OmegaQuest Posted February 3, 2012 Posted February 3, 2012 I have looked over the manual and the forums here and Smarthome with no real luck. I am trying to get the IOLinc to turn "On" when someone rings my doorbell (16 volts). I wired the Low-voltage sensor to the + and - on my doorbell bell, and plugged the other end (3.5 jack) into the IOLinc (nothing more is hooked into the IOLinc). I have the IOLinc linked to my ISY-99i. This is where I cant seem to get anything to work. the IOLinc Sensor light on the bottom is off. When I hit the doorbell button, the IOLinc sensor light never comes on even for a split secound. I have changed all the settings in ISY-99i to every differant combination with no luck (Momentary A-C and Sensor)... I even went as far as to grab a 18 volt battery and put the + and - wires on the Low-Voltage linc and still the sensor light never comes on and the status never changes to On. The only way I can get the Relay or Sensor status to change is to manually push the set button 1 time or 2 times fast..... am I missing something here? Thanks
LeeG Posted February 3, 2012 Posted February 3, 2012 Can you measure the voltage applied to the Low Voltage Sensor when the door bell button is pressed? I think this is a question for the Smarthome Gold line. Nothing the ISY can configure controls whether the I/O Linc Sensor turns On (Green LED turns On). There are options that control what command is sent when the Green LED turns On but nothing that controls whether the Sensor turns On. Pressing the Set button on the I/O Linc cycles the I/O Linc Relay On/Off. The LED below the Set button will change from dim to bright and back as the Relay turns On/Off. There is no manual control of the I/O Linc Sensor (Green LED).
OmegaQuest Posted February 3, 2012 Author Posted February 3, 2012 I will try testing the voltate when the doorbell rings when I get home. But because I manually tried connecting and disconnecting a 18 volt battery and still the Low-Voltage sensor didnt ever turn the IOLinc on or off shouldnt the rule out the doorbell at this moment?
LeeG Posted February 3, 2012 Posted February 3, 2012 Perhaps but the door bell is 18-24V AC, the battery is 18V DC. The Low Voltage Probe is spec'ed for either but the internal circuitry to detect AC versus DC is different. Using a battery raised the question of correct polarity of connection which does not exist for the door bell AC. Checking the voltage verifies the Probe is wired correctly. As I mentioned before I think a call to the Smarthome Gold line is where the question belongs. There is nothing in the I/O Linc configuration that prevents the I/O Linc Sensor from turning On.
OmegaQuest Posted February 3, 2012 Author Posted February 3, 2012 Smarthome said they are going to replace the Low-Voltage probe first and then the IOLinc if that dosent work. We will see.
LeeG Posted February 3, 2012 Posted February 3, 2012 The I/O Linc Sensor can be tested by removing the Low Voltage Probe jack and connecting the Sensor to GND. That should turn the Sensor On and the Green LED as well. That will not verify the small jack the Probe is connected to is working but it will show if the basic I/O Linc Sensor is functional.
OmegaQuest Posted February 25, 2012 Author Posted February 25, 2012 I got the replacment 8015 Probe and still the same problem. I have also tested 2 other IOLinc's and they all do the same thing. The Sensor LED flashes for a split second when I press the doorbell button, but the relay nor the sensor in ISY ever turn to the on state (even for a split second). The voltage is 0 volts when the doorbell is not pressed and 11-12 volt when I press the doorbell button for a split second. Am I missing something here?
LeeG Posted February 25, 2012 Posted February 25, 2012 "The voltage is 0 volts when the doorbell is not pressed and 11-12 volt when I press the doorbell button for a split second." Is that measuring the input to the probe or input to the I/O Linc Sensor? Did you try the excellent suggestion of connecting a 9V battery to the probe so see what happens?
LeeG Posted February 25, 2012 Posted February 25, 2012 Is the probe connect to the door bell button or the door bell itself. The fact that the 11-12 volts is there for such a short time it sounds like the probe is connected to the door bell button. I think it should be connected to the door bell and there should be 18-24V ac on the door bell for as long as the button is pressed.
OmegaQuest Posted February 25, 2012 Author Posted February 25, 2012 The doorbell button is only pressed for a second by someone, so yes it is wired to the transformer on the doorbell itself. Also the 0 & 11-12 Volt is at the source of where the two wires I connect to the Probe, not the jack end. If have also wired it to the other end of the transformer (20volts when the doorbell button is NOT pressed, and 0.3 volts when the doorbell button is pressed) and still the same thing happens, only the green LED Sensor light flashes for a split second, and nothing else.
LeeG Posted February 25, 2012 Posted February 25, 2012 One second is very long for a digital circuit. You do see 18-24v ac on the door bell for as long as the button is pressed and held. One side of the low voltage transformer goes to the bell, the other side of the bell comes from door bell button. You should be seeing low voltage ac on the door bell for that full second the button is pressed.
LeeG Posted February 25, 2012 Posted February 25, 2012 If the probe is connected to the same side of the transformer that is going out to the button and the other side of the probe is connected to the return from the button you could see the results observed. Try connecting the probe to the other transformer secondary connection. Transformer Secondary A B A - goes to the door bell B – goes to the door bell button Door Bell C D C – comes from the transformer secondary D – comes from the door bell button Probe – should be connected to Door Bell C & D
OmegaQuest Posted February 25, 2012 Author Posted February 25, 2012 That is how I have it connected. 1 wire of probe is going to the Transformer (with 0 volts when the doorbell is not pressed) and the other wire of the probe is going to the doorbell button wire. (So to sum it up, the probe is hooked up to the 2 screws on the doorbell itself, 1 goes to the transformer, the other to the button). Also when the doorbell button is pressed, the probe (at the jack end) is reading 0.2 volts while at the wire end, it is reading 20 volts. So everything appears to be hooked up correctly, its just not working for some reason....
LeeG Posted February 25, 2012 Posted February 25, 2012 The 0 volt reading does not mean the probe is on the correct secondary connection. So long as there is sustained voltage on the probe (equal to the transformer secondary voltage) while the button is pressed and held I think the probe is wired as it should be.
OmegaQuest Posted February 25, 2012 Author Posted February 25, 2012 When the doorbell is pressed "And Held in" there continues to be a 20 volt power to the probe 2 wires side. Also (this may be normal) but when I press the set button on the IOLinc, the sensor changes state to "On" and after the set time (in 10ths of a second) the white light on the IOLinc turns off, but the Sensor status stays in the "On" status. The only way for me to get the sensor status to turn off is to hit the set button again while the white IOLinc light is still On. Thanks
LeeG Posted February 25, 2012 Posted February 25, 2012 My I/O Lincs do not toggle the Sensor (Green LED) when the Set button is pressed. The I/O Linc Relay does toggle On/Off (White LED) with the Set button. It sounds like the I/O Linc Relay is operating in Momentary mode. If the Set button turns the Relay On the momentary mode will turn if Off.
OmegaQuest Posted February 25, 2012 Author Posted February 25, 2012 This is how I have it wired. in ISY-99i I have it set to: LED on TX = clicked Relay Follows Input = checked Momentary C = checked Momentary hold time = 50 (I have tried 2 all the way up to 255 with nothing changing).
OmegaQuest Posted February 25, 2012 Author Posted February 25, 2012 My I/O Lincs do not toggle the Sensor (Green LED) when the Set button is pressed. The I/O Linc Relay does toggle On/Off (White LED) with the Set button. It sounds like the I/O Linc Relay is operating in Momentary mode. If the Set button turns the Relay On the momentary mode will turn if Off. I might of explained it wrong. The Green Sensor LED only flashes on for a split second when the doorbell is pressed. Never does the Green LED turn on when I press the set button on the IOLinc, only the White LED does. in ISY-99i the Sensor Status changes from Off to On when I press the IOLinc Set button (White Light). The relay never turns to the On status in ISY-99i when I press the Set button on the IOLinc, only the Sensor Status does.
LeeG Posted February 25, 2012 Posted February 25, 2012 That is a good wiring diagram. For some reason the probe is not bringing the Sensor line down to I/O Linc GND. The jack the probe plugs into carries the I/O Linc GND and Sensor connections. The expectation is GND will be applied to the Sensor. For some reason the probe is not bringing the Sensor line down to GND. The Green LED can actually turn On (not full bright) but not trigger the Sensor to On state. Smarthome use to sell a water leak detector I/O Linc combination that never worked well because the water detector could not bring the Sensor line down to GND. The Green LED would be on which mislead many folks. It was not apparent the LED was not full On meaning the Sensor line was not down to GND.
OmegaQuest Posted February 25, 2012 Author Posted February 25, 2012 Ya the Green LED when the Doorbell is pressed when it comes on for a split second, is very dim (not bright green). Any other way around this without buying even more smarthome hardware... LOL
LeeG Posted February 25, 2012 Posted February 25, 2012 An alternative would be to connect a small 18-24V AC Relay (whatever the transformer secondary is rated at) to the same points the probe is now. Connect the new relay Com and N/O contacts to the I/O Linc GND and Sensor screw points. That will turn the I/O Linc Sensor On for as long the door bell button is pressed. That will not be long but should be long enough for the I/O Linc Sensor to send an On command to the ISY which could trigger an ISY Program. I've challenged and cross-checked the probe connections every way I know how. It should be working based on all we know at this point. Would have to take a probe apart and see what makes it tick to go any further down that path.
OmegaQuest Posted February 25, 2012 Author Posted February 25, 2012 Do you think this would work or do you think I might have the same problems again.... http://www.smarthome.com/1221/Elk-ELK-9 ... tor/p.aspx Thanks
LeeG Posted February 25, 2012 Posted February 25, 2012 ELK has a good reputation for quality equipment. I don't have one so no direct experience. Perhaps those who use ELK and have used that particular board can provide some firsthand knowledge.
Brian H Posted February 25, 2012 Posted February 25, 2012 If the green Sensor LED is dim. Then the low voltage probe is not pulling the sensor input low enough to trigger it or it is pulsing from the AC into it. I have one of the ELK 930s myself. It has three PC Boards that can be separated if you care to. Two Doorbell and one telephone ringing detector. Used one of the doorbell sections to sense when the bell current was being drawn. I used the common transformer terminal as that way both the back and front doorbells trigger it. In my case I have an X10 Powerflash module. I have tested it with an I/OLInc Sensor Input and it was fine. One thing to remember. Depending on the Sensor being On or Off when linked. You can get the I/OLinc to send an Off when the sensor is On.
OmegaQuest Posted February 26, 2012 Author Posted February 26, 2012 On the Jack end of the probe it is reading 0.2volts How much lower can it get.
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