SwitchLinc V2 dimmer has started turning itself on by itself

[ahwman]

Recently I've noticed that one of my Insteon SwitchLinc dimmers is turning on by itself. This device is linked to a TiggerLinc on my basement door and has been working perfectly for years. When I check my ISY-99i, the status shows the device is off even though it's on during these episodes and there is no log entry. I decided to change the battery in the TriggerLinc hoping it was sending false or erroneous signals however the issue still occurs.

 

Any ideas why this might be happening?

[paulbates]

I take it that there is at least one scene involved? I have devices do this every once in a long while, it could be that the link tables go bad

• From the admin console, right click on the switch and select restore device, see what that does.
   
• If that doesn't change, put the triggerlinc in linking mode and restore it as a device (My guess is that the problem is here, but the first step is easier to do probably and should be eliminated)

[Xathros]

Another possibility is that the switch has an X10 address registered. Line noise has been known to simulate X10 commands and trigger devices with X10 addresses.  Factory reset the switch then restore if from the ISY should eliminate that possibility.

 

-Xathros

[ahwman]

I went ahead and took your advice and deleted/rebuilt the entire scene from scratch by factory resetting the switches/TriggerLinc. We'll see if that solves the problem.

 

On another note, every once in a while when I manually tun on/off a few SwitchLinc dimmers in my kitchen, the status still shows as On in my ISY even though their off (kind of the inverse of the first issue). These are dual band switches so I wouldn't think it would be a power line communication issue. By the way, I have around 40 Insteon devices spread throughout my house most of which are dual band devices so I would think the mesh network is robust...

 

Thanks for the help!

[paulbates]

Having the "Off" not come though is a sign that an insteon switch has turned on something noisy, and the "off" command does not get through the noise when the switch is locally turned off. It may be hard to turn it off from the ISY or other switches. I have this problem with low voltage lighting transformers.

 

Noisy lighting culprits include low voltage lighting, fluorescent, CFL and LED lighting. They all don't necessarily make noise, but its a place to start looking. Fans/motors are suspect as well

 

Paul

[Teken]

I also wanted to add to the excellent information provided by others. You should be aware that certain Insteon devices depending upon production date and firmware by default will come back to full on when there is a electrical event.

 

Whether that be a low voltage condtion, surge, or actually a complete loss of power.

 

To test if your device has this *feature* simply turn the device on. Kill the breaker wait five seconds and then turn it back on.

 

What are the results? Does it come back on or off?

 

Now, turn the switch on then off. Kill the breaker and wait five seconds and then turn it back on.

 

What are the results? Does it come back on or off?

 

The last test is the exact same but instead of waiting (5) seconds turn the breaker on/off/on very quickly mimicking a blip in power.

 

What are the results? Does it come back on or off?

 

Obviously, you can not reproduce a low (sag / lull) voltage condtion at will so that is something you will need to monitor.

 

NOTE: Insteon hardware over the years have offered one of three states. Upon applied power remain in a off state, Upon applied power come back to a on state, lastly upon applied power resume last known state.