Communications Errors after Lightning Strike

[thall]

Our powerline got struck by lightning and it disabled both my PLM and ISY-994i, along with many other electronics (TV, DVR, Modem, Router, etc). Just a note, we have an unusual setup, we have both grid power and a battery pack which generates 110V ac. Some of the outlets in the house are connected directly to the grid, most are connected to an inverter which selects either grid or battery power. The lightning struck the power line to our house (a neighbor saw the strike). A majority of the electronics that were fried were plugged directly into the grid, not through the inverter. Not everything that was plugged into the grid fried and a couple of things that were plugged in through the inverter were fried. Also the inverter itself was fried. 

 

I replaced the isy with an ISY-994i Z+ IR/Pro and purchased a new PLM. Fortunately, I had a backup that was only 3 months old. I have the latest version, see “ISY 1.png”. Now I'm having a slew of communications problems.

 

The FilterLinc is plugged in between the surge protector and an outlet that goes directly to the grid. The new TV, Modem, Router, and Dish Hopper DVR are all plugged into the surge protector.

 

• Of my nine 8-button KeypadLinc Dimmer switches, only 2 are "working", see the image "ISY 2.png" below.  By working, I mean that I can press the buttons and with a few exceptions, the associated light responds, but as you can see from the image, they aren’t happy. Disabling and re_Enabling them results in the error message in “ISY 3.png”. On the other hand, all of the 6-button KeypadLinc dimmer switches are working as expected.
  
  I thought I might need to delete and re-install the 8-button dimmers. But I get a “Cannot determine Insteon Engine” error when I tried this, see “ISY 4.png”.

 

• None of my programs are working, see "ISY 5.png". The program CheckTemp is supposed to send a text message to my phone when the temperature drops below 50, I tried running it, but got no text, by the way 8/19 was the day of the lightning strike.

 

It has been so long since I set this up and everything has run smoothly since, I just don’t know what to try.

 

Any help or suggestions are welcomed.

 

Thanks - Teresa

 

ISY 1.png

 

ISY 2.png

 

ISY 3.png

 

ISY 4.png

 

ISY 5.png

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bumbershoot]

First things first:  Your image "ISY 1.png" shows that your firmware and UI are not on the same version.  That is, and will continue to be, a problem.  Use the ISY Launcher to start your AC, as it will always select the proper UI for your firmware.

See if that improves things.

[thall]

Thanks for the tip, unfortunately, it didn't make any difference.

Teresa

[Techman]

it appears that you have a communications issue between the PLM and your devices. Run a PLM link count. How many links does it show

Is your PLM plugged directly into an outlet or is it isolated by a filterlinc and /or a surge protector?

If you right click on a device that has the red ! and do a restore device does that eliminate the red !

It's also possible that either your ISY or the ISY firmware got damaged.

 

 

 

[Bumbershoot]

3 hours ago, thall said:

Thanks for the tip, unfortunately, it didn't make any difference.

Did you check to see if it solved the "Not Loaded" and "Out of Memory" errors in your programs (as seen in your screenshot ISY 5.png), as that symptom is often caused by the UI/Firmware mismatch?  At the very least, running the correct UI will simplify your path forward.

Good luck.

[thall]

2 hours ago, Techman said:

it appears that you have a communications issue between the PLM and your devices. Run a PLM link count. How many links does it show

Is your PLM plugged directly into an outlet or is it isolated by a filterlinc and /or a surge protector?

If you right click on a device that has the red ! and do a restore device does that eliminate the red !

It's also possible that either your ISY or the ISY firmware got damaged.

 

 

 

Techman, PLM info/status shows that my new PLM is connected, there are 299 PLM links. The PLM is plugged directly into an outlet no filterlink or surge protector. When I try to restore a device with a !, it appears to go through the motions, but doesn't change.

I replace the ISY-994i with a  ISY-994i Z+ IR/Pro, so unless I got a bad one, I think it and it's firmware should be okay.

Thanks

1 hour ago, Bumbershoot said:

Did you check to see if it solved the "Not Loaded" and "Out of Memory" errors in your programs (as seen in your screenshot ISY 5.png), as that symptom is often caused by the UI/Firmware mismatch?  At the very least, running the correct UI will simplify your path forward.

Good luck.

Bumbershoot, it did solve those 2 errors, but now the Activity column has them all as not saved.  The CheckTemp program does send the text messages, but none of the others work. Thanks

[Techman]

1 hour ago, thall said:

Techman, PLM info/status shows that my new PLM is connected, there are 299 PLM links. The PLM is plugged directly into an outlet no filterlink or surge protector. When I try to restore a device with a !, it appears to go through the motions, but doesn't change.

I replace the ISY-994i with a  ISY-994i Z+ IR/Pro, so unless I got a bad one, I think it and it's firmware should be okay.

Thanks

Bumbershoot, it did solve those 2 errors, but now the Activity column has them all as not saved.  The CheckTemp program does send the text messages, but none of the others work. Thanks

Teresa,

Try doing a factory reset on one of the problem devices then do a restore device. Let me know if that was successful.

It's possible that the lighting strike and/or voltage surge effected the memory in you devices.

Also try removing power from the PLM and the ISY, then power up the PLM, wait about 30 seconds then power up the ISY

 

[thall]

Once again, no luck. But you did give me an idea. I do have a new 8-button dimmer. Tomorrow, I'm going to remove one of the broken ones and replace it with that one and see if that will fix the problem. 

Thanks - Teresa

[thall]

Well, I just tried this, no luck, I still got the Cannot Determine Insteon Engine.

I'm going to order a new ISY to rule out getting a bad one.

 

[Michel Kohanim]

@thall,

"Cannot determine Insteon Engine" is definitely NOT an ISY issue. You probably need a new switch or PLM.

With kind regards,
Michel

[thall]

My PLM is new and so is the switch I'm trying to install. 

[larryllix]

My PLM is new and so is the switch I'm trying to install. 

Have you gone through any process to install a new PLM. IIRC restoring your ISY files will set it up to the old PLM.

Sent using Tapatalk

[Techman]

Attached is the procedure for replacing the PLM

If both the switch and the PLM are new and you followed the replacement procedure then another possibility is that you have interference on the powerline and/or the two legs of your powerline aren't bridged via dual band modules.

Take a look at this video link 

 

 

 

 

 

Replace ISY PLM.pdf

[thall]

I did follow the instructions for replacing a PLM and ISY, and I've checked, the new PLM is the one that is connected.

[Techman]

26 minutes ago, thall said:

I did follow the instructions for replacing a PLM and ISY, and I've checked, the new PLM is the one that is connected.

Are your programs loading or are you still getting the yellow "not loaded"

Is there any other electronics that may have been damaged by the lighting strike that's still plugged into the powerline

Are you sure that both legs of your powerline are coupled via dual band devices

If you have any other Insteon modules that are not responding remove a/c power from them then try to restore each module one at a time by restoring power then do a device restore. It's possible that a module was damaged and is interfering with the Insteon powerline signals.

[thall]

The programs are loaded and the yellow "not loaded" messages have been replaced by red "not saved" messages.

It is entirely possible there are other damaged electronics still plugged in, we have a plan.

Per my electronics engineer husband, both branches of our breaker box are fed from a single 120v feed, coupling both legs is not a problem.

Our plan is, on Tuesday (the next rainy day) to focus on the lights. We are going to turn off the power to everything and add one device at a time. I'm going to spend the weekend  researching the forum to determine the best way to handle this. Do I try starting from scratch, disable everything and enable them one at a time or what?

Thanks - Teresa

[Techman]

Re: your programs, click on save at the bottom of your program tree. That will write the programs to the ISY memory  and should eliminate the error message

The two120v sides of your powerline need to be coupled using dual band devices. See the links below for guidance.

You can remove power from the Insteon devices by either pulling out the set button on the Keypads, or in the case of plug in modules just unplug them.

Take a look at these troubleshooting links:

  https://wiki.universal-devices.com/index.php?title=INSTEON:_Troubleshooting_Communications_Errors

https://wiki.universal-devices.com/index.php?title=INSTEON:_Troubleshooting_Communications_Errors

 

 

[larryllix]

6 hours ago, thall said:

<snipped>

Per my electronics engineer husband, both branches of our breaker box are fed from a single 120v feed, coupling both legs is not a problem.

<snipped>

Thanks - Teresa

So you have no 240 Vac supply in your house for a stove or dryer?

[thall]

That's correct, the stove/oven, and dryer are run gas.

[larryllix]

1 hour ago, thall said:

That's correct, the stove/oven, and dryer are run gas.

Possibly an update on your java? Sometimes ISY needs to be added to the java allowance table again if knocked out in the update.

 

Ohhhhh...looking at your screenshots...you have mismatched UI and firmware. You absolutely cannot mix v5 with v4 UI!

Oooops! More reading shows that was addressed. You may have saved your programs in the wrong format inside your ISY. Now that have corrected the mismatch, you may need to restore your best backup, hoping that it was done in V5 format. I did the same thing once and I hadto factory rest my ISY and restore a backup. You may need to revert way back before the UI was changed.