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Author Topic: troubleshooting failed system  (Read 2073 times)

bob326

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troubleshooting failed system
« on: July 13, 2011, 06:11:34 PM »

I have a wireless controller driving five units.  They all stopped at once.  I'm proud of my solution.

With my wife watching the controlled lights, I turned off house breakers one at a time.  Finally, on breaker 22, the system came back.  It turned out to be a very small CFL lamp (13W) always on in the downstairs hall.  As it aged, it must have been producing lots of bad RF.  Replaced that bulb and I'm back in business.  I'm sure others must have done this before but I'm happy to have done it.  Bob

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HA Dave

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Re: troubleshooting failed system
« Reply #1 on: July 13, 2011, 06:30:59 PM »

.......... It turned out to be a very small CFL lamp (13W)

Great story (and tip) Bob. I have a love/hate relationship with the CFL's myself. It is rare that they cause a big problem (same with LED bulbs) but they can and DO act up.

Your trip to the control panel [AKA fuse box, or breaker box] to track down the location of the noise maker.... was perfect. Thank-you for sharing your helpful story! Mapping your circuits (and having a map handy) can really be helpful to any X10 user. The How-To: Map Your Electrical Circuits by Puck is a favorite thread I have linked to more than a couple times.

Here is a great reference for trouble shooting X10 problems:  http://forums.x10.com/index.php?topic=7951.0
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Home Automation is an always changing technology

Noam

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Re: troubleshooting failed system
« Reply #2 on: July 14, 2011, 07:09:13 AM »

If you still have the bulb, try putting itback in and listening to it. I had the same thing happen to me a few years ago, and there was a pretty loud "buzz" coming from the bad bulb.
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