Intermittent Control of Insteon Outdoor On/Off Modules

[PLCGuy]

I hate to add a another topic to the Insteon Communication Issues thread, but I have a problem with my five Outdoor On/Off Modules (2634-222 V.43) this Christmas that is new to me. The problem is that I have to turn the scene these modules are contained in on multiple times before they all are actually on. Turning them off via the scene also has the same issue - at least one module will be skipped each time the scene command is executed.

For the past decade, I have had all the modules in a single scene called Xmas Lights Scene that is turned on every night a sunset (along with a number of other scenes).  It is a very simple program and it works flawlessly with the other scenes. It has also worked every year until this year. The modules are also plugged into the same outdoor circuits that they have been plugged for ten Christmas seasons.

2 Evening Program - [ID 000A][Parent 00A5]

If
        $State_Schedule is 2
 
Then
        Set 'Lighting / Exterior / Upper Patio Scene' On
        Set 'Lighting / Exterior / Ocean Patio Scene' On
        Set 'Lighting / Exterior / Xmas Lights Scene' On
 
Else
   - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action')
 
Turns ON all exterior lights at sunset when $State_Schedule is set to 2. 

 

What has changed is that I've replaced my PLM with a new rebuilt unit from Insteon and upgraded from ISY-994 to EISY (IOX v.5.7.0). 

Any thoughts on how to resolve this? Currently I just run the same program several times, but that is hardly an elegant solution. 

Edited November 28, 2023 by PLCGuy

[kzboray]

I've experienced similar issues with the outdoor modules. The fix was to install more Insteon devices creating a better mesh around the area where the outdoor module was located.

 

[lilyoyo1]

6 hours ago, PLCGuy said:

I hate to add a another topic to the Insteon Communication Issues thread, but I have a problem with my five Outdoor On/Off Modules (2634-222 V.43) this Christmas that is new to me. The problem is that I have to turn the scene these modules are contained in on multiple times before they all are actually on. Turning them off via the scene also has the same issue - at least one module will be skipped each time the scene command is executed.

Like I have for the past decade, have all the modules in a scene called Xmas Lights Scene that is turned on every night a sunset (along with a number of other scenes).  It is a very simple program and it works flawlessly with the other scenes. It has also worked every year until this year. the modules are also plugged into the same outdoor circuits that have been plugged for ten Christmas seasons.

2 Evening Program - [ID 000A][Parent 00A5]

If
        $State_Schedule is 2
 
Then
        Set 'Lighting / Exterior / Upper Patio Scene' On
        Set 'Lighting / Exterior / Ocean Patio Scene' On
        Set 'Lighting / Exterior / Xmas Lights Scene' On
 
Else
   - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action')
 
Turns ON all exterior lights at sunset when $State_Schedule is set to 2. 

 

What has changed is that I've replaced my PLM with a new rebuilt unit from Insteon and upgraded from ISY-994 to EISY (IOX v.5.7.0). 

Any thoughts on how to resolve this? Currently I just run the same program several times, but that is hardly an elegant solution. 

Instead of controlling each scene, why not create a new scene with each device as a responder and control that? You can also add a 1 second wait between commands to see if that improves reliability 

[gregkinney]

@PLCGuy Thank you for posting this. I also have the same outdoor scene that I do every year and this year I have one on/off module that will not respond in a scene. If I issue a command to it from the app or admin console, it works every time. But it is 0 for 6 with the program controlling it through a scene. My fix was to change up the extension cord layout and get it plugged into another module that was working. My assumption was that there was something wrong with the module. I know this is not a true fix so I'm curious if anyone else has the same problem or an alternative fix.

[jec6613]

First, restore the device from the admin console.  Second, edit the device properties to have more retries from the PLM.  Fixed it for me every time I've had this.

The reason I've found tends to be either 1) the data in the device got corrupted over time, it can happen.  Especially if you don't leave these plugged in all year, I actually have an old power strip to leave them plugged in during the off season just to prevent this.  Or, 2) these programs tend to trigger at busy times on the insteon network, and it's right on the edge of what should be responding, so the retries help.

[gregkinney]

@jec6613 great suggestion. I will try this. I have probably 20 Christmas devices and also leave them plugged in year round in a cabinet.

[PLCGuy]

45 minutes ago, jec6613 said:

First, restore the device from the admin console.  Second, edit the device properties to have more retries from the PLM.  Fixed it for me every time I've had this.

Thanks JEC6613 for these suggestions. I'll try them and report back.

6 hours ago, lilyoyo1 said:

Instead of controlling each scene, why not create a new scene with each device as a responder and control that? You can also add a 1 second wait between commands to see if that improves reliability 

Hi Lilyoyo1 - did you mean I should create five scenes, one per module? I certainly can do that. I could also just delete scenes all together and send commands directly from the programs to the modules. It's a bit more verbose, but I'm no longer using scenes controlled by physical Insteon controller devices like push buttons. My KPLs have died over the years and now the EISY, ELK  and UDM controls almost everything, so I only use scenes to organize devices (as shown in my above logic example). If that is a bad idea, I can delete them.

Would it be worthwhile to just delete all the modules from the EISY (I assumes that would also delete them from the PLM) and then factory reset each module?

 

[lilyoyo1]

26 minutes ago, PLCGuy said:

Hi Lilyoyo1 - did you mean I should create five scenes, one per module

No. Create 1 scene with all modules in that one scene. 

[PLCGuy]

7 hours ago, lilyoyo1 said:

No. Create 1 scene with all modules in that one scene. 

Oh... That is the way it is now. All five of my 2634 outdoor modules are in "Lighting / Exterior / Xmas Lights Scene". The other scenes in my example program are controlling other Insteon devices (mostly 2477S and 2477D) and doing a great job of it. That is the weird part - other scenes with 2477S and 2477D devices (on the same leg of my panel) work great with a single command. As long as my program repeats the command for this scene to turn on several times, eventually all the modules turn on. 

[lilyoyo1]

7 hours ago, PLCGuy said:

Oh... That is the way it is now. All five of my 2634 outdoor modules are in "Lighting / Exterior / Xmas Lights Scene". The other scenes in my example program are controlling other Insteon devices (mostly 2477S and 2477D) and doing a great job of it. That is the weird part - other scenes with 2477S and 2477D devices (on the same leg of my panel) work great with a single command. As long as my program repeats the command for this scene to turn on several times, eventually all the modules turn on. 

Add a 1 second wait before each scene in your program