Another 2466SW Issue..

[sdynak]

Hi everyone.. Hope the Holidays are treating you right and Santa brought you everything on your list ..

 

 Well I am trying to work on some of my gifts and having some issues that never had come up before with any of my previous installs..

 

 I am adding a 3 way into an existing setup which I had to run a new line into the switch box as the power feed was coming into the light fixture so only the hot was going to the 3 way switches with no neutral.. So got all that together and powered up the new 2466SW switches .. logged into my ISY994i console and went to add them in only to get errors with a failure 3 code on L3.. 3 out of 3 hops remained so I assume it never made it. 

 

 So after snooping around a bit at things and scratching head I went over to my panel and sure enough the circuit was on the other leg of where the PLM is.. So I moved the breaker over and all confident things would be sorted out only to still have the same issue.. 

 

 So I connected the switch to an existing location where I have a 2466SW and it communicated and installed fine.. So I went over to my breaker where my new 3 way is setup and went direct to it right there and it was communicating no problem also.. 

 

 So I installed the new switch in a outlet in the same circuit it feeds just to change locations from the 3 Way and still no comms.. So I went and unplugged everything I know of that was being fed by that circuit thinking a noise issue and still no luck. So I then put in a 2635-222 on-off in the circuit near the switch and that worked fine but the 2466SW did not still..

 

 So I am wondering what could be my issue? Has anyone run into something like this before? This circuit feeds 2 bedrooms and the hall 3-way stairs between floors. I am not thinking it is a distance issue and it has me more concerned something is not right with my wiring somewhere. Normally most devices I have fire right up.. I know this being power line only is part of the issue and I do not have a bridge but I did ensure the breaker is on the same leg and tested right at the breaker with no trouble. I know if I get dual band I'm sure it will go ok but as said thinking of a possible power issue somewhere which is more of my concern rather than the 3 Way 2466SW not working where I want it to. 

 

Thanks in advance for any help.. Much appreciated.. Happy Holidays.. 

 

Best,

Stan

 

 

 

[stusviews]

First and foremost, switch circuits at the breaker box is not just a code violation, it may cause a fire.

 

Second, what is the load?

 

Third, is new electric feed you installed on the same circuit as the load is/was on?

[sdynak]

I think you misunderstood what I did at the breaker box.. I moved the entire breaker from one leg to the other.. I installed the panel myself with a certified electrician which all passed code and have many years experience doing this kind of work. There were no violations or fire hazards doing so but I appreciate your concerns as there are many amateurs out there. 

 

 The load is spread across 3 LED lights between the stairwell and upstairs hallway

 

The electric feed was taken from the existing source in one of the light fixtures down to the switch. No new feed was brought into the circuit. The existing 3 way had the common only routed into the switch box(s)..

 

I am pretty sure I have it resolved at the point anyway by going back and using a dual band unit upstairs it seems to have it cured by some last testing I did. I have to go back and put the new 2466 units back in as I normalized everything back to the old 3 way setup (of course with feed now in switch box instead of fixture) and once I get it back I will report back. 

 

Thanks

Stan

[paulbates]

Hi Stan, welcome to the UDI Forums!

 

A thing to try on an individual device that won't link is a factory reset.

 

Also, I use the signalinc passive signal bridge in my panel to allow the signal to cross power legs at the center of electrical system. That cleared up a number of problems for me.

 

Let us know how everything turns out.

 

Paul

[sdynak]

Hey Paul.. thanks for the warm welcome ..

 

 I should have mentioned I reset the unit(s) every time I went to add them to be on the safe side..

 

 It is all working now with a dual band dimmer module in my bedroom.. So it must be a distance issue even though I have the PLM and this circuit on the same leg now. 

 

 Problem is I really don't need or want a dimmer module anywhere upstairs at this point so it is kind of sitting there for now to make this work. Guess my choices are to leave it and move on or look at other ways such as you mentioned putting a bridge in.. Do you know if the bridge is a booster also? If it is just a passive bridge I'm thinking it may not be strong enough to resolve what I'm after but may be a good idea in general anyway. Another option would be to replace the 2466 units with dual band switches.. Given I already have them I'm a little reluctant to spend on replacements.. 

 

I am also installing a I/O link this week to operate my Autoslide door and that is also a power line only so we'll see how that goes.. That is downstairs so thinking it may already be on the same leg and distance would be about the same as other power only devices I have that operate fine.. 

 

I have had the system for years but the ISY Portal integration with the Echo & Dot have changed my plans to create more automation.. It just works so well ..

 

Thanks for your help!!

 

Best,

Stan

[paulbates]

Stan

 

The bridge is not booster, its a passive couple across the legs. While it sounds technically under-whelming, its quite effective. I added a 2 gang box to my panel and 2 breakers on different legs... the signalinc in one gang and the outlet for the PLM in the other. The Insteon plugin for HomeSeer reported actual quantitative stats on devices for number of hops. The before and after signalinc versions for me on these were remarkable... not to mention a lot of operational problems going away.

 

Don't get me wrong.. I have a couple of "special" circuits that have needed additional dual band... but after figuring them out a few years ago, I haven't had to any more field engineering to get insteon to work. One of these is in my garage and I put an older Insteon Access point in the garage, line of sight with some dual band swtiches in the house.

 

Agreed on the echo/dot. I've had insteon/ISY, Venstar Thermostats and the Harmony hub for years... the dot just poured right on top! One of the easiest to implement projects with 

 

Paul

[oberkc]

My belief is that a proper insteon setup will have communication between the legs of the.electrical system, verified by performing the "beacon" test (or whatever is the latest term smartphone uses). Whether this is achieved by existing dual band devices, adding access points, or adding a passive bridge is less important to me.

[sdynak]

Thanks Paul.. Going to go ahead and give it a shot!

 

Thanks oberkc.. I have had the system for years and never thought expanding much until recently and everything I had existing was working fine till now.. I'll have to look into the test and add to my to do list to make this more robust given my renewed fondness with voice control .. 

 

Best,

Stan

[oberkc]

Good decision, I believe. Performance of household electronics can change over time. Because of this, it strikes me as pretty common for an insteon system to work one day and not the next. If nothing more, ensuring communication between legs of your electrical system will provide additional margin and tolerance of your ever-evolving conducted and radiated emissions from you other gadgets.