Venstar T1900 + 2441V rev2.2 not reporting Status when its status changes

[jeffpdavis1]

I have had the older Venstar T1900 and the Insteon 2441V rev 2.2 for over 4 years now with little trouble.  I have tried to use the status info, like calling for heat, from the T1900 to drive other events, like turn the ceiling fan on/off, and it seemed to work fine a couple of years ago.  For some reason or another I disabled the simple program I had created a few years ago to do just that but now I want to enable it again.  I've also noticed that in the past year or so MobiLinc HD used to display "Heating" after manually increasing the SetPoint from the app without having to refresh the particular TStat display. Now it will only display heating if I refresh it.

The program mentioned above simply says if Status tstat is calling for heat, set ceiling fans on else set ceiling fans off.  If I query the Thermostat main node from the Admin Console, the program indeed fires and operates correctly turning the fan on or off. My question is Has something changed in the way the ISY994 v.4.4.2 responds to the 2441V Insteon Thermostat adapter's status or is the adapter no longer reporting the status without being queried for it.  If the latter, then is there something I can do to troubleshoot that or reset it somehow to start sending its status again without being prompted.

I'd sure rather not have to get another Thermostat, as this is only one of three in the house.

Thanks for the help.

Jeff

[Techman]

I have had the older Venstar T1900 and the Insteon 2441V rev 2.2 for over 4 years now with little trouble.  I have tried to use the status info, like calling for heat, from the T1900 to drive other events, like turn the ceiling fan on/off, and it seemed to work fine a couple of years ago.  For some reason or another I disabled the simple program I had created a few years ago to do just that but now I want to enable it again.  I've also noticed that in the past year or so MobiLinc HD used to display "Heating" after manually increasing the SetPoint from the app without having to refresh the particular TStat display. Now it will only display heating if I refresh it.

The program mentioned above simply says if Status tstat is calling for heat, set ceiling fans on else set ceiling fans off.  If I query the Thermostat main node from the Admin Console, the program indeed fires and operates correctly turning the fan on or off. My question is Has something changed in the way the ISY994 v.4.4.2 responds to the 2441V Insteon Thermostat adapter's status or is the adapter no longer reporting the status without being queried for it.  If the latter, then is there something I can do to troubleshoot that or reset it somehow to start sending its status again without being prompted.

I'd sure rather not have to get another Thermostat, as this is only one of three in the house.

Thanks for the help.

Jeff

Run a Diagnostics / Compare for the devices involved to see if you may have lost some links. If so, then do a restore device.  

 

If you run the "then" portion of your program does it do what it's supposed to do?

[jeffpdavis1]

Yes, often I neglect that Diagnostics step but this time I hadn't.  They all were identical. And yes, the "then" portion performs correctly.  The one thing that I didn't mention was that in the last 4 years, I've replaced the PLM 2013S annually or sooner because of failures.  Probably a familiar story for many.  I'm now 13 months since the last one and it seems ok.

[Techman]

Yes, often I neglect that Diagnostics step but this time I hadn't.  They all were identical. And yes, the "then" portion performs correctly.  The one thing that I didn't mention was that in the last 4 years, I've replaced the PLM 2013S annually or sooner because of failures.  Probably a familiar story for many.  I'm now 13 months since the last one and it seems ok.

The newer PLM's seem to be holding up better than the previous versions but time will tell.

 

Even though the link records appear to be OK I would try a restore device for the fan switch and the 2441V.

[jeffpdavis1]

The newer PLM's seem to be holding up better than the previous versions but time will tell.

 

Even though the link records appear to be OK I would try a restore device for the fan switch and the 2441V.

I think you were right on this last suggestion. I might have stumbled on to trying it as a last resort but it sure is counterintuitive.  What makes these thermostat adapters different from the other Intsteon devices that they would report something that coincidentally was what was in the ISY links table?  It sure calls into question all the other times I've used the Compare to move on to some other cause.  Earlier today I had used the program in the wiki to query the thermostats every 15 minutes just so that it would get the status and turn the fans on and off.  I don't seem to need that any more.  I'll know more after it's gone through several more cycles.  

[Techman]

I think you were right on this last suggestion. I might have stumbled on to trying it as a last resort but it sure is counterintuitive.  What makes these thermostat adapters different from the other Intsteon devices that they would report something that coincidentally was what was in the ISY links table?  It sure calls into question all the other times I've used the Compare to move on to some other cause.  Earlier today I had used the program in the wiki to query the thermostats every 15 minutes just so that it would get the status and turn the fans on and off.  I don't seem to need that any more.  I'll know more after it's gone through several more cycles.  

You might have a PLM issue. What is the firmware and the date code on the PLM?. Even though it's only 13 months old it could be in the early stages of failure due to bad capacitors, The current PLMs have updated components. 

 

Your PLM is still under warranty if the date code is less than 2 years old., if it is bad you could do a cross ship exchange with Smarthome.

 

Is your program now working correctly?

Edited February 2, 2016 by Techman

[jeffpdavis1]

You might have a PLM issue. What is the firmware and the date code on the PLM?. Even though it's only 13 months old it could be in the early stages of failure due to bad capacitors, The current PLMs have updated components. 

 

Your PLM is still under warranty if the date code is less than 2 years old., if it is bad you could do a cross ship exchange with Smarthome.

 

Is your program now working correctly?

In reverse order, I think it's working correctly now. The high ceiling fans come on with heat and turn off with no heat.  Perfect.

 

Ever since the first PLM went bad and I had no ready replacement, I've soured a bit on having a system that is wrought with these critical points of failure, the PLMs, especially since they have been so problematic. So I did my best to address it by keeping a spare one on hand.  I'm not sure if that's the best response, but it was based on thinking the new one wouldn't have the same bad components.  Maybe there are other strategies for that.  That first time when the PLM failed, I bought two more so I'd be prepared. Ironically (it's actually a little funny now), both of the two that I bought were the ones with the bad capacitors.  So my second one lasted a while, then the next one was installed and got the first (of the two) RMA'd.  Now I'm on my fourth one, always with a replacement on hand RMA'd from the previous failure.  This 4th one is supposedly beyond the bad batches and has the improved capacitors. I'm not sure if one of the numbers is the date code you refer to but it may be. Also, I was in error about the age of this one.  It's actually only been in service since August 4, 2015, but received by me in February, 2015.  Here is the information about it:

Rev 2.0, "1438" date code?, Purchased 2/5/15, Rec'd 2/9/15, In service 8/4/15.  

My current spare: V2.1, "1514", Rec'd 8/10/15.

I've taken to keeping the invoices and shipping documents, but Smarthome has always been really good about the exchanges.

Let me know if you can decode the date codes.  They look suspiciously like they may have a year in them.

Thanks for your help.

[Techman]

Rev 2.0, "1438" date code?, Purchased 2/5/15, Rec'd 2/9/15, In service 8/4/15.  

             This was built in September 2014  (the 38th week of 2014). Hardware version 2.0

 

My current spare: V2.1, "1514", Rec'd 8/10/15.

             This was built in March/April 2015, hardware version 2.1

 

I've taken to keeping the invoices and shipping documents, but Smarthome has always been really good about the exchanges.

Let me know if you can decode the date codes.  They look suspiciously like they may have a year in them.

Thanks for your help.

 

Take a look in the admin console under diagnostics / PLM info/status for your PLM firmware version. Mine, which is less than a year old, is v9E.

Not sure what the current shipping versions are.

 

 

 

 

[jeffpdavis1]

 

Rev 2.0, "1438" date code?, Purchased 2/5/15, Rec'd 2/9/15, In service 8/4/15.  

             This was built in September 2014  (the 38th week of 2014). Hardware version 2.0

 

My current spare: V2.1, "1514", Rec'd 8/10/15.

             This was built in March/April 2015, hardware version 2.1

 

I've taken to keeping the invoices and shipping documents, but Smarthome has always been really good about the exchanges.

Let me know if you can decode the date codes.  They look suspiciously like they may have a year in them.

Thanks for your help.

 

Take a look in the admin console under diagnostics / PLM info/status for your PLM firmware version. Mine, which is less than a year old, is v9E.

Not sure what the current shipping versions are.

 

 

 

 

 

I'm feeling better all the time.  Mine is v9E as well.