RemoteLinc LED flashing

[jca001]

Starting last night when I turn on or off a light from one of my RemoteLincs the LED will blink once when I press one of the buttons as it should. Then after a few seconds the LED will flash fast for about 5 seconds or so. The on/off works and the activity log looks OK, I think. Seems to be a lot of messages logged for a simple on/off.

 

I have a couple of theories, but wanted to check with others first to see if they have seen the same symptoms and what they did to fix the problem so I do not waste time doing things that I don't need to do. Yes some would be simple and not cause any problems, but some could.

 

1) The batteries are low.

But I would think the on/off would not work sometimes. The batteries are maybe over a year old.

 

2) I have had several power failures the last week or so due to weather and maybe the PLM has gotten corrupted in some way.

But the problem did NOT show up just after the last power failure. It has been several days since the last power failure.

 

Thanks in advance.

[LeeG]

The flashing LED indicates the RemoteLinc has not received an ACK for one or more Responder devices. Replace the batteries first. Simple and has no adverse effects. If that does not resolve the situation, try moving the RemoteLinc closer to an Access Point to see if something is reducing the effective range of the RemoteLinc.

 

It is possible the PLM link database was damaged by the power problems. The RemoteLinc is automatically linked to the ISY PLM as a Responder so the RemoteLinc has to talk to whatever device it is controlling (unless done through a Program) as well as the ISY PLM for each button press. Restoring the PLM will rebuild the PLM link database but this could take some time as other devices may be accessed during the process. If the RemoteLinc is the only device having a problem it might be easier to just delete the RemoteLinc and add it back to the ISY. It will have to be added back to the Scene(s) but again this may be quicker than a full PLM restore IF THIS IS THE ONLY DEVICE having a problem.

 

Posting an Event Viewer trace with Device communications events selected might help if the batteries do no fix the problem.

[jca001]

I just accessed the forum to update what I had found and what fixed the problem.

 

Thanks for the suggestions LeeG. Restoring the PLM and removing and adding things back is what I did not want to do if it really was not the problem. The real problem could cause more problems when doing things like that and just cause me a lot of unneeded work and head aces.

 

Anyway, I noticed a MD in the same room would flash rapidly now and then also. Since both of these device, the MS and the RL use an AP, I decided to check the AP in the room. You know it is one of those device that does not have a hardly any setup and does not directly show up in ISY, so it is often just ignored. There is one in this room and one upstairs in the bedroom.

 

The LED on the AP was continuously blinking dimly. I had bought 3 originally and then found out I only really needed 2 to bridge the phases, so I had a spare since my installation is not very big. I removed what I thought was a bad AP and installed the spare one. Going through the the procedures of pressing the button 4 time on the one upstairs and then plugging the spare one, etc. Everything worked fine.

 

Because of the recent power failures, I assumed the AP may have gotten damaged. When we have power failures due to weather, it is usually related to lighting, which means there is a spike and the power goes off, back on, maybe off again, and then back on. This is not good for many electronics, but device like these can not be put on UPS or surge protectors.

 

But to make sure the AP was really bad, I removed the spare and put the original (thought to be bad) AP back in service and it is working fine also. So I have to assume the power fluctuations may not have damaged it, but caused it to get corrupted in some way. I will have to keep and eye on it to see if the problem returns.

[LeeG]

Glad to hear the problem is resolved. As an FYI, the Set button sequence used on the Access Points does not do any setup or configuration in the Access Points. It simply provides a visual indication the Access Points hear each other over RF and they are on opposite 120V legs. Is a good test as it could have been the other Access Point but the test is not necessary to configure the Access Point.

[Brian H]

It does sound like the Access Points electronics where running in a confused state.

The power reset corrected it.

I had a few ApplianceLincs get confused due to power glitches. That also worked after a power reset.