The IP address 169.254.x.x can be due to a number of reasons: the DHCP server didn’t respond; the Ethernet cable isn’t plugged in; VLAN configuration issues if using VLAN.
None of these apply here. At the time of failure: the cable was plugged in for weeks and has not been touched, nothing on the LAN changed, no other clients were affected.
This isn’t reproducible on demand, but it does recur every few weeks.
And, without touching anything else (including the ethernet cable), resetting the OpenSprinkler unit through the buttons in front causes it to magically start working again.