blueman2

Here is the main board. No obviously blown caps, but the 3rd component from the left (back row) shows some corrosion. It is a 1mH inductor (not a cap, though it looks just like one). Also, the long silver component on the left, just to the left of the green ferrite ring where the red load wire exits the board, appears to have overheated. On the right front edge of the board, you can see the triac that was riveted to the side of the aluminum case.

5 have failed in 3 year period. About 2 per year. Each time, it has been either after a brown/blackout or after I have restored power to a circuit after working on it. So I am guessing there is some sort of power spike causing these failures. BTW, I have disassembled one KPL already. It is a rather complicated process to take one apart, including the need to drill out a rivet holding the triac power controller to the case (it is riveted there to allow heat transfer). The main board has 5 caps, one main power resistor and what appears to be a small reed type switch which is probably the source of the clicking sound we hear when these fail. I will let you know as I learn more.

Edit: read to post #13 for details on the successful repair method Out of 7 KPL's I purchased in 2011, 5 have failed with the famous clicking, buzzing, turning load on and off symptom. With the price of these being $75 or more, I would love to be able to somehow repair these devices rather than throw them away. I am considering taking a few apart and trying to replace capacitors, as that is the most common item to fail on electronics. I do know that if I try long enough doing repeated 'restore' commands, I can sometimes get a few to respond and work temporarily - until power is removed and restored, at which point they go into the clicking and buzzing and cycling state. So that leads me to believe that the eprom and digital section is still intact, leading be back to the capacitor idea. So, has anyone else tried this? Any pointers? Otherwise, I will just start replacing caps and see what happens.

BTW, I have many of my KPLs doing exactly this. One in my bedroom warns me if any lights inside or outside the house are left on. I can then just press one of the buttons (one for inside, one for outside lights) and turn all lights off as needed. Saves electricity and saves walking around the house to see what lights someone left on.

To clarify the above, create a scene with ONLY the KPL Key in it. Nothing else. Put that scene (with just the KPL Key) into the Then and IF statements above. Separately, you can have a scene with the KPL Key as a controller along with controlled devices as responders. And, as said above, make the KPL Key 'Non-Toggle Off' under options.

Thumbs up. Actually, we are on the winning team. Insteon today is the best when you consider also the support by ISY/UD. So while it is fun to debate the future, I am confident we have installed the right system for today. No debate there (from me anyway).

I typically agree with you, but I have to disagree on this one. This is not a problem. It is a huge asset. Google knows the value of trying new ideas and "failing fast". Being willing to kill an idea that is not working out is critical to success in a fast moving industry. It frees up resources to look at other new ideas. As for long term thinking, I think Google is one of the world leaders in this area. And "Internet of Things" is one of their key long term concepts. That is not to say Home Automation will end up being a key element, but my guess is that it will be. But I am probably going off topic here!

By the way, does anyone know the story behind the ICON brand? Was that a wholly owned company by INSTEON, or was this an example of licensing the INSTEON technology to another company? At least with ICON, we had some options for lower cost switches and devices. In the end, it comes down to competition. Even a sole-source provider can win if they have a much better product than the competition (as was pointed out with Apple). But with Google making a BIG play in this space for the "Internet of Everything", I really do not see Insteon being a long term player. Hey, maybe Google/Nest needs to buy Insteon and UDI? In any case, I also agree that there is no current better alternative for me. I continue to use INSTEON and will for the foreseeable future. It works, and it has the best controller on the market supporting it (ISY). I am also a realist and believe INSTEON will fall by the wayside within a decade. And I am OK with that. My devices and ISY will still be working and serving me well.

I think Insteon is dead within 5-8 years. Simply because they are sole-source provider and do not license to anyone else. This makes them too expensive and slow to respond to trends Look how long it has been and still no good availability of Insteon door locks!!!! I predict Z-wave will be the winner, unless Google decides to create another standard - which is quite possible. That said, I think aside from the sole-source issue, Insteon has been a great company.

They were apparently installed using double sticky foam tape. Most of the tape was removed (some residue left), but all the stickers on the back must have come off with the tape. At least, that is my guess. Thanks again!

WOW! Yes, that worked great! I never knew you could read the link table of a device that was not programmed by ISY. That is totally cool. Thanks!

I purchased a couple 2421 wireless triggerlincs from eBay used. Problem is that the address stickers are missing on both units. Since ISY does not support auto discovery for these devices, I am unable to link them. I can manually link them to a switch (so I know they work), but how do I link them with ISY without an address? Is there some way to sniff communications between the 2421 and a linked switch to see what the address is?

I went a different route for button labels and I am VERY happy with them. I just take off the existing buttons, sand off the existing labels with 1500 grit sand paper until they are blank white. The printing on the buttons is very shallow so it takes just seconds to remove the old label. I then print whatever label I want onto Avery clear address labels. I also print a box just a smidgen larger than the key to help me place the label on squarely and evenly. I place the labels on the keys, and then cover with another blank clear label in order to provide protection for the ink. I then use a pair of scissors to trim the excess label so that it is flush with the side of the key. The result is much more pleasing than the clear buttons. The clear buttons with inserts behind them just look tacky. Very low WAF. The custom labeled standard keys transmit the backlight much better and look for finished and professional. And this is MUCH cheaper and more flexible than buying the custom keys. The nice thing is that I can also use icons and graphics. For example, I use a fan icon I found on the internet for my fans. I also use Left Arrow for left side house lights, etc. You can be very creative. I have used this for 2 years now and never had any issues with the labels coming off or deteriorating.

I had an older 8 way keypadlinc start to go bad. I decided to take the plastic keypad off and save it, and when I did I noticed there is a 6 pin female input that looks like a JTAG port of some kind (single connector, 2 rows of 3). Has anyone ever heard of what that port is for? Just curious.

I have to admit to some rather sloppy procedure while installing some switches lately. I re-used some switched I had located elsewhere in my house, but failed to "remove" them correctly before I did. I have been getting some unexplained on/off behavior from one of the switches and I think it must be from left over programming from their prior use. So here is the question: Does "Restore Device" remove all links and in effect do a factory reset before restoring the links, or does it just restore the links? I ask because some of the devices are located in very hard to get to areas, and I would like to avoid doing a manual factory reset on these switches. If it does not do a factory reset, is there another way to do a factory reset remotely via ISY?? Thanks!

Yes, I have this exact same issue, but not just with LED. Also with CFL. Both are dimmable versions, BTW. I found the issue was related to an old/faulty KPL. I replaced it with a newer version, and it works fine. I had to do that with 2 KPLs. Both of the 'bad' KPLs were VERY old, bought probably 2 years ago. (V35). I trashed them.

I just checked and the online "brochure" says lamplincs still have local sense functionality. http://www.smarthome.com/2457D2/LampLin ... Pin/p.aspx I hope so and might get one in case they stop supporting it because I need (...well, my wife needs, therefore I need) to be able to turn the light on manually. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk I know as of about 6 months ago, they had not updated the brochures. Maybe they still have not. But none of mine have the sense option working. If anyone else has one, please test it as see if sense works. Again, this is just for the new 2457D2. edit: found the thread. Yes, load sense has been removed from these devices. http://forum.universal-devices.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=8978

Great idea. I cancelled and will try again if there is a sale. I can wait a few days to see. BTW, do you have a 2473S Outletlinc Switch? I am curious if they do the same. I would assume they do, since they also have load sense and are controllers. Thanks again!

Thanks, PurdueGuy! I just ordered 2 of them and will let you know how they work for me. Thanks so much! I would never have realized the added feature of these outletlincs. I am just surprised they have not put this same functionality in the lamplinc modules. Blueman2 (a Georgia Tech Guy)

Wow, that is what I have been looking for. Installing is not issue, since there are only 2 lamp plugs that I need to be able to turn the lamp on manually. But just to make sure I understand, when you turn the lamp on using the manual lamp switch, the OutletLinc sends a signal to your ISY immediately saying "i am on"? No query necessary? Thanks!!

Yeah, I actually talked to Insteon about this. When the first released the newer lamplinc with DB and the switch on the side, it did have ability for load sense. In fact, they still do. But they had to turn it off internally due to some issue they would not disclose to me. So they are sense capable, but that has been turned off in the firmware and cannot be changed as far as I know.

Old. 2856D2 Icon. But the newer ones had sense removed, which kills them for use in powering lamps. My wife demands to be able to turn on a lamp the old fashion way. I just wish there was a lamplinc that had sense turn on/off along with controller capability (based on the sense on/off). That would be killer.

Cool! That is what I was hoping to hear. Thanks for the help!

I have a lamplinc that is a responder only (not a controller) so does not send signals when it is on or off. But it does turn itself on or off when it senses a light being turned on or off. I want to keep an LED synched to the status of the lamp. I wrote a program that queries the LampLinc every 5 minutes to update the LED status. Is doing a query every 5 minutes going to damage my Lamplinc over time? If it kills it in 5 years, no worries. I will just buy a new one every 5 years. If it kills it in 5 weeks, then I worry. Anyone know?

Thanks. Since it is possible to do the settings manually on the remote, I personally do not consider this a critical issue but appreciate your willingness to put in a fix if possible. I appreciate your efforts.