Failed PLM. Did I use a hammer when a tap would do ?

[CPRail1]

We came home yesterday after three weeks away to find that any Insteon/eisy based automation in the house was not working while any z-wave/eisy items were doing fine. 

Diagnosing today the 2413U usb plm had no led activity. Unplugging it and plugging in had no impact on the status LED. Always dead. Looking at it from within the admin consol the PLM showed as not connected. All physical connections appeared fine. I restarted the eisy to be sure. Ditto checked connections. No joy.

As I had a spare 2413U for just such an occasion I have started the process to replace the one PLM with the other. This is solving the problem as now, once updated appropriately, the Insteon devices can be controlled and thus the automation actually working. Tentative conclusion, the original 2413U plm failed.

My two questions: 

1) My ISY 994 + serial PLM worked without issue for years. Decades perhaps. So long and successfully that I often forgot the details of accessing the admin console as I rarely needed it despite having a ton of automations in play. I only migrated to the eisy reluctantly, albeit understanding the logic behind why, a few months ago. Talking the opportunity to change to the USB PLM. Everything has worked fine for several months. Now I've apparently had my first PLM failure, ever. This seems suspicious since I'm relatively new at eisy.  So, question : Did my diagnosis seem correct or have I been extreme in replacing the PLM ? i.e bad luck or bad diagnosis ?

2) Since I've only lasted a few months without a PLM failure, I am thinking I need a keep alive notification to warn me when the eisy and plm are not communicating and/or the plm has failed. I use the UDI mobile app. How would one recommend I do this ?

Thank you for any thoughts, Peter

[Brian H]

1) Did you cycle the power to the PLM and then let it reboot? During then test? In case it  had locked up. We have seen a PLM get lost and needed a reboot. Though a PLM starting the fail also would sometimes work for a short time.

Sounds like you are correct and the original has failed. If you had also rebooted the PLM and eisy during your initial tests.

What is the revision number on both PLM's? That may give us some added information.

Edited Monday at 12:08 PM by Brian H

[Techman]

@CPRail1

Being that the led on thr PLM was not lit that indicates a PLM failure. Make sure the outlet that the PLM is plugged into is not flakely.  If your PLM is less than a year old it may be covered under warranty.

[CPRail1]

Techman - Thank you. Yes the outlet's reliable and the led is consistent :  off on the failed one and on with the good one,  when plugged in. The failed one is actually only 3 months old so a warranty candidate indeed.

Brian H -Thank you also. I did reboot the eisy and plm a couple of times separately and together along the way towards concluding that the plm was the issue and started the replacement process. The failed plm is Revision 2.7 , 2823 , purchased in June 2024 whereas my back up that is now in service is Revision 2.6 1223 purchased a year or so earlier with the eisy. 

Any other thoughts welcome but I do appreciate the concurrence that my diagnosis seems to have been solid. Just seemed so unlikely that a new PLM would have failed so quickly but it has. New electronics can do that. C'est la vie. 

p.s. I should add for others who may read this that the PLM and eisy are behind a UPS system and also in a solar charged house powering backup battery system in a reliable urban area not often subject to power outages or issues so decently albeit never perfectly protected from SCE power challenges. No other electronics experienced issues although the failure did occur during one of SoCal's hottest times so the grid was likely being challenged.

Cheers, Peter

Edited Tuesday at 06:12 PM by CPRail1

[Techman]

@CPRail1

You shouldn't plug the PLM into a UPS as it will most likely filter out its powerline signal, however if you have a dual band device close by that will help to get the PLM signal back on the powerline.. You should also have your UPS plugged int to a filterlinc as a UPS is notorious for creating noise on the powerline.

[CPRail1]

@Techman  Agreed and both in play exactly as and for why you suggest. Cheers, Peter

[Brian H]

The failed one is definitely with in the warranty and contacting them should get you a replacement. V2.7 is a very recent revision.