Replacing Decora 'Tap Issue' INSTEON Switches

[Mark Sanctuary]

I am on an adventure with my INSTEON setup. So a little background I was one of the early adopters of the INSTEON products and filled my house back in mid 2006 with the dimmers and relays. It's is great to have all of it automated...when there was no mechanical issues, but alas over the last four years the switches one after another have worked their way into not responding to the human tap, some it was just either the on or off press and some it was both on and off presses.

 

So I started the identification process; for the last few months I red stickered each one when I noticed that they would not respond to a tap, in the end I basically had little red star stickers on over 80% of the switches. And the last few where intermittently showing the same issue so it pretty much totaled up to every switch I had. Let me tell you having issues with this many switches has not fared well on the "Wife Acceptance Factor" because I got the, "either get the switches replaced or please put in normal switches in our house honey". Well normal switches are not an option as far as I am concerned so I had to get them replaced. I pulled all my switched out of the walls and got ready to make the call.

 

Back when I started the stickering process I did some research to confirm I was not alone and that Smarthome would most likely replace my switches. I was able to locate the email notice that they sent me a few years back and confirmed that Smarthome extended the warranty on all Decora-style switches that where purchased before January 1, 2008. I have been putting this exchange off for a while because I really don't like confrontation and was unsure how they would handle it because I thought I might have to press them to exchange them...boy I was wrong, they handled the whole process wonderfully! And when it came down to it the only questions they asked me was; did you get them from us, what are the order numbers, and how many are you exchanging.

 

So now all the switches are here and I am working to install them back in the house. I am wondering what I am going to do to bring them back into the ISY. What is the process to link them back in the ISY and not loose my existing programs? Replace a device is for single devices, will it work to use it when all the devices are new?

 

Smarthome forum announcement:

http://www.smarthome.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2009

 

INSTEON switch warranty extension notice:

http://www.smarthome.com/080626S_L_S_K.html

[Sub-Routine]

Hi Mark,

 

Bummer on all the work, hopefully it will be a long time until you have to do that again.

 

Using the Replace With... function should replace the old device with the new in all scenes and programs.

 

When you have 3-way switches the ISY is going to spend time trying to communicate if you have removed the linked switches. So after using Replace With you will have to use Restore Device after replacing the linked switches.

 

It would save a lot of time to replace one switch at a time in those cases. Or you can temporarily install the old switches, perhaps at your workbench, so the writes complete quickly.

 

You also have the option to Find/Replace in your programs.

 

Rand

[aLf]

Mark:

 

Ditto on the hassle.

 

Could you post for the rest of us the link to the email. I've had some issues and would like to follow up as well.

 

aLf

[paulw]

Been there done that twice! Feel your pain.

 

They replaced 18 of mine due to the issue you are having. However, they replaced them with v35's which drove me nuts. They replaced them all again and life is good!

 

aLf, would suggest you just call customer service, just have your invoice info available.

 

Paul

[Mark Sanctuary]

I added the links to the first post.

[Mark Sanctuary]

The wild thing I noticed is when I pulled up all the old email receipts I only paid $20 for each ICON dimmer/switch and now they are sold for $35.

[Brian H]

Yes Mark.

I have found some of my invoices for original ApplianceLincs and the prices are now much different.

[Mark Sanctuary]

Hi Mark,

 

Bummer on all the work, hopefully it will be a long time until you have to do that again.

 

Using the Replace With... function should replace the old device with the new in all scenes and programs.

 

When you have 3-way switches the ISY is going to spend time trying to communicate if you have removed the linked switches. So after using Replace With you will have to use Restore Device after replacing the linked switches.

 

It would save a lot of time to replace one switch at a time in those cases. Or you can temporarily install the old switches, perhaps at your workbench, so the writes complete quickly.

 

You also have the option to Find/Replace in your programs.

 

Rand

 

Rand,

 

After spending about 3 evenings reinstalling all my switches in the house I am now well into the reprogramming phase. Last night I started with the replace option and was able to only replace 2 out of the 26 total switches which took about 2 hours so I am going to have to brainstorm how to shorten the process. Unfortunately I could not afford the option of purchasing all the switches first and keep the old ones connected on my bench which would have helped with the speed. So I am thinking of some temp ideas to speed up the process... deleting my "All Lights" scene, removing my remotelinc, removing my irlinc, etc. Any other suggestions?

[Sub-Routine]

Hi Mark,

 

The only thing I can think of is to Disable all the missing switches. This will prevent the ISY from attempting to write to them.

 

Enable one at a time and select the Replace option.

 

Finally you may have to ISY-99i/ISY-26_INSTEON:File_Menu#Restore_Devices but you could let that run without any oversight.

 

Rand

[Mark Sanctuary]

Disable devices! That's a great idea!

[Mark Sanctuary]

Also had another question... I have the original PLM I got back with my ISY-26 and have been thinking of swapping it out for the new Dual Band. Should I first get all the new switches linked in to this guy or should I just order the new PLM and then do all the relinking?

[Michel Kohanim]

Hi Mark,

 

1. Wait for the new PLM

2. Reboot your ISY with the new PLM and then do File | Restore Modem (PLM)

3. Add/replace your new devices

 

The only reason is that your old PLM may die in the middle of this process.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[Mark Sanctuary]

Will do, the new PLM is ordered and on its way. Thanks Michel!

[Mark Sanctuary]

Is the old ISY-26 power supply compatible with the ISY-99?

 

If not I will need to order one for the ISY when using dual band PLM.

[Sub-Routine]

Yes, you can use the power supply from the ISY-26.

 

Rand

 

Is the old ISY-26 power supply compatible with the ISY-99?

 

If not I will need to order one for the dual band PLM.

[Mark Sanctuary]

Great then I am all set Rand. Thanks!

[Brian H]

Yes that is what I am using. With my 2413S.

[Mark Sanctuary]

Hi Mark,

 

1. Wait for the new PLM

2. Reboot your ISY with the new PLM and then do File | Restore Modem (PLM)

3. Add/replace your new devices

 

The only reason is that your old PLM may die in the middle of this process.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

Ok I have my new PLM installed and all the devices linked up to it. Looking good so far, now to test and check things just in case something did not link up right.

[Mark Sanctuary]

So the switchover is complete and here is what I have noticed so far...

 

The new switches (ICON dimmers, ICON relays) are performing well, they have a much more firm tactile feel than the old ones which felt more like a squish than a solid click. I have not seen any tap issues, none of the switches have died, nor am I having any noise issues so far. The new setup is working very well and I am a happy boy, better yet Amy is a happy wife.

 

The new PLM Dual Band is working great, it moved all the links over and did not lock up one time like my old one used to do, the ISY seems happier too with the new PLM.

 

Over all we are happy now in the Sanctuary home.

 

Now on to adding new things to the system (ie. EZFlora, thermostat, outdoor lighting control, etc) because all this good performance is making me want to add more devices!

[Brian H]

Thank you for the information on the way the improved switches work.

 

Glad it went well.