Program change

[flsenior]

Whenever I manually operate a switch that controls the pool motor this program ceases to operate for the remainder of the day. For example, the pool motor may be running and I will turn it off to perform pool maintenance. When finished I will switch the motor back on. How can I get the program to resume control of the pool motor? In this case the pool motor will continue to run nonstop until I manually turn it off. The next day the program will operate as programmed.

If

From 9:00:00AM

To 7:21:00PM (same day)

 

Then

Repeat Every 1 hour

Set 'Pool Motor' On

Wait 40 minutes

Set 'Pool Motor' Fast Off

 

Else

- No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action')

[LeeG]

What does the Programs | Summary page show for this Program when the Program has stopped running.

 

Last Run Time

Last Finish Time

Status

Activity

 

I assume the motor was disconnected from the device in some way. Otherwise the Program could start it unexpectedly. Some devices will present an error if the load is not connected which may have stopped further activity.

[flsenior]

The current summary:

 

Last run time 9:00 am Wed 4/18/12

Last finish time 7:21 pm Tues 4/17/12

Status = True

Activity Idle

 

The motor was turned on/off via an Insteon switch. The motor is controlled by a 240v Insteon Load Controller

[LeeG]

Ignore the last text in this post. I did not notice the difference in date. I'll have to run a test of this situation. I was expecting something different.

 

How was the Load Controller turned Off manually?

[flsenior]

The motor started as programmed this morning. I turned the motor off, then back on after I completed pool maintenance. The motor ran continuously until I manually turned it off. The summary I provided was with the motor manually turned off.

[LeeG]

Depending on when the motor was turned Off it could run for an hour after being turned On manually before being turned Off by the Program. Did the motor run for more than an hour after being turned on manually?

[flsenior]

Yes. The motor will not stop even after the program end time of 7:21 pm.

[Nuttycomputer]

LeeG can correct me if I'm wrong but I believe you need to add a turn motor off command to the Else line. Otherwise I don't see why the motor would turn off at 7:21 pm anyway.

 

At 7:00 pm the motor is turned on. The program enters a wait stage... at the end of the wait stage the program is re-evaluated (it may even be at the trigger I'm not clear on that yet). It is now 7:40 pm, the program is false, so the "Then" portion of the rest of the program will not run. Instead the Else will be evaluated.

[flsenior]

I believe you are correct as I can also share another situation that backs up your assumption.

 

Previously I had the program set up so that the motor ran 20 min/hr. The program ran from 9 am - 7 pm. There were no problems with the motor being off at night, although I can't tell you the precise time that it turned off. I then needed to run the motor for a longer time so I changed it to 40 min/hr (9am - 7pm). The motor would not shut off at night. My guess was that the motor was running when 7 pm was reached. All that probably happened was that the program stopped but the motor was not turned off, regardless of how long it was running in the cycle. Since the program stopped running, there was no off command issued to stop the motor at the end of a 40 min cycle. I then changed the time to 7:21 pm to insure that the motor was off when the program stop time was reached. I will add a "off" command to Else.

 

Getting back to my original question - why doesn't the program take over after I manually intervene during the day?

[LeeG]

flsenior

 

I don't know the answer to the original question yet. However, changing the time range is not the way to insure the Program turns the motor Off. In the Else clause, which is driven at the end of the time range regardless of where the Then clause is in its execution, add at Set 'Pool Motor' Fast Off. This insures when the Program completes it will turn the motor Off.

 

The original summary information shows the Program started but has not ended. Yet the Activity shows Idle which I was not expecting.

 

What ISY firmware is being used?

[flsenior]

v 2.8.16

[Nuttycomputer]

I think the easiest way to test further would be to start a diagnostic trace (level 3) at x:30 run through the steps (if it takes you longer than 10 minutes adjust accordingly) and see what happens at x:40... unless there is an easier way I'm not seeing.. Lee?

[LeeG]

Thanks. I cannot test ISY code that old. 3.1.17 is the latest official release and it will soon be replaced by one of the 3.2.x beta releases so an official release will have I2CS support. I will test on 3.2.4 to see if I can recreate what you are seeing.

[LeeG]

flsenior

 

I cannot recreate what you are describing on 3.2.4. I recommend you add the Set motor Off to the Else clause so the motor will turn Off regardless of where the Then clause is in its cycle when the To time arrives. Then move to 3.2.4 to see if it is still a problem.