intermittent Issues, how do I tell if an Insteon Device is going bad?

[csteenwyk]

Hello all,

I have, what I consider, a lot of insteon devices. Every light switch in my house, multiple KPL, motion sensors, etc. Occasionally I get communication issues. Here are the symptoms I see:

• The fan light attached to a FanLinc doesn't dim smoothly, it "jumps"
• The status LEDs on a SwitchLinc and FanLinc next to each other occasionally "flash" or "flicker to a very bright state
• A few KPLs display the incorrect state of the scene they are linked to

So my question is that I know I have a problem somewhere. What is the best way for me to figure out which devices are bad. Is there a good way I could use the ISY to find my troubled devices and fix them? For example, looking at the communication logs, would the "hops_left" be a good indicator? I don't fully understand what that field means.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

[Teken]

6 minutes ago, csteenwyk said:

Hello all,

I have, what I consider, a lot of insteon devices. Every light switch in my house, multiple KPL, motion sensors, etc. Occasionally I get communication issues. Here are the symptoms I see:

• The fan light attached to a FanLinc doesn't dim smoothly, it "jumps"
• The status LEDs on a SwitchLinc and FanLinc next to each other occasionally "flash" or "flicker to a very bright state
• A few KPLs display the incorrect state of the scene they are linked to

So my question is that I know I have a problem somewhere. What is the best way for me to figure out which devices are bad. Is there a good way I could use the ISY to find my troubled devices and fix them? For example, looking at the communication logs, would the "hops_left" be a good indicator? I don't fully understand what that field means.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

First question comes down to how old is some of the hardware and you can tell by looking at the white sticker affixed to each piece of hardware. Historically, the KPL have had long term service life when compared to the switches / dimmers. Some of the signs you noted up above are indicators of a failing KPL switch. One of the easiest things to do in case the switches are in some odd state is to pull the air gap and wait 30 seconds than close it.

If the switch operates fine there could have been an electrical event that caused the switch to lock up. Also, never under estimate the load that is attached so if you have a dimming LED bulb take it out and place a standard incandescent in its place. If the switch begins to operate fine you just narrowed it down to a failing LED / CFL / Other bulb. Using the Hops left is a good reference but don't take it as gospel as there are dozens of things that could increment the hops left.

ie. Noise Makers / Signal Suckers

You can always try a restore device and see what happens once you have done the two other steps above. Your last option is to delete the device, hard reset the hardware per the full users manual, add back the switch, and link all the associated hardware to one another and see what happens. Going this route of easy to painful is the most direct approach while reducing frustrations in a large and complex network.

Lastly, don't ever under estimate a random item plugged in or not filtered correctly that will give you untold grief! So, before any of the above unplug everything you can and see what happens because its a *Oh my God* really a $0.99 cent charger just gave me grief and less hair on my head!