ISY Keeps Losing Connection to Devices

[jellis]

I know this has been covered a few times but I was hoping to get some help since I have tried everything and I still keep losing connections.

 

The message I get is Cannot Communicate with "DEVICE". Please Check Connections.

 

Here are my questions:

What is the best way to get these devices back online?

If this happens while I am away from my house then how can I get them back online?

What could be causing this?

 

Thanks!

[LeeG]

jellis

 

There is normally a Red Icon to the left of the device entry in the My Lighting tree. Right click the device entry and select Query. This will access the device (assuming the device is reachable) and clear the Red Icon.

 

Intermittent failure to communicate is generally a powerline issue. Noise on the powerline, signal attenuation such as an unfiltered UPS. Some devices such as cell phone chargers are well known noise producers. Some flat screen TVs can be a problem. PC, Laptop power supplies are good at reducing noise to the respective device they can also attenuate powerline signals. Some CFLs, some florescent ballasts, generate enough noise to cause problems. Not having the 120V legs correctly coupled.

 

Lee

 

EDIT: some things to consider. Is it only one device, if multiple devices are they on the same electrical circuit, do the errors happen only when certain devices are On, do the problems occur at particular times of the day.

[jellis]

OK, so based on what you said I queried everything and is what I currently have going on.

 

Venstar Thermostat: Query came back with no issues. Then I tried to increase the temp. by one degree and received this: TCP client read response failed [CLI-WBug]

 

 

Pool Light: Came back with an error could reach it, but then I queried again it worked fine.

 

Both of these are on different circuits.

[LeeG]

Ditto on BLH comment regarding the tstat dongle. Smartlabs is close to a fix for that problem. Probably have to replace the dongle as the firmware is not upgradable in the field. Not sure that has a relationship to the TCP message as there is no IP traffic associated with tstat commands.

 

The TCP client message is Weatherbug access. Don't think it is related to the tstat. I’m not the right person for IP and Weatherbug questions.

 

The Pool Light is consistent with powerline problems. From its name the Pool Light device may be outside at some distance from the ISY PLM. The Pool pump could be a source of noise. Placing an Access Point close to the Pool Light device may help. Identifying what was running when the Pool Light did not respond might help. Powerline analysis is often a process of elimination. Unplug devices, just turning them Off is not enough because the power supplies are still active when plugged in.

[jellis]

Sorry I don't follow you on the "Ditto on the BLH Comment" comment.... Are you saying there are known issues with this dongle that is causing the drop?

 

The strange part with the WeatherBug error is, I received that error while clicking "SetPoint Up 1 Degree" on the TStat.

 

From what I get out of this though is I probably have some powerline issues and have dongle that is defective because of the way it was built. This is a bummer and I am sure they will charge to replace it as well.

[LeeG]

The Venstar tstat adaptor has a problem that interferes with communication with the tstat and/or other RF devices. Some users see this occurring every few days to a few weeks. Other users have never seen this symptom. There is a topic on the forum specifically discussing this problem. Unplugging the tstat adaptor has been a good way to determine if they are causing a problem. Nothing you have posted so far indicates you have that problem but it is something to consider when evaluating communications problems.

 

Does the TCP error message from the Weatherbug occur when you adjust the thermostat on a regular basis? The thermostat adaptor does not use any IP/TCP communication so I take that message as coincidence until evidence indicates otherwise.

 

The Pool Light communication problem does sound powerline related. Could be noise, distance, both.

[jellis]

I ended up resetting the PLM and everything came back online. Before I reset I lost pretty much everything. I hope that I do not continue to have these issues. They seem to happen monthly. Strange.

[Michel Kohanim]

Hello jellis,

 

How old is your PLM?

 

In my experience, if the PLM fails once, you are almost guaranteed that it will fail again. If it's still under warranty, I recommend getting it replaced.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[jellis]

Hi Michel,

 

My PLM is only about 5 months old and it seems I have issues about every month. I will contact them and see if I can get it replaced.

 

Thanks,

 

James