X10 Community Forum

🔌General Home Automation => Automating Your House => Troubleshooting Automation Problems => Topic started by: stanb on March 14, 2010, 06:06:58 PM

Title: Lights turning on by themselves
Post by: stanb on March 14, 2010, 06:06:58 PM

Ten years after installation and satisfactory operation, two of my wall switches are suddenly turning lights on by themselves, even with the PHT04 X10 Pro timer disconnected. Both switches do respond to the settings in the timer, when it is connected. Both modules work by pushing their buttons. But they turn on again, at random time intervals after turning them off. I have tried all the tips I could find in these forums and nothing works.

I'm thinking the switches might be defective, but the fact that they work otherwise have me baffled.

Can anyone offer some help, please?

Title: Re: Lights turning on by themselves
Post by: dave w on March 14, 2010, 06:09:12 PM

Yes. Make sure the bulbs are screwed tightly in their sockets.

Title: Re: Lights turning on by themselves
Post by: stanb on March 14, 2010, 06:20:29 PM

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried that, but the problem persists.

(and you don't look fat, from here in California)

Title: Re: Lights turning on by themselves
Post by: JeffVolp on March 14, 2010, 06:48:32 PM

There have been several reports of powerline noise doing exactly this.  It is possible for multiple noise sources to sum together in such a way that they can emulate a valid X10 command.  And, I have witnessed noise morphing one X10 command into another.  This report includes a photograph of a simple cellphone charger generating noise that the ESM1 signal meter believes is a "GOOD" X10 code:

http://jvde.us/x10/x10_cellet_noise.htm

Jeff

Title: Re: Lights turning on by themselves
Post by: Dan Lawrence on March 14, 2010, 08:34:39 PM

Just out of curiosity, Jeff, what cell companies in the US/Canada use this type of charger?  Our cell phones are from Verizon and no oddball signals result from their chargers, one is plugged into the same outlet as two lamp modules with zero noise.

Title: Re: Lights turning on by themselves
Post by: JeffVolp on March 15, 2010, 12:02:12 AM

I believe most "wall warts" contain switching supplies today.  Whether they interfere with X10 control depends on the frequency of the switching supply, and if they include a filter network to prevent that noise from reaching the powerline.  I have had communications with a number of people who identified a cellphone charger as a noise source in their installation.  I don't know what brands they were.  None of the Verizon chargers used here appear to cause any problems either.

The charger in that report was sent to me for testing by one of my customers because it raised havoc with his system.

Jeff