Can Xenon lights cause communication issues?

[oronomus]

I recently added several xenon undercabinet lights to replace flourescents. The look is great - the xenon's really bring out the tile backsplash and granite colors. I control the xenons with 2 ToggleLincs.

 

About the same time I also replaced my PLM and ISY99i because the ISY99i stopped working after a power outage. Before all this, I had virtually no communications issues. I now have many serious communications issues, including issues with the TLs that control the xenons. Should I suspect the xenons or the new PLM? What is best way to troubleshoot to see where my issues lie? Thanks!

[Brian H]

Do you have communications issues with then off to other parts of your setup?

 

Do the new lamps have electronic ballasts or dimers? If so they could be a problem.

 

ToggleLinc relay or dimmer?

[oronomus]

Do you have communications issues with then off to other parts of your setup?

 

I'll turn the xenons off and test for other issues, then report back.

 

Do the new lamps have electronic ballasts or dimers? If so they could be a problem.

 

The Xenon lamp is made by AmerTac. I think it has a transformer, but no built in dimmer.

 

ToggleLinc relay or dimmer?

 

Dimmer

[rowland]

It's possible that your problems are due to line noise that causes the logic in the devices to not work properly. This is different than line noise that blocks communications between properly working devices. The symptoms manifested by these two different types of problems are quite similar. It's important to determine which type of problem you have since the methods to fix one type of problem are ineffective at fixing the other.

 

A simple test to determine if you have the former problem is to direct the PLM to report it's links table. In the admin console Tools->Diagnostics->Show PLM Links Table. By selecting Start the contents of the PLM's links table will be presented. It's the number of links reported that is important. Do this 4 or 5 times and see if the number of links reported varies. If it does then you probably have line noise that causes the devices to not work properly (i.e. not communication issues). Note, the Count button on the dialog box won't help - it just reports the number of links. It's the act of getting the PLM to retrieve and list the link table that is important.

 

If you have this type of problem it's relatively easy to locate the source. My strategy was to first get a minimal working configuration, i.e. where the number of links reported is consistent. Then I planned to add parts of the network in small increments and testing (via listing the links table) after each increment. In the first step I had only one breaker on that ran the PLM (and the ISY connected to it), the router, and the PC. Testing this showed that I had the problem even in this minimal configuration. Replacing the PC with a laptop fixed the problem; i.e. listing the links table worked consistently. I was lucky that I found the problem in the first step. But, the point is that you can try different things and determine quickly and reliably if you've made a difference.

 

I have a theory about why this PC caused the problem. In a sense, it's not really relevant, since the fix was to either replace the PC, or it's power supply. Two Filterlincs wired in series with the PC didn't fix the problem. If you're interested you might want to check out http://forum.universal-devices.com/viewtopic.php?t=1188

[oronomus]

Brian H-

 

After relocating the PLM and the Access Points a few times, I was able to get reasonably steady communications with the Xeonon's TURNED OFF. Whe I turned them back on, the problems re-appeared. I guess my next step is to install Leviton filters between the Xenons and the ToggleLinc. Does that sound like the best advice?

 

Rowland-

 

I am getting a steady report of links from the PLM links table, so this reaffirms that my problems probably emanate from the Xenon transformers and not from a bad PLM. Thanks for this advice! BTW, I was getting the same links report with the Xenons both on or off.

 

Michel-

 

Might be a good idea to move this to the Insteon Communications forum. Sorry I started this in the wrong place.

[rowland]

 

Rowland-

 

I am getting a steady report of links from the PLM links table, so this reaffirms that my problems probably emanate from the Xenon transformers and not from a bad PLM. Thanks for this advice! BTW, I was getting the same links report with the Xenons both on or off.

 

Thanks for the report. I'm interested to know if the filter helps. BTW, inconsistent reports about the PLM links table doesn't indicate a bad PLM. It indicates line noise that causes devices to malfunction but doesn't cause communications problems.