LIGHTOLIER CCWHISPLC Suddenly Stopped Working At All

[whitedavidp]

I bought mine in 2017, new in the box. It has worked great since then. Now it is 2025 and I went to turn it on/off and get no response whatsoever - either using X10 or the physical paddle switch on the unit. When I press the paddle switch, I can see the LED change position as it should. But nothing happens at the fan. Any suggestions? Thanks

[brobin]

If you bypass the switch to power the fan does the fan work?  If yes, I'd suspect a faulty switch.  There's one on ebay right now:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/135138879303

[whitedavidp]

Thanks. I am an idiot and just discovered that I had the fan's direction switch between clockwise/counterclockwise and so it would not work. Once I checked that, as it was the last thing touched with the change of seasons, all is well again. Sorry for the false alarm. But I MAY go ahead and get a spare switch unit. Best!

[toasterking]

Thanks to both of you for bringing up old memories and for finding CCWHISPLC units for sale.  David, glad your old unit is still working.  When I finally got around to try automating ceiling fans with X10 in 2010, the CCWHISPLC was already discontinued.  I ended up making this silly project instead.  I still find it strange that Lightolier apparently had the only off-the-shelf solution for controlling ceiling fan speeds with X10.

[toasterking]

I actually just bought a Lightolier CCWHISPLC (there were still 4 more besides this one on eBay) because I had always wanted one, but the manual was not included.  Does anyone know where I could find a manual?  I was surprised to find that not even the connecting wires were labeled on the housing.  It's up and running, but I know it should have some advanced features that I don't know how to use.  In particular, I want to be able to:

• Set the default fan speed (fan speed when it receives "On")
• Set the LED states via X10
• Set the fan speed directly via X10, rather than incrementing or decrementing via BRIGHT/DIM commands. (It doesn't seem to care about extended codes for dimming or shutter positions, but maybe I'm sending the wrong codes.  I think Lightolier was using the messy "X10 Preset Dim" commands for something.)

For anyone else who is looking, I was able to find this basic info from other forum posts:

Wire color codes:

• White: Neutral
• Black: Hot in
• Red: Load out
• Yellow: Optional remote

Setting the X10 address:

• Hold the SET button (small button at right side of paddle) and either UP or DOWN on the paddle switch.  To set the house code, hold UP.  To set the unit code, hold DOWN.  Hold both SET and UP or DOWN for 3 seconds.
• LED bar on left side of paddle switch shows the current code in binary:  Bottom LED only is A/1, second LED only is B/2, bottom and second LED together is C/3, etc.
• While still holding SET, use UP and DOWN to adjust house/unit code.  LED bar shows the current code in binary while adjusting.
• Release the SET button.
• Repeat to set the other code (house or unit).

[brobin]

This one comes with the original manual:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/264894489017

[toasterking]

This one comes with the original manual:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/264894489017

I saw that, but it looks like it's a manual for a different switch.

[toasterking]

This one comes with the original manual:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/264894489017

You were correct; this is the full manual. Lightolier apparently decided to make things as confusing as possible for consumers by including generic instructions for multiple classes of the entire line of compatible products in a map-fold manual, rather than concise instructions for this specific model.

I found a copy of the manual at https://forums.homeseer.com/filedata/fetch?id=1175179 (requires forum registration) and it seems to explain most of what I want in a roundabout way. It leaves some experimentation to the user, so I may post here again for posterity after I've deciphered the rest of the features for X10-only operation.

[toasterking]

Here it is:  the most complete and concise guide you will currently find anywhere on the Internet for setting up and using a Lightolier CCWHISPLC fan switch with X10.  Some of this information is from the manual, some is from forum posts, and some is from experimentation.

Wire color codes:

• White: Neutral
• Black: Hot in
• Red: Load out
• Yellow: Optional remote

Setting factory defaults and enabling X10 compatible mode:
(This also sets the X10 address to the default of C1.)

• Press the bottom of the switch paddle with more pressure than normal.  You should feel and hear a click as the top of the paddle pops out one additional notch and a "SYSTEM OFF" label should now be visible at the top of the paddle.  The switch is now airgapped.
• Press and hold the SET button on the right side of the switch.
• While still holding the SET button, press the top of the switch paddle (ON) all the way in and release.  Then press and release the bottom (OFF) of the paddle.
• Release the SET button.

Confirming X10 compatible mode:

• Tap the bottom (OFF) of the paddle twice.
• Press and hold the SET button for 10 seconds.
• The bottom two green LEDs should light.
• Release the SET button.

Enabling the X10 transmitter for status feedback (optional):

• Tap the bottom (OFF) of the paddle twice.
• Press and hold the SET button for 10 seconds.
• The bottom two green LEDs should light.
• Tap the top of the paddle once.  The bottom two green LEDs should extinguish and the top two green LEDs should light instead.
• Release the SET button.

Setting the X10 address:

• Hold the SET button (small button at right side of paddle) and either UP or DOWN on the paddle switch.  To set the house code, hold UP.  To set the unit code, hold DOWN.  Hold both SET and UP or DOWN for 3 seconds.
• LED bar on left side of paddle switch shows the current code in binary:  Bottom LED only is A/1, second LED only is B/2, bottom and second LED together is C/3, etc.
• While still holding SET, use UP and DOWN to adjust house/unit code.  LED bar shows the current code in binary while adjusting.
• Release the SET button.
• Repeat to set the other code (house or unit).

You cannot view this attachment.

Setting the default fan speed (optional):

• Tap the top (ON) of the paddle switch to turn the fan on.
• Hold the top or bottom of the paddle switch until the indicator shows the desired speed (high, medium, or low), then release.
• Tap the SET button to the right of the paddle.  This speed indicator LED will now glow dimly while the switch is off, and the fan will start at this speed when the switch is turned on.

Setting the red LED brightness (optional and silly):

• Tap the bottom (OFF) of the paddle once.
• Press and hold the bottom (OFF) of the paddle for 3 seconds.
• While still holding the bottom (OFF) of the paddle, press the SET button to the right of the paddle to cycle through the LED brightness levels (bright, medium, dim, off).
• Release the bottom (OFF) of the paddle to confirm.

All X10 commands:
(examples assume default address of C1 and use ahcmd.exe, provided with ActiveHome Scripting SDK)

-==On==-
ahcmd sendplc C1 on
-==Off==-
ahcmd sendplc C1 off
-==Faster==-
(if off, turns on and sets speed to low)
ahcmd sendplc C1 bright 0
-==Slower==-
(if speed is low, turns off)
ahcmd sendplc C1 dim 0
-==Set fan speed to high (from any state)==-
ahcmd sendplc C1
ahcmd sendplc J PresetDim2
-==Set fan speed to medium (from any state)==-
ahcmd sendplc C1
ahcmd sendplc J PresetDim1
-==Set fan speed to low (from any state)==-
ahcmd sendplc C1
ahcmd sendplc N PresetDim1

Status request commands (requires transmitter to be enabled; see above):
-==Ping==-
ahcmd sendplc C1 HailRequest
(The CCWHISPLC should send back a HailAcknowledge.)
-==Get status==-
ahcmd sendplc C1 StatusRequest
(The CCWHICPLC should send back either a StatusOff or StatusOn corresponding to its current power state.  If on, it also sends a preset dim level corresponding to the fan speed.)

If the X10 transmitter is enabled, the CCWHISPLC will also transmit some codes when the fan is operated from the paddle switch:

• ON when the fan is turned on
• OFF when the fan is turned off

[Brian H]

Thank you for the extremely helpful information.