What is the gold disc in the back of the Insteon KeypadLinc Switch On/Off? (Not working unit.)

[raymondjiii]

I have a 2486SWH6 that is not working and I was dismantling it to see the parts on the board and I see the gold disc on the back of the plastic case with two wires going to it - any idea what this does?

When I push the main (First button that triggers the relay) I could hear a faint click. Basically the fluorescent lights stay on - pushing the first button does nothing. (This is the On/Off model not the dimmer model)

Anyone every make a repair on one of these. I see a relay, 3 electrolytic caps, 2 green caps? (Plus some item devices that look to be: adjustable inductor, big resister, brown mylar cap, diode and a silver capacitor.) It seems from the readings that it's usually the mylar caps. No idea what kind of caps these green things are.

[Techman]

The disc is the piezo buzzer.

Did you try doing a factory reset on the switch?

Not sure what button you're referring to when you say "pushing the first button does nothing"

The large top button should turn the relay on, and the large bottom button should turn the relay off.

[raymondjiii]

Just now, Techman said:

The disc is the piezo buzzer.

Did you try doing a factory reset on the switch?

Not sure what button you're referring to when you say "pushing the first button does nothing"

The large top button should turn the relay on, and the large bottom button should turn the relay off.

This is an 8 button face - not the 6 so the upper left button is the On/Off (versus the 6 button separate On/Off buttons) for what's attached to the read load wire.

I always try a factory reset but I can't say that doing that has ever resolved a malfunctioning unit of any type.

 

[raymondjiii]

I should also add that this unit does not work locally (physically pushing button A) or remotely.  It is powered up, but the load is constantly on. I should have tried the other 7 buttons to see if they worked before I removed it. That might have narrowed things down a bit.

Edited September 1, 2022 by raymondjiii

[Techman]

Did you convert the switch from a 6 button to an 8 button. If so, the factory reset will convert it back to a 6 button switch and you need to reconfigure it back to the 8-button mode.

 

[Techman]

 

Changing to 6-Button Configuration

1) Replace the 8-button plate with the 6-button plate - Attach the change-out plate to the switch body by aligning the tabs and snapping into place
2) Gently pull the Set button out as far as it will go
3) Wait 10 seconds
4) While simultaneously holding the On and Off buttons, carefully push the Set button back in, flush with the trim frame
5) Once the Set button is pushed in, continue holding the On and Off buttons for 3 seconds, and then release

KeypadLinc will (Beep)
KeypadLinc is now in 6 Button Mode

 

Changing to 8-Button Configuration

1) Replace the 6-button plate with the 8-button plate - Attach the change-out plate to the switch body by aligning the tabs and snapping into place
2) Gently pull the Set button out as far as it will go
3) Wait 10 seconds
4) While simultaneously holding the On/Off (upper left-most) button and the H button, carefully press the Set button back in flush with the trim frame
5) Once the Set button is pushed in, continue holding the On/Off button and H buttons for 3 seconds, and then release

KeypadLinc will (Beep)
KeypadLinc is now in 8 Button Mode

[Brian H]

The Green parts are small coils not caps. The beeper already covered.

Does it go on and off when the relay clicks. If it is always on then the information below may help. If it goes on and off then I would suspect things like the three electrolytic capacitors.

If you have access to a meter. With it disconnected from the house wiring. The resistance between the Black Line and Red Output wires should be very high. If it is low the relay might have stuck contacts. I don't think the module has a snubber across the relay contacts to protect it from possible spikes from the fluorescent light. Not too hard but give the relay a firm mechanical tap and see if it temporarily works again.

[raymondjiii]

17 minutes ago, Brian H said:

The Green parts are small coils not caps. The beeper already covered.

Does it go on and off when the relay clicks. If it is always on then the information below may help. If it goes on and off then I would suspect things like the three electrolytic capacitors.

If you have access to a meter. With it disconnected from the house wiring. The resistance between the Black Line and Red Output wires should be very high. If it is low the relay might have stuck contacts. I don't think the module has a snubber across the relay contacts to protect it from possible spikes from the fluorescent light. Not too hard but give the relay a firm mechanical tap and see if it temporarily works again.

Hello again Brian,

So, I first got roughly 1600k ohms (between red and black) and then after a few smacks it's around 10M ohms but it's jumping all over place. If I let it sit for a bit and measure it again it could settle around 3M ohms.

I had 3 different On/Off switches serving three fluorescent light circuits and those switches were installed around 2016 or so. About a year ago, I swapped one of the switches for this 2486S given that the switch was near the door and it was useful to have the other 7 buttons to make use of.

Thanks for your help again. I'll try to re-install it this weekend and see if it works even temporarily. I was able to find another "space" to put in place.

 

Looking at this thing...I wonder what the difference is between the 2486S and the 2487S with the later seeming to have the word "relay" in its description. But I do see "a" relay here on the 2486S as well.

[lilyoyo1]

10 hours ago, raymondjiii said:

Hello again Brian,

So, I first got roughly 1600k ohms (between red and black) and then after a few smacks it's around 10M ohms but it's jumping all over place. If I let it sit for a bit and measure it again it could settle around 3M ohms.

I had 3 different On/Off switches serving three fluorescent light circuits and those switches were installed around 2016 or so. About a year ago, I swapped one of the switches for this 2486S given that the switch was near the door and it was useful to have the other 7 buttons to make use of.

Thanks for your help again. I'll try to re-install it this weekend and see if it works even temporarily. I was able to find another "space" to put in place.

 

Looking at this thing...I wonder what the difference is between the 2486S and the 2487S with the later seeming to have the word "relay" in its description. But I do see "a" relay here on the 2486S as well.

The 2487s replaced the 2486. The 2486 is power line only and the 2487s is dual band 

[Brian H]

The 2487S also has a higher line voltage range of 120VAC to 277VAC and a higher output current rating. It maybe larger to accommodate the heavier relay for the output.

You probably reading through some of the electronics. Though it will be interesting to see if it works properly.

 

[raymondjiii]

1 hour ago, lilyoyo1 said:

The 2487s replaced the 2486. The 2486 is power line only and the 2487s is dual band 

It's odd because some of the 2487s' I see (model listed as such on back) do not say Dual Band on the back but some 2487s' do. Unless it has to be a minimum revision number.

 

 

[lilyoyo1]

Just now, raymondjiii said:

It's odd because some of the 2487s' I see (model listed as such on back) do not say Dual Band on the back but some 2487s' do. Unless it has to be a minimum revision number.

 

 

Doesn't have to say it. It's still dual band. 

[Brian H]

I would also suspect a label changed. Even the original in the FCC Database shows it is Dual-Band. I do know their where a few users manuals over the 2487S documentation.

To my earlier post. The 1600k you read on Red and Black sounds like the relay contacts where stuck shut and after tapping the readings are more like I would expect.

[apostolakisl]

If soldering is in your comfort zone, might just pull the relay and test it independently. 

[raymondjiii]

37 minutes ago, Brian H said:

I would also suspect a label changed. Even the original in the FCC Database shows it is Dual-Band. I do know their where a few users manuals over the 2487S documentation.

To my earlier post. The 1600k you read on Red and Black sounds like the relay contacts where stuck shut and after tapping the readings are more like I would expect.

To further add to the confusion...

https://www.insteon.com/support-knowledgebase/2016/2/22/communication-types-for-insteon-devices

2486S is dual-band but the 2486D is not dual-band, but the older (??) 2334-222 and 2334-232 are ?  (or are the 2334's newer?)

Edited September 2, 2022 by raymondjiii

[lilyoyo1]

10 minutes ago, raymondjiii said:

To further add to the confusion...

https://www.insteon.com/support-knowledgebase/2016/2/22/communication-types-for-insteon-devices

2486S is dual-band but the 2486D is not dual-band, but the older (??) 2334-222 and 2334-232 are ?  (or are the 2334's newer?)

There's no confusion. The 2334s are newer. The numbers were changed to differentiate the dual band from single band models. Not all 2486s are dual band. I believe there was 1 revision that was before they changed it to 2487s

[raymondjiii]

So, it went from 2486S to 2487S to 2334-232?

[lilyoyo1]

1 hour ago, raymondjiii said:

So, it went from 2486S to 2487S to 2334-232?

If you notice in your link it says 2334 are dimmers

Edited September 2, 2022 by lilyoyo1

[raymondjiii]

1 minute ago, lilyoyo1 said:

If you notice in your link it says 2334 are dimmers

2334-232 (switch)  and 2334-222 (dimmer)

Edited September 2, 2022 by raymondjiii

[lilyoyo1]

2 minutes ago, raymondjiii said:

2334-232

Doesn't matter. The last 3 numbers denotes 6 or 8 button. The 2334 is the same for both. 

2487s replaced the 2486s and 2334s replaced the 2486d

Edited September 2, 2022 by lilyoyo1