Resetting two CD4017 counters simultaneously, only one resets
You're using a "glitch" to reset your counters. In other words, when the reset pulse starts, it immediately removes the conditions for its own creation, so it's only as wide as the propagation delay through one of the counters.

Clearly, one of those counters is faster than the other, so it resets successfully, while the other does not. This is why this is considered poor design practice, and why synchronous counting was invented &mdash; it only works under certain conditions.

The fix is to use the glitch to trigger a monostable timer (e.g., half of a 4098) that will guarantee the minimum reset pulse width for both counters. The reset won't occur until the timer is successfully triggered, by which time, it doesn't matter if the glitch goes away.



I see that you have removed R18's connection to ground, but I don't see any other provision to pull that node high. If that node is just floating, then you're just getting capacitive coupling and/or leakage current through the diodes for your reset pulse, compounding the problem.