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[irishlaxer]

I have been searching for help on my issue. If you could help this newbie out I would appreciate it. I have a halogen wall light  http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90083717. I installed the x10 wall switch WS467. I can turn the light on from the switch but cannot control this light with my controller (the slimline switch). I can control other light with the controller but not the halogen.

Any ideas? Am I using the wrong module here for the light switch?

Thank you.

[Brian H]

The WS467 will not control those lights. They are a 12 volt bulb and the web page indicates it has a Transformer Electronic.
Since the WS467 uses the load to steal some power from the circuit. That maybe why it will go on but not off. Also the electronic transformer maybe making so much powerline noise the signals can't get through to the switch.
Can you use a switch with a relay in it; that will not dim; as I doubt any module will safely dim your lights.
They also need a neutral power wire in the switches electrical box to work.

[irishlaxer]

Thanks for the help Brian

To make sure I desribed my situation right, I can turn the light on and off at the switch, just not with my slimline controller. Do you think if I replace the switch with the XPDI3 it might help with the ability to control with the controller/remote?

http://www.aaaremotes.com/xpdsediswxp.html

Thank you

[Brian H]

Well it maybe a powerline signal problem between the WS467 and the Tranceiver being used to receive the RF signal from the Slimline. Try moving it around to other circuits and see if that helps. If it does then we may have to investagate signals and noise.
Turning On and Off may still be an electronic circuit problem with the LEDs.
The XPDI3 looks like the X10Pro version of the X10 WS12A and both still steal power through the loads.

[irishlaxer]

After moving around the transreceiver here is what I noticed. The halogen lights would turn off from the slimline but not turn on. Also once I moved it my lights in other rooms on different floors stop responding. Do you think I might need a repeater or do you think that I may have a bad transreciever (I have the USB  X-10 ActiveHome Pro unit)?

After moving the receiver around I moved it back to the location I had it originally and it took quite a bit of tweaking the antenna to get the controllers responding again to my other lamp modules, not sure if that is normal.

Thanks again I really appreciate the help.

[Brian H]

Do you have any coupling between the phases of the home? If the signal problem is not too bad a passive coupler maybe tried first. Moving the CM15A to other areas and loosing some control and gaining others seems to indicate a powerline signal problem. Like a phase problem or a signal sucker noise maker.

Both the CM15A Controller and the Slimeline stick on switches are known for range problems RF wise. We have some threads on both here and maybe a search would help, as I don't have links at present.

[irishlaxer]

I just order a SignaLinc™ Plug-In Phase Coupler, hopefully that will help me out. I will definatly do a search on the RF issue. Thanks again. I will post my results once the SignaLinc™ Plug-In Phase Coupler comes in the mail.

[irishlaxer]

I hooked up the coupler last night. No help unfortunatly. I also ordered some credit card sized remotes as well.

It's the same situation, I can turn the lights on from the wall switch. I can also dim the lights and turn off the lights from the slim line and my new remote I just cannot turn the lights on from the remotes.

I am guessing my next step for that light should be a in line filter?

Also, my signal from my CM15A is just horrible, I am not comfortable modding it. I have a very tall house (but only 1400 sq ft total) so I was thinking of just buying some tranceivers for each floor with a different housecode for each floor instead of using the CM15A. Is there any cons do changing my setup to this instead?

Thanks again!

[Oldtimer]

Also, my signal from my CM15A is just horrible, I am not comfortable modding it. I have a very tall house (but only 1400 sq ft total) so I was thinking of just buying some tranceivers for each floor with a different housecode for each floor instead of using the CM15A. Is there any cons do changing my setup to this instead

Before you do this check out this complete thread. 

http://www.x10community.com/forums/index.php?topic=4746.msg34815#msg34815

There are several solutions in it that do not involve any physical alteration of the CM15A.  A search on "CM15A antenna" will give you many  more.  In my case I used two small wire ties to attach a 9.5" piece of insulated #12 wire to the side of the antenna on the CM15A.  My CM15A is long out of warranty but this mod wouldn't have voided it if if it had one.  The improvement was so great that one of my Palm Pads I was about to throw out, because it's signal is so weak, now performs perfectly, even in spots where the best perfoming ones didn't before.

[irishlaxer]

Thanks Oldtimer.

The CM15A is working great now. I ran out and bought some 24 gauge wire and that did the trick for the signal issues.

I am still having this issue with the wall switch/halogen. I can it off and dim it with the controllers but I can't turn it on or brighten the lights with the controllers.

Not quite sure if a filter will help and if so which one is a good one?

Thanks for all the help again.

[Oldtimer]

Thanks Oldtimer.

The CM15A is working great now. I ran out and bought some 24 gauge wire and that did the trick for the signal issues.

I am still having this issue with the wall switch/halogen. I can it off and dim it with the controllers but I can't turn it on or brighten the lights with the controllers.

Not quite sure if a filter will help and if so which one is a good one?

Thanks for all the help again.

Glad to hear some things are working better.  Before you buy a filter please post the make. model number and other nameplate specs of the halogen that's giving you trouble so we can, hopefully, Google it to get more technical details.  It sounds to me that, somehow, the halogen light assembly doesn't allow enough current to pass through the WS467 in the OFF state to allow the WS467's electronics to operate and turn the light on.  I've never heard of this before and it sounds weird but we have to look into the possibility.

[irishlaxer]

Here is the light I have

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90083717

[Oldtimer]

Here is the light I have

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90083717

Somebody else is going to have to add their knowledge here.  It appears from the product description that these lamps use a switching power supply.  Does this kind of supply not pass current when connected to the lower leakage voltage of a WS467? If that's the case I'd try a 1/2 or 1 watt 22k ohm resistor accross the line at the power supply to provide a continuous leakage path for the WS467 so it will work properly.  If this is a plug in unit you can test this theory by plugging a night light into the same outlet as the power supply.  Of course now that I've said that I have to ask if you're using the WS467 to control a switched outlet.  If you are that's a no no because of it's dimming capability.

[irishlaxer]

Yes I am using the WS467 to control the light switch. The light was previously on a dimmer before so I thought it would be ok. Is it not ok to dim that light?

What switch should I have for the switched outlet then?

Thanks

[Oldtimer]

Yes I am using the WS467 to control the light switch. The light was previously on a dimmer before so I thought it would be ok. Is it not ok to dim that light?

What switch should I have for the switched outlet then?

Thanks

Oops! Life is never simple.  Let's break this down into two different parts.  Let's stick with the WS467 problem for now and get to the proper switch issue later.  Would you be willing to plug a 7 watt night light into the same switched outlet as the halogen fixture to see if that solves that control problem.  If it does we've all learned something.

As to the proper X10 wall switch to control an outlet that would be either an XPSS or a WS13A Decora wall switch.  It is my understanding that the National Electrical Code does not allow any kind of dimming switch to be used to control an outlet.

However,  it's your house,  there was already a dimmer controlling that circuit and you put in a WS467 to replace it.  If the night light above makes it work with the halogen here's a link to one way to use the resistor I  mentioned in an earlier post instead of the night light.  Although it's for an appliance module it will work just as well with a WS467.  See the last two sentences in the post.

http://www.x10community.com/forums/index.php?topic=14210.msg78892#msg78892

The danger in keeping any kind of dimmer as the control for an outlet is what might happen if someone plugged in an iron or a vacuum cleaner that overloaded the dimming switch and caused a fire.  I had one circuit like this in my house land it worried me enough that I eventually changed it.