they stamp their feet and complain and the "something is blocking my path" icon appears over their heads.

This seems to happen most often in the downstairs bathroom, the kitchen, and in the foyer. The only way to get them to stop is to direct them to do something else. Then they seem to forget about it. But happens often enough that it's getting annoying. If I'm focusing on one SIM, 3 others will be in various rooms of the house grunting and moaning until I can get to them and redirect them.

I can't think of what could be in these rooms that would spark that behavior. I understand that them wanting to play in the sprinklers when there is a sprinkler in the vicinity, but when there isn't?  It doesn't make sense.

Any ideas what could be causing this glitch and what to do about it?

[Wai]

I've occassionally had sims throw this type of "fit" when directed to a task, or self selecting a task with "free-will".  For some reason, the computer cannot find a path to the required item.

You could try placing another door into your garden to make a more obvious direct route.  Also, make sure that no intervening doors are locked.  Keep the passages through the house clear and straight at least one tile wide, corners and protruding objects all have to be accounted for when the computer calculates the path.  You may find simply moving a door or object a short distance fixes the problem, or you may need to make some more drastic changes.

[Jess Horan]

Have you tried resetting your Sims or replacing the sprinklers?

[sparilis]

I just put the sprinklers in the family inventory. I'm not sure yet if that helped.  I don't want to replace them just yet because I upgraded all of them. I didn't realize that resetting the Sims would do anything. I guess I could try that. Thanks.

[cathyknits]

Was there possibly something blocking not the sim, but the sprinkler? If you have it in a garden, there need to be a couple clear squares directly in front of the sprinkler for your sims to play with it.