Insteon 8 button switch 2334-222, blinking problem

[brunolandmedia]

Hello All,

 

I've been reading and using these forums for awhile since I got my ISY and they have been very helpful. I am slowly getting my system up and running well and adding things to it. I'm not sure how to rate what I have but I'll list my problem and then my set up. Thanks to everyone on this forum for their advice and knowledge. I plan to help as well the more I know.

 

Problem: My 8 button switch which directly controls 4 small LED recessed lights (name: Living Room Eye Balls) has started blinking and surging.  

 

Background: I installed all the lights myself, ran power from a switch and am very well versed with the electric. I have installed and set up about 6 Insteon key pads, 16 Insteon dimmers, and on off switches. zwave door locks, plug in insteon, garage door kit (more about that in another question), fan linc and some other sensors. I have a ton of scenes set up and programs sending emails from door openings, time of day programs for outside lights, etc. Nothing too crazy yet, but not just the started pack for sure. 

 

The keypad in question was installed 6 months ago and worked flawlessly as a direct controller of the lights, and with scenes.  One day (more on that in a sec) the lights started blinking intermittently, and also go crazy when any scene is activated with those lights (Living Room Eye Balls) included. A direct press from the keypad or control on my computer will also send it blinking.  

 

These same lights are used in other places in the house and the fact that they worked for months makes me think it's not the lights or the bulbs or the wiring, which I've inspected many times, but maybe the 8 keypad it self is messed up.  The reason I think this, is the problem seemed to have started after a storm took out an old GFCI on the same circuit and threw the breaker. It took me a while to find the problem and when I did, I replaced the outdoor GFCI and got the whole circuit running again. 

 

Questions: 

 

What is the standard process for trouble shooting something like this? 

Should I delete the devices and try re adding? 

Should I take it off and put another switch on to see?

If the problem is with the 8 keypad, does anyone have experience getting keypads repaired or replaced by Insteon? I purchased for Amazon.

 

Thanks in advance. I have a new baby boy and haven't had a chance yet to do any playing, but if anyone has had similer problems I'd love to know how you solved them. I can hopefully give relevant info about my setup.

 

Cheers, Bruno

 

 

 

[stusviews]

Try a simple reset first (pull out the set button, wait 10 seconds and tap it back in). If that doesn't help, try a full factory reset. After the factory reset, you'll need to restore the device.

 

Have fun with the new baby

[Brian H]

If the power cycle reset or Restore Device don't fix the blinking and surging. The power spike that damaged the GFCI device may have also damaged the modules controlling the LED's.

[brunolandmedia]

Thanks friends,

 

I tired everything you suggested last night with no changes. When the light is on, any command sent at all causes the light to blink. I assume the random blinking is probably small info being sent randomly to check in on the devices. I contacted Insteon help and asked for a replacement and tonight I am going to instal a single dimmer on the light to see if that solves the problem. (didn't have time to break out the electrical tools last night as I was drinking beer and programing. A daylight sober approach today will be more appropriate.)

 

I'll keep you updated with the test tonight and what Insteon has to say.

 

Cheers, Chris

[brunolandmedia]

Ok,

 

No luck on the new Keypad. Got a new one delivered from Smarthome and installed it. Still having the same issues on the one light group.  Could there be anything else i am missing? I am updated to 4.5.1 and everything else seems to be working flawlessly. To hit back on the major points.

 

- Lights that are directly connected to an 8 keypad are blinking every time some sort of command is sent, just about anywhere in the house

- The blink by themselves randomly (which might just be things being sent in the background, not really sure)

- I've replaced the keypad

- I've checked the lights 

- The LED 4' recessed are from the same box that I have many more of around the house.

- All 4 blink at the same time, so it's not like one of them is freaking out and the others aren't.

 

Any other help is appreciated. These lights are in my main area, and the keypad is my #1 control center for most of my scenes. When I disconnected it because of the issues, It was like I was left in the dark ages.

 

Cheers, Chris

[SteveL]

I spoke with Chris this morning and gave him a few things to try.

 

One of them was to remove each bulb and then introduce a bulb one at a time to see if any one bulb is causing the issue for the entire load. Since the loads were working on the keypad for the previous six months my feeling is one of the bulbs is causing the misfiring of the others.

[brunolandmedia]

Steve,  Thanks again for your time on the phone.

 

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to solve the problem with new lightbulbs or a few other things I tried BUT.....

 

I decided to swap the load of the 8 keypad (above mentioned Eye Ball lights) with the Insteon dimmer right next to it controlling my main Recessed lights in the living room. Wallllllahhhhhh!!!!!

 

Somehow, this fixed the issue. The Eye Balls on the single dimmer seem to work fine and there is no flickering on the main recessed lights on the 8 keypad.  I changed the names of the devices in my ISY and updated all my scenes and programs to reflect differences (which took awhile) but in the end all is working correctly. Switches, Scenes, Alexa, all working with no flickering. 

 

I hope this isn't just a bandage, but it appears those eyeballs were just not cut out for the 8 keypad. 

 

Next Project, adding in some simple IP Cameras, Suggestions??

 

Cheers, Chris

[SteveSBE]

Hi -

 

I'm having a similar blinking issue with an Insteon keypad 8 button switch that was installed in January 2010.  The Admin console lists the device as a "(2486D) KeypadLinc Dimmer 8 Buttons v.36" but a tag on the unit is labeled "2486DWH8 V5.2 0940".

 

A few days ago the load (track lighting) connected to the unit and controlled by the "A" button started to randomly dim up and down (about every second). But now it occurs frequently. In fact I can now recreate the dimming loop by just pressing any of the buttons on the unit. In addition the keypad unit quietly buzzes and that buzz sound changes when the lights dim up/down.

 

The things I have tried are to:

1. Perform a simple reset first (pull out the set button, wait 10 seconds and tap it back in). There was no change...I think it may have gotten worse.
2. Check the wiring in the box to make sure there were no loose connections. Everything was fine.

 

What do you think I should do next?  My next step was about to factory reset the unit, recreate the scenes, and update the programs. But before I spend the time on that I want to ask folks if it is worth trying to go through that effort. Or in light of the buzzing is the unit toast and I should just replace it.
 

Thanks,

 

Steve

[Brian H]

I suspect the power supply in the KPL is going bad. From the strange symptoms you are having.

Though doing a power cycle reset. By pulling out the Set Button out. Wait maybe fifteen seconds. Then pushing it back to its normal position.

The factory reset and then a restore of the KPL would see if anything changed. You should not have to do all the scenes and programs again. If you factory reset it and then restore it.

[Techman]

Hi -

 

I'm having a similar blinking issue with an Insteon keypad 8 button switch that was installed in January 2010.  The Admin console lists the device as a "(2486D) KeypadLinc Dimmer 8 Buttons v.36" but a tag on the unit is labeled "2486DWH8 V5.2 0940".

 

 

 

What do you think I should do next?  My next step was about to factory reset the unit, recreate the scenes, and update the programs. But before I spend the time on that I want to ask folks if it is worth trying to go through that effort. Or in light of the buzzing is the unit toast and I should just replace it.

 

Thanks,

 

Steve

 

The date code on the keypad indicates it was built in 2009, the firmware is v.36.  The unit probably needs to be replaced if a reset didn't resolve the problem.  Some of the older keypads had problems that have since been resolved.

[SteveSBE]

I suspect the power supply in the KPL is going bad. From the strange symptoms you are having.

Though doing a power cycle reset. By pulling out the Set Button out. Wait maybe fifteen seconds. Then pushing it back to its normal position.

The factory reset and then a restore of the KPL would see if anything changed. You should not have to do all the scenes and programs again. If you factory reset it and then restore it.

 

Brian H - Thanks. I did a factory reset and restore which seemed to fix the issue...for about 6 hours. Looks like a new device.

 

The date code on the keypad indicates it was built in 2009, the firmware is v.36.  The unit probably needs to be replaced if a reset didn't resolve the problem.  Some of the older keypads had problems that have since been resolved.

 

Techman - Thanks. After the "temporarinous" of the reset/restore I'll be looking for the next sale to replace this device.

 

Steve

[bgav]

I've had a similar blinking/unresponsive issue with a 2486D 6-button v.39. It seemed to only happen in colder weather, but now it has been happening more frequently. I can get it out of this blinking/unresponsive mode by going into the mode to adjust the keypad backlight.  I've tried resetting & factory resetting which seem to resolve the issue for a while, but it inevitably returns. I'm convinced there's a problem with the unit itself which needs to be replaced.