Trying to to Add New On/Off Insteon to ISY994i

[birdman]

I have an ISY 994i controlling upwards of 25 insteon switches around my house.  Scenes and programs are running fine.  I "lost connection" to a couple of the insteon switches so thinking at least one them was bad, I just purchased a few new insteon switches. 

I am now trying to add a new Insteon On/off 2477S (rev Nov 2024) to my ISY but I cannot seem to add it to my Admin Console.  I wired up the switch and it is controlling the light (stair lights) but when I try to add it either through "start linking" or "add new insteon advice and typing in the address of the switch", nothing seems to be happening. I press the set button on the bottom of the new switch, (it is just on/off), the bottom light turns green, but then when I try to add it - I get nothing. (when I say I Get nothing, what I mean is the admin console screen barely looks like it is doing anything - When I check the Event Viewer it says "Device Already Added, ignored" But it does not show up anywhere in my list of devices.)

My firmware is 4.9.0 and my UI is 4.9.0. 

Any assistance would be appreciated. Thx 

 

Edited Sunday at 09:01 PM by birdman

[paulbates]

There's a couple of ways to investigate, in easy to try order:

1. It's rare, but I have been shipped devices that need to be factory reset to get working
2. How old is your PLM, 5+ years? The "lost connection" to a couple of switches comment makes it suspect. Unplug it wait 10 seconds, and plug back in. If this fixes the problem, its not a fix, you are on borrowed time and need to replace it.
3. Is the switch far away in your home, far away from the PLM and other Insteon wireless devices? It's a pain, but temporarily wire it in closer to your PLM. I have a 3 prong plug-in cord end from the hardware store I use for setting up and testng... see if it works nearby the PLM

Edited Sunday at 09:01 PM by paulbates

[birdman]

Thx for the quick reply.

Sorry to be clear, is my PLM the ISY black box? It is definitely more than 5 years old, but it seems to be working to control all of the other devices. The switch is in a closet on the second floor - many of my insteon switches are far further away. 

[paulbates]

No, Its the Insteon module that the black box connects to via a cable and plugs into the wall, it connects the ISY to your insteon devices. Older ones are notorious for working great for years, then acting flaky for a while, then failing

[birdman]

It seems to be working now. Re-set the ISY (unplugged it and plugged it back in) - seems to be in the list of items now. Will try and program it into a scene. Thx 

[birdman]

5 hours ago, paulbates said:

No, Its the Insteon module that the black box connects to via a cable and plugs into the wall, it connects the ISY to your insteon devices. Older ones are notorious for working great for years, then acting flaky for a while, then failing

My black box (ISY) is plugged into an Ethernet cable downstairs in the basement which connects to an Ethernet switch. (My router is connected in another room). It is also plugged into an Insteon Powerlinc Serial 2413S.

I then have 2 Insteon Access Points 2443 plugged into wall outlets (not connected to any Ethernet, just plugged into a wall outlet - one on the main floor and one on the second floor) 

[paulbates]

The 2413S is what I was referring to. Did you have to unplug and replug it to get things working?

If yes, and you start having flaky Insteon problems again, eg not able to control devices, the 2413S is likely going bad.

 

[Brian H]

You may also want to run the built in tests between the two 2443 access points to see if they are still communicating.

If they are any revision 2 units. They are built on the base 2413 PLM and have the same capacitor issues as the 2413S PLM. I had to rebuild mine with capacitor issues.

 

[birdman]

15 hours ago, paulbates said:

No, Its the Insteon module that the black box connects to via a cable and plugs into the wall, it connects the ISY to your insteon devices. Older ones are notorious for working great for years, then acting flaky for a while, then failing

Interesting. My black box ISY is connected through an Ethernet cable downstairs in the basement and then I have 2 of the “white boxes” plugged into wall outlets upstairs and then on the second floor but they are not connected to an Ethernet cable, they are just plugged into a wall outlet 

[birdman]

I wonder if the problem is with the 2 2443 access points. Each of the access points and the 2413S have an LED light. The 2413S which is hard wired to the ISY has a green lit LED. But the LED light on each of the access points, one of which is on the main floor and one upstairs is dark. Not lit. 

[lilyoyo1]

10 hours ago, birdman said:

My black box (ISY) is plugged into an Ethernet cable downstairs in the basement which connects to an Ethernet switch. (My router is connected in another room). It is also plugged into an Insteon Powerlinc Serial 2413S.

I then have 2 Insteon Access Points 2443 plugged into wall outlets (not connected to any Ethernet, just plugged into a wall outlet - one on the main floor and one on the second floor) 

That is incorrect. The 2413S gets plugged into the ISY port A directly. 

[birdman]

I am not at home right now but I believe  that is how I have it set up. The ISY has 2 Ethernet ports on the back. One is plugged into the switch. The other is plugged directly into the 2413S. 

[Guy Lavoie]

47 minutes ago, birdman said:

I am not at home right now but I believe  that is how I have it set up. The ISY has 2 Ethernet ports on the back. One is plugged into the switch. The other is plugged directly into the 2413S. 

Well, the port for the 2413S is a RJ45 connector, but is not ethernet. It's serial.

[birdman]

Thx. I will look at the connectors more closely when I get home / but I am going to assume that the fact that the LED light on the 2 access points is dark means both those units are not functioning. 

Edited Monday at 02:50 PM by birdman

[lilyoyo1]

4 hours ago, birdman said:

Thx. I will look at the connectors more closely when I get home / but I am going to assume that the fact that the LED light on the 2 access points is dark means both those units are not functioning. 

possibly. LEDs couldve went out too. If you try to add close to your plm and it still fails then the access points wouldnt be the issue.

All insteon devices repeats the signal. With 25 devices, the access points are probably irrelevant.

Edited Monday at 07:23 PM by lilyoyo1

[Brian H]

Did you have a chance to look at the revision of the 2443 Access Points? Any revision of 2.0 and above are base 2413 PLM electronics and can have the same capacitor issues.

One of mine the LED on the side was off and the second one was very dim. In my case the same capacitor fix for the 2413S PLM worked.

You can try power cycling them and see what happens. You can also do the 4 tap communications test on them. 4tp test also will run on the 2413S.