X10 Community Forum

💬General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: coder1 on February 28, 2008, 09:34:10 PM

Title: argh, ws467 brightens and dims all by itself when turned on
Post by: coder1 on February 28, 2008, 09:34:10 PM
I installed 3 new ws467 switches today for my front porch, entry way light, and lamp.

all are on separate codes.

when i turn on the entry way light, it brightens, then dims, brightens, then dims, until i turn it off.

any ideas what might cause this?
Title: Re: argh, ws467 brightens and dims all by itself when turned on
Post by: coder1 on February 28, 2008, 09:51:15 PM
if i press the button again while it's dimming it stops.  but when it turns on again, it starts flashing again.
Title: Re: argh, ws467 brightens and dims all by itself when turned on
Post by: steven r on February 28, 2008, 11:25:16 PM
Maybe a new switch with a sticky button?
Title: Re: argh, ws467 brightens and dims all by itself when turned on
Post by: coder1 on February 28, 2008, 11:41:55 PM
I have them both on the same house code, setup as 1 and 2.

It seems like 2 is being triggered by any signals sent on 1 or 2.  In my case, it was a motion detector on 1 that was tripping 2 creating the on/off effect while 1 stayed on.

I moved 2 to 3 and it works fine.  You think I have a bad switch?  I'll try to test a different switch assigned to 2 tomorrow.
Title: Re: argh, ws467 brightens and dims all by itself when turned on
Post by: Charles Sullivan on February 29, 2008, 12:01:34 AM
Quote from: coder1 on February 28, 2008, 11:41:55 PM
I have them both on the same house code, setup as 1 and 2.

It seems like 2 is being triggered by any signals sent on 1 or 2.  In my case, it was a motion detector on 1 that was tripping 2 creating the on/off effect while 1 stayed on.

I moved 2 to 3 and it works fine.  You think I have a bad switch?  I'll try to test a different switch assigned to 2 tomorrow.

Keep in mind that an X10 Motion Sensor sends out two signals: the motion detection signal at the address you've programmed it for and a second signal from its "dusk/dawn" light sensor at the address + 1.   So addresses should always be programmed to differ by at least 2.

Weird things can happen if the sensor "sees" the light it's controlling by its motion detection signal, which may have been the problem in your case.

Title: Re: argh, ws467 brightens and dims all by itself when turned on
Post by: steven r on February 29, 2008, 12:09:13 AM
Quote from: coder1 on February 28, 2008, 11:41:55 PM
...In my case, it was a motion detector on 1 that was tripping 2 creating the on/off effect while 1 stayed on...
Ah.. That's it! You didn't mention that you were use were using a motion sensor.

As Charles posted while I was still typing ;), the motion sensors use 2 unit codes. The set code for the sensor and the code+1 code for day/night sensor. This means a sensor set to unit 1 will send an ON code on unit code 2 when it gets dark and an OFF code when it's light. So if the light from your unit 2 light shines on your unit 1 sensor, then the effect would be to cause the unit 2 light to flash.

BTW... Code 16+1 is unit code 1.

(UNIT)
12345678
9
10111213141516
(UNIT+1)
2345678910111213141516
1
Title: Re: argh, ws467 brightens and dims all by itself when turned on
Post by: coder1 on February 29, 2008, 02:59:17 PM
you guys are great! .. thanks for taking the time to explain this.