4wealn Posted September 10, 2022 Posted September 10, 2022 Hello everyone, I am and have been having some issues controlling my insteon lights with the admin console. I am currently running 5.3.4. I have about 12 light switches and 3 outlets. For the past 3-4 months when I log into the console it says cannot communicate with.... and it is usually most of the units. If I go and unplug the ISY and the PLM it is usually the next day that I can control them again. I have to query them all and then that brings them back. It is intermittent and very annoying. It has also become very slow. I will press on and nothing happens for a few seconds and then it comes on. Sometimes it will not come on with the on button but only with the fast on. Any help would greatly be appreciated. Thank you all in advance.
Techman Posted September 10, 2022 Posted September 10, 2022 If you click on "help | about" in the admin console what shows as your UI and firmware versions? What is the 4 digit date code and version number on your PLM? It's possible that your PLM might be failing, or that the power supply for the ISY is failing. Take a look at your error log to see if there's anything related to your issue.
4wealn Posted September 10, 2022 Author Posted September 10, 2022 Firmware and Ui are both 5.3.4 When I look at the error log I am not sure what I am looking for. There are some dates that say error but that is all it says. The rest seems OK. The PLM is 2413S revision 2.3 and beside that is has 4616. I was also thinking the PLM. Unfortunately I do not know where to get another one right now. Are they still available. The green light is still on.
Techman Posted September 10, 2022 Posted September 10, 2022 4 minutes ago, 4wealn said: Firmware and Ui are both 5.3.4 When I look at the error log I am not sure what I am looking for. There are some dates that say error but that is all it says. The rest seems OK. The PLM is 2413S revision 2.3 and beside that is has 4616. I was also thinking the PLM. Unfortunately I do not know where to get another one right now. Are they still available. The green light is still on. The PLM was manufactured in the 46th week of 2016. It's possible that it has capacitors that are failing. Unfortunately, PLMs are difficult to find. Most of the forum members are either replacing the components or sending the PLM out to someone for repair. Hopefully someone who has had theirs repaired can chime in with more details When you power cycle the ISY and PLM. First plug in the PLM, wait about 15 seconds then power up the ISY You can also try doing a restore device on one of your problem devices to see if that resolves the problem.
4wealn Posted September 11, 2022 Author Posted September 11, 2022 Thank you, hopefully someone can chime in with PLM info. I believe when I cycle I always plug in the ISY first. I will try it the way you explained. Currently it is working, if it goes again I will try a restore.
Geddy Posted September 12, 2022 Posted September 12, 2022 @4wealn if you're plugging in the ISY994 first then it's not seeing the PLM and would boot into safe mode (if you went to the Admin Console). I think it keeps trying to look for a PLM and corrects itself eventually, but might not. It's always better to plug the PLM first then the ISY994 as @Techman suggests. Here's the PLM service others have talked about in the past: https://www.ebay.com/sch/nilachidatasystems/m.html I think a few have used this service with good results. If you have the skills to try to replace parts yourself the same seller has a listing for a Capacitor Replacement Kit that you might give a shot. When you have the issue next time try logging into the Admin Console and open Event Viewer. Set it to level 3 and try controlling the trouble devices. Read more about event viewer here: https://wiki.universal-devices.com/index.php?title=ISY-99i/ISY-26_INSTEON:Using_the_Event_Viewer A successful "on/off" cycle using the Admin Console should look similar to this: Mon 09/12/2022 04:56:23 PM : [INST-TX-I1 ] 02 62 41 F8 2F 0F 11 FF Mon 09/12/2022 04:56:23 PM : [INST-ACK ] 02 62 41.F8.2F 0F 11 FF 06 LTONRR (FF) Mon 09/12/2022 04:56:23 PM : [INST-SRX ] 02 50 41.F8.2F 44.D1.80 2B 11 FF LTONRR (FF) Mon 09/12/2022 04:56:23 PM : [Std-Direct Ack] 41.F8.2F-->ISY/PLM Group=0, Max Hops=3, Hops Left=2 Mon 09/12/2022 04:56:23 PM : [D2D EVENT ] Event [41 F8 2F 1] [ST] [255] uom=100 prec=0 Mon 09/12/2022 04:56:23 PM : [ 41 F8 2F 1] ST 255 (uom=100 prec=0) Mon 09/12/2022 04:56:25 PM : [INST-TX-I1 ] 02 62 41 F8 2F 0F 13 00 Mon 09/12/2022 04:56:25 PM : [INST-ACK ] 02 62 41.F8.2F 0F 13 00 06 LTOFFRR(00) Mon 09/12/2022 04:56:25 PM : [INST-SRX ] 02 50 41.F8.2F 44.D1.80 2B 13 00 LTOFFRR(00) Mon 09/12/2022 04:56:25 PM : [Std-Direct Ack] 41.F8.2F-->ISY/PLM Group=0, Max Hops=3, Hops Left=2 Mon 09/12/2022 04:56:25 PM : [D2D EVENT ] Event [41 F8 2F 1] [ST] [0] uom=100 prec=0 Mon 09/12/2022 04:56:25 PM : [ 41 F8 2F 1] ST 0 (uom=100 prec=0) If the PLM is failing it would not send an ACK event and the hops might be an issue. If you pull the log file read about some errors you're looking for in the wiki for "Viewing the Log file". 1
MrBill Posted September 13, 2022 Posted September 13, 2022 On 9/10/2022 at 7:33 PM, 4wealn said: Thank you, hopefully someone can chime in with PLM info. I believe when I cycle I always plug in the ISY first. I will try it the way you explained. Currently it is working, if it goes again I will try a restore. As mentioned the boot process of the ISY is such that the PLM must be answering queries before the point in the boot process that the ISY asks the PLM for its (the PLMs) Insteon address. Normally it's suggested to plug the PLM in ahead of the ISY by a full 30 seconds, however that's much longer than is actually needed. Also missing from this thread is the possibility that somewhere in your system plain old garden variety noise (or signal sucker) has been introduced. this generally comes in the form of something a user plugged in without realizing it the cause.... one example is a battery charger for some new appliance. Two examples I have personal experience with: We previously had a deep fryer that got plugged in about 1 hour per week... during it's use insteon behave very erratically, all returned to normal as soon as it was unplugged. Second, Once-upon-a-time a storm took out the switch I had controlling the attic fan. It caused my entire Insteon system to fail rather dramatically. However once we started turning off breakers we quickly identified first the circuit and then the device that was faulty, once it was removed from the system everything returned to normal. 1
4wealn Posted September 16, 2022 Author Posted September 16, 2022 Thank you for all the replies everyone. I have a few troubleshooting things to look at next time this happens.
Brian H Posted September 16, 2022 Posted September 16, 2022 The V2.3 was the first revision I have see with C7 and C13 changed to a capacitor made for a switching supply. I would still think of the PLM as a possible problem. Especially if a power off and cool down would make it work again. Empty or almost empty Link Database would be another clue. Having to Query the modules to show their present state maybe normal. If the ISY controller does not know the modules present state at power up.
Recommended Posts