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[Brando]

 I have an older x10 switch integrated into my pool pump system.  Works fine, until recently over the last couple weeks the pool has been coming on on it own at random times during the day.  When i go out its clear that the x10 switch has been activated as that is the only way to turn the pool off, the actual pool timer hasn't been switch one, it works normally.

  this happened a couple years ago and i was directed to get a filter, a box that iplu in to the 220 dryer outlet that in turn i plug the dryer into, i guess it isolates the circuit.

The only thing that charged recently is that my built in wall oven ( also a 220) died and i cut the power for a week or so before the new one was installed.  
It seems this phantom power on issue started right after i re-powered the new oven...ut seems.

Any suggestions on how to narrow down the cause?
Would changing anything in the x10 switch/transmitter/receiver help..like a channel or something?

[Brian H]

Does the new oven have any electronics in it?
The electronics could be making power line noise. Though many times they act as a signal sucker. From their internal AC line filters.

Can't hurt to try a few different X10 addresses.

Your power company didn't give you a Smart Meter when the power was off to the old oven?

[Brando]

yeah the new oven is a combination microwave/convection oven, same that was originally there just a 2012 model. wired in the exact same manner.

a smart meter?
I just flipped the breaker in the box.
 Been a while since i messed with the insides of these switches,  i change the address on the switch correct?  And the transmitter/receiver to match?

[ardhuru]

I think is unlikely that the switch is getting a valid X10 signal to react on. Remember, there is a rudimentary error-checking algorithm built-in into the X10 protocol.

I dont know which switch you are using, but the lamp and appliance modules have a circuit to detect the connection of a load; the idea being to control the load manually as well. They call it local control. If that circuit goes bad, or the connection between the output and the X10 module is shaky, strange things can happen. This 'feature' can be disabled by a minor surgery. I'd suggest you try that.

http://kbase.x10.com/wiki/Local_Control_for_Lamp_And_Appliance_Modules and

http://www.x10community.com/marko/2006/06/disabling_the_local_control_fe.html

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Anand Dhuru

[Brian H]

The modification for the Appliance Modules in the link is for the older ones.

The new CFL friendly ones are radically different and the modification will not apply.
Though the very small On Off status current is much less of a problem.

[Brando]

the switch that is being used on the pool pump is an XPS3-W 3-Way master switch receiver.
No phantom "power on" issues over the last few days, but today it was on when i got up, i turned it off.  and hour later it was back on, i turned it off.
10 minutes later it was on again, i turned it off and it hasn't been on since.

the only other switch is for the pool light, it is under a cover that i don't want to take apart at the moment.
The transceiver is an X-10 Pro Model # PAT01
and the remote is an X-10 Pro Model #PHR02
and right now nothing is working( pool or light wont turn on or off) when using the remote.

When i press the on or off toggle for the light on the remote the transceiver makes a thump sound( as it has always done) but the light doesnt come on.
When i press the on or off toggle for the pool pump nothing there is no sound and nothing happens.

Both the remote and transceiver "channel" dials has/are set at "E" and have been for as long as i can remember. Ive changed them and the XPS3-W to "A" and several other combinations, same "symptoms".
I tried changing the #dial setting on the XPS to correspond with other toggles on the PHR02.  
Nothing.

Everything is set back to its original setting.

 I haven't changed the batteries in the remote, but the red indicator light is bright red when ever i press a toggle.
Is there anything i can reset on the transceiver?

[Brian H]

So the Pool Light is on E1 and the Pool Pump is on a different Unit Code.
When you send the E1 On or Off. The PAT01s internal relay clunks {if the Unit Code 1 or 9 choice is on 1} but the lights also on E1 do not function.
Also the pool pump does not function at all from the remote.

The PAT01s relay clunking indicates the remotes signal is reaching it and turning its relay on and off.

The modules not responding. Could be the PAT01s power line transmitter has failed or something is really making noise or absorbing the power line signals.
The PAT01 is the X10pro version of a X10 RR501. I did have an RR501 get flaky and send garbage on the power lines.

[Brando]

the pool pump is on E2 and it does not "clunk"
Do i infer that the transceiver should be replaced?
Is the RR501 the best choice?

perhaps the remote is the issue for the E2 not responding( clunking)
 all this x-10 equipment is 11+ years old.

Can these be purchased locally ( im in Arizona)

[Brian H]

Do you have any other X10 controller that could send an E2 On and Off as a test?
If you test it on E1 so you can hear the PAT01 clunk On and Off and it doesn't respond. I would suspect the PAT01 may have a problem.
I have never looked for X10 equipment on Amazon but know there are many EBay dealers that give decent prices. Considering many X10 devices availability drying up for now.

A PAT01 or RR501 would be a better choice over an X10 TM751.

[Brando]

today the pump turned on several times on its own, again.

the only other thing that i recall is something similar happening years ago, i ended up with a smart-home SinaLinc Model 4816B2


Plugged into the dryer outlet that resolved whatever that issue was.

i keep going back to the fact that this issue seems to have stemmed from the power being off on the oven circuit and then back on.

Im curious if this is merely a noise issue and whether replacing any of the units is pointless.
Ive looked a bit and it does seem that i can find them all cheaper online, so i may go that route if i decide to.

[Noam]

i keep going back to the fact that this issue seems to have stemmed from the power being off on the oven circuit and then back on.

Im curious if this is merely a noise issue and whether replacing any of the units is pointless.

There's one I can suggest you try, if you haven't done so already. Turn the oven circuit back off for a day or two (if you can survive without it that long), and see if the problem goes away. If so, there might be something in the oven circuitry that is causing noise. I know you said this was just an updated version of the old one it replaced, but perhaps something changed in the design of the electronics (like a different source for the transformer that provides the low voltage for the control circuits, even) which is causing it to put more noise out on your line than it did before.
I don't know if there is a 220V wire-in noise filter (that could cover both phases of the electric oven), but that might end up being the solution if the problem is indeed the oven itself. Perhaps two separate 110V filters could be wired in-line between the breaker panel and the oven somewhere.

[Brando]

turning off the circuit for a couple days is exactly what had just occurred to me , though im not sure how the failure of either switch to trigger is connected.  We shall see.
May not be able to try this till the weekend.  Ill keep you updated.
Thanks

[Noam]

Noise can cause two types of problems. It can cause things to NOT work (by blocking the signal), and it can cause random turn-ons in some switches (because the noise looks like a valid command to the switch).

If the noise is indeed coming from the new oven, then turning it off at the breaker should have some effect on the situation you have.