X10 Community Forum
🔌General Home Automation => Automating Your House => Troubleshooting Automation Problems => Topic started by: Ayeegit on November 17, 2007, 06:28:24 PM
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Have been running X10 in my home for years, with no problems. But now *something* has changed and I'm about ready to give up on figuring out what.
Here's my (minimalist) setup. I've got an X10 wall switch module in an office, and another in a TV room. Each room has their own control center, and they're used for turning the lights on and off, and dimming the lights when watching movies and what-not. This has been working just fine for four years now - never any problems.
But now, for some reason, the office switch is having a behavioral issue. I can turn the lights on and off from it just fine - but the control center only works now if the lights are turned on at the switch - I can use it to brighten/dim them, turn them off, and as long as I try to turn them back on within 5 or 10 seconds after having turned them off, it'll turn them back on as well. But once 5-10 seconds have passed, I can't turn them back on with the control center - only at the switch (at which point the control center starts working again).
So I figure the control center might be on the fritz - so I swap the control centers between the two rooms, reset the house codes on them, and try again. Same problem.
Ok, so maybe the wall switch module is going bad. I took both wall modules out, and switched them. Same problem.
Last thing I can think to try is some different house and module codes. Doesn't matter what they're set to - if the two rooms share a house code or use different ones, it still behaves the same way.
So I'm pretty sure I've eliminated the command centers and the modules. I've got NO other X10 stuff in the house (I did just buy AHP and the controller for it, but this problem started before I ever started experimenting with that, and I've got it unplugged while I figure out this issue).
Any ideas? I can't figure out why this would just suddenly start happening - it's driving me NUTS!
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Have you recently acquired any new electronic appliances, e.g., TV, DVD, PC, UPS, etc? Switch mode power supplies in electronic devices can put electrical noise or heavy capacitive filtering on the AC power line. Either of these can make X10 communications unreliable unless an X10 noise filter is inserted between the offending appliance and the AC socket.
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Ayeegit,
Did you perhaps change the bulbs in the light controlled by the office switch?
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Thanks for the replies, guys. I haven't added anything recently to the house as far as electrical appliances. And the light bulbs in the overhead lighting haven't been changed recently.
However, since I posted my message earlier, now everything seems fine. I probably won't completely trust it until a few days have gone by without any further issues, but perhaps this site is so powerful that just by posting my message (and after messing with this whole thing for several hours today!), the problem has cleared up.
*Shrug*
I guess tomorrow I can get back into the AHP install for the X-mas lights and see if that will start behaving as well - maybe my good luck will continue!
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Thanks for the replies, guys. I haven't added anything recently to the house as far as electrical appliances. And the light bulbs in the overhead lighting haven't been changed recently.
However, since I posted my message earlier, now everything seems fine. I probably won't completely trust it until a few days have gone by without any further issues, but perhaps this site is so powerful that just by posting my message (and after messing with this whole thing for several hours today!), the problem has cleared up.
*Shrug*
I guess tomorrow I can get back into the AHP install for the X-mas lights and see if that will start behaving as well - maybe my good luck will continue!
Just like the way the car stops acting up when you take it to the mechanic! ;D
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Thanks for the replies, guys. I haven't added anything recently to the house as far as electrical appliances. And the light bulbs in the overhead lighting haven't been changed recently.
However, since I posted my message earlier, now everything seems fine. I probably won't completely trust it until a few days have gone by without any further issues, but perhaps this site is so powerful that just by posting my message (and after messing with this whole thing for several hours today!), the problem has cleared up.
As an extra word of caution, moving electrical loads from one branch circuit to another can also "break" your X10 system. I build my own PC's and use high quality "true power" (no names please) power supplies. unfortunately, these supplies resemble a black hole for X10 signals. Without a filter, they will kill (absorb) all X10 signals on the circuit.
My wife's laptop, on the other hand, is a noise generator. When working at full power it will mask all the X10 signals on the circuit. When it is dormant, low power mode, it is tolerable.
Moving any of these PC's (unfiltered) to another circuit can break my system.
Boiler
It's not always what devices you have, but where you have them.
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Some brands of CFLs can make noise or absorb X10 signals. I actually found some brand CFLs schematics by an FCC Database search. Many have an AC rated cap across the input and an Inductor on the hot lead to the electronics.
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My wife's cell phone charger makes enough noise when plugged in... without the phone charging... it can make a lamp unreliable.
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Ayeegit,
In the future if you continue to have modules not responding (signal issues) the link below may interest you.
Re: Anyone try phase couplers/amplifiers to fix AHP/x10 problems? (http://www.x10community.com/forums/index.php?topic=13847.msg76805#msg76805)
Hope this helps.
Cheers ;D