ahwman Posted October 3, 2015 Posted October 3, 2015 Today I noticed that my bathroom light which is linked to an Insteon motion sensor triggered as normal, however the light failed to go off after the timeout period. I then checked my ISY and saw that the motion detector was still reporting "On" 20 minutes after I had left the room. My first thought was a weak battery, however it's not reporting a low battery status. Any ideas?
paulbates Posted October 3, 2015 Posted October 3, 2015 The motion sensor sends 2 "On" messages for each motion it detects. Assuming you are using the timer in the motion sensor, it sends 2 "Off" messages after no motion is sensed for the amount of time set. What that means is that your Insteon network never saw the the 2 "Off" messages and you are a prime candidate for a low battery, despite the battery message. How long has it been since you changed it?
LeeG Posted October 3, 2015 Posted October 3, 2015 Low Batt is a single message that could have been issued weeks ago. If the ISY has been restarted in that time no Low Batt indicator would be present. Of course this may not be a Low Batt condition. Put the Motion Sensor into linking mode, click on the Sensor node, click the Options button on lower right side, click Query on the Options popup to refresh with the current Motion Sensor options. Is the "On commands only" option checked? The wording on the options varies based on ISY image in use. This text comes from 4.3.20.
ahwman Posted October 4, 2015 Author Posted October 4, 2015 It appears it probably was a low battery, so I threw a new one in and hopefully that takes care of it. I just thought it was odd that it was triggering on commands but failing to trigger off commands intermittently...
stusviews Posted October 4, 2015 Posted October 4, 2015 A low MS battery can cause unexpected results including sending an On signal in the absence of motion. In that case, the timer is not set so an Off signal is not sent.
ahwman Posted October 4, 2015 Author Posted October 4, 2015 A low MS battery can cause unexpected results including sending an On signal in the absence of motion. In that case, the timer is not set so an Off signal is not sent. Good to know. Thank you!
paulbates Posted October 4, 2015 Posted October 4, 2015 Something to think about is setting the "On commands only" option of the MS. That causes the MS to never send the "off" commands, and that saves some battery too. Then have an ISY program look for the MS to be "switched on", wait the amount of time you like, and then the program turns off the light. The program will restart the timer every time motion is senses, the count down after the last sensed motion will be the one that is used to turn the lights off. Another program would be one that catches the "Low battery" indicator being switched on. Have the ISY send you a notification right when that happens, so it doesn't get lost in a reboot, etc.
ahwman Posted October 4, 2015 Author Posted October 4, 2015 Wow, those are great ideas! I'm wondering how much benefit I would get from using lithium batteries instead? I wonder if the price/longevity difference makes sense...
larryllix Posted October 4, 2015 Posted October 4, 2015 Wow, those are great ideas! I'm wondering how much benefit I would get from using lithium batteries instead? I wonder if the price/longevity difference makes sense... I get about 6 months to coming up about a year and a half from the factory supplied batteries. High traffic areas seem to last about 6 months from an under $2 alkaline. If I had ladder accessible units I may consider Lithium but I am not sure they will last any longer. The ten year rating is sitting on the shelf. Perhaps somebody knows an amperehour comparison between alkaline and lithium types or even has experience with Lithium or both.. Energy being drawn in a MS is a different curve than straight standby.
Gouldc Posted December 5, 2015 Posted December 5, 2015 Something to think about is setting the "On commands only" option of the MS. That causes the MS to never send the "off" commands, and that saves some battery too. Then have an ISY program look for the MS to be "switched on", wait the amount of time you like, and then the program turns off the light. The program will restart the timer every time motion is senses, the count down after the last sensed motion will be the one that is used to turn the lights off. Another program would be one that catches the "Low battery" indicator being switched on. Have the ISY send you a notification right when that happens, so it doesn't get lost in a reboot, etc. The only downside I have found using a program is the delay. I can be half way through the room before the light turns on.
larryllix Posted December 5, 2015 Posted December 5, 2015 The only downside I have found using a program is the delay. I can be half way through the room before the light turns on. I only use the ISY programs to delay the Off time of the light sequence. The On is via direct connected scene links between the MS and the Lamp control. I cannot detect a time delay to On when I cross any MS. Yes the programs make it long some times as Insteon traffic is heavy from an MS at that time and signals can be slow getting out to the LampLinc or SwitchLinc etc. Brightness levels are controlled via another ISY program that tweaks the levels in the scene day and night.
larryllix Posted December 5, 2015 Posted December 5, 2015 The only downside I have found using a program is the delay. I can be half way through the room before the light turns on. There is a technique I mentioned in my post above, "The Xathros Technique" described in this thread. http://forum.universal-devices.com/topic/15033-motion-senor-disable/ Be sure to follow the link provided to the original thread where he lays the basic program out.
paulbates Posted December 5, 2015 Posted December 5, 2015 The only downside I have found using a program is the delay. I can be half way through the room before the light turns on. You can still have the MS linked to the devices and have the scene turn them on. This will give you the instant on from the MS. A program observes the the MS turn on, then waits x minutes from the last on to turn it off. For me, its the best of both.
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