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🔌General Home Automation => Automating Your House => Troubleshooting Automation Problems => Topic started by: siftyul on July 30, 2012, 11:36:46 AM

Title: AM466 not working with low load LEDs
Post by: siftyul on July 30, 2012, 11:36:46 AM
I have a problem with a device X10 AM486.

I have connected  LED lights and I cannot turn the lights OFF.
When I send an OFF signal, they turn OFF for a few seconds and then turn ON again.
They pull 0.0375A only.

Anyone has experienced?
Title: Re: AM466 not working with low load LEDs
Post by: dave w on July 30, 2012, 12:09:09 PM
Anyone has experienced?
Yes everyone. It is caused by leakage current from the Appliance Module, and can be fixed with a night light or a resistor.

Search "LED Lights".
Title: Re: AM466 not working with low load LEDs
Post by: Noam on July 30, 2012, 01:09:40 PM
... and can be fixed with a night light or a resistor.
Ir by cutting the appropriate component or jumper inside the module to disable local control.
Searching should find the details on that, too.
Title: Re: AM466 not working with low load LEDs
Post by: Brian H on July 30, 2012, 03:00:38 PM
If it is turning back On. It probably is not one of the new CLF Friendly ones, but I will through this out anyway.
The CFL friendly ones do not have a way to disable the small am I On or Off current.
Title: Re: AM466 not working with low load LEDs
Post by: pomonabill221 on August 02, 2012, 04:36:31 PM
If it is turning back On. It probably is not one of the new CLF Friendly ones, but I will through this out anyway.
The CFL friendly ones do not have a way to disable the small am I On or Off current.
So does this mean that if an led light is used, it will glow a little due to the sensing current?
Title: Re: AM466 not working with low load LEDs
Post by: Brian H on August 02, 2012, 05:58:35 PM
Yes. Very low wattage LED lights like Night Lights and Christmas Lights. May glow. Not as bright as with the older ones.

The sensing current is around 0.36 mA. The older ones with both On Off sensor and local control with a diode as part of it. Was 2.28 mA AC and 1.65 mA DC.
Title: Re: AM466 not working with low load LEDs
Post by: pomonabill221 on August 02, 2012, 06:07:25 PM
Ahhh thanks for the info.
But you said that this cannot be disabled like the old ones???
Title: Re: AM466 not working with low load LEDs
Post by: Brian H on August 02, 2012, 06:09:44 PM
Yes. If you cut the 330K resistor. The module doesn't know if it is On or Off. So it fires the ratchet switch a few times before giving up. Like a machine gun.  ;D
Title: Re: AM466 not working with low load LEDs
Post by: pomonabill221 on August 02, 2012, 07:52:14 PM
If it is turning back On. It probably is not one of the new CLF Friendly ones, but I will through this out anyway.
The CFL friendly ones do not have a way to disable the small am I On or Off current.
So there is a way to disable the sensing circuit then?? or are we talking the local control part??
Title: Re: AM466 not working with low load LEDs
Post by: Brian H on August 02, 2012, 08:51:33 PM
I have not seen any way to disable the small On-Off sensing circuit. It can't tell if it is On or Off and pulses ratchet switch like a machine gun a few times and quits trying.

The new ones don't have Local Control from all I have seen. I have cycled the local switch on a table lamp with a 100 watt bulb. If the appliance modules was off it stayed off.

We have seen an occasional report of noise spikes when switching some inductive loads triggering one to go back On.
Title: Re: AM466 not working with low load LEDs
Post by: JeffVolp on August 03, 2012, 09:23:20 AM
We have seen an occasional report of noise spikes when switching some inductive loads triggering one to go back On.

The local control is also a problem for coffee pots with a thermostatically controlled warming tray.  Back at the lab I had to send multiple OFF commands to make sure that one stayed off.

Jeff
Title: Re: AM466 not working with low load LEDs
Post by: Brian H on August 03, 2012, 09:32:59 AM
The older ones before the CFL friendly design. Where much worse with many loads.
Title: Re: AM466 not working with low load LEDs
Post by: dave w on August 05, 2012, 07:07:56 PM
We have seen an occasional report of noise spikes when switching some inductive loads triggering one to go back On.

The local control is also a problem for coffee pots with a thermostatically controlled warming tray. 
I stopped our "come back on" problem with a cube tap and a 4W nightlight. I like it since the nightlight now tells us the coffee maker is still powered so we don't forget and leave it on when leaving for work.