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[tenaja]

I've got a hand full of WS12A dimmer switches (or an older similar model) in my house. This year, three of them quit responding to the wireless remote commands. The button still works to turn the lights on and off, but I can't get them to receive any remote commands, regardless of the house/unit code settings.

Is this normal? What is the life expectancy of these switches. I had an outlet go bad recently, but it still received the signal; the plastic pin that turns off the outlet broke, so it was always on.

Thanks!

[Charles Sullivan]

I've got a hand full of WS12A dimmer switches (or an older similar model) in my house. This year, three of them quit responding to the wireless remote commands. The button still works to turn the lights on and off, but I can't get them to receive any remote commands, regardless of the house/unit code settings.

Is this normal? What is the life expectancy of these switches. I had an outlet go bad recently, but it still received the signal; the plastic pin that turns off the outlet broke, so it was always on.

Thanks!

I can't speak to the WS12A, but in a previous residence I had seven WS467 and two LM465 dimmers (primarily the Radio Shack rebrands) which were operated remotely on a daily basis.  In about 11 years, I had only one of these modules go bad, a WS467.

[Knightrider]

Could this be a signal problem?  Try searching for "signal suckers" and "phase issues".

[Brian H]

Good point on a signal problem. Maybe a new device added to the home made a marginally good signal not to work.
Have you tried the modules in a different area or did you try a new one in the original area?

The only wall switch failures I have had where mechanical. Like the small safety switch on one got broken and another the tact switch the paddle pushed went bad.

[tenaja]

I had a few minutes to play with these again today. All of my new modules work flawlessly. The old wall light switches all work at the switch, but not with the remote--and they are spread around the house, not all in one location. I could get one wall-switch light to turn on with the remote, but it wouldn't turn it off. I even set up a plug-in lamp module with the same codes as the switch, and the lamp module works great no matter where I plug it in. I guess I'll have to get a replacement switch and see if they are indeed bad. 

[dave w]

I had a few minutes to play with these again today. All of my new modules work flawlessly. The old wall light switches all work at the switch, but not with the remote--and they are spread around the house, not all in one location. I could get one wall-switch light to turn on with the remote, but it wouldn't turn it off. I even set up a plug-in lamp module with the same codes as the switch, and the lamp module works great no matter where I plug it in. I guess I'll have to get a replacement switch and see if they are indeed bad. 

$0.02
These wall switches have two common failure modes, 1. The push botton fails from a mechanical stand point. 2. The triac fails, most commonly when the fixture bulb burns out.

I tend to think; if the wall switch functions at the local switch, it probably has not failed. You have another problem.

Your "failures" definitely sound like a typical noise problem, or a phase coupling problem. It is not uncommon to wire all lighting fixtures on one phase and outlets on the other phase. One easy test would be to select a wall switch which does not work with a remote and locate breaker for that light. Next locate the breaker for the outlet you have you cm15a, tm751, or RR501 transceiver. Keep both these breakers ON and switch all others OFF and see if the light works. If it does you likely have a noise or signal sucking problem. If it does not work, move the transceiver to a different breaker and repeat the test. This test may help identify a noise maker or signal sucker. Phase coupling is a little harder to identify. If you turn stove oven on and things work better you may have a phase coupling issue. Another way to "guesstimate", is to see if the problem seems to be isolated to odd rows of breakers or even rows of breakers. In most panels each row of breakers (a row as in two breakers next to each other on horizontal plane) are on opposite phases. So if all your problem switches are on odd rows OR even rows, you may have a phase coupling issue.
Finally What did you get new about the time the switches began to quite working?

[Brian H]

dave w; Most breaker panels have breakers on opposite phases next to each other. Unless you have FPE breaker boxes. 

[steven r]

...This year, three of them quit responding to the wireless remote commands. The button still works to turn the lights on and off, but I can't get them to receive any remote commands, regardless of the house/unit code settings...

What wireless remote are you using and what is receiving the remote signal. Has the RF receiver moved?

[dave w]

dave w; Most breaker panels have breakers on opposite phases next to each other. Unless you have FPE breaker boxes. 

Yes. Next to each other as one above the other. Otherwise you could not have a single switch, double size, breaker for 220V. I should not have used the word "vertical" row. Thanks! will correct the post.

[Brian H]

I have replaced caps in an RR501 that was flaky.
I also replaced the Zener Diode in the power supply. Original must have been close to its rated wattage. Solder on the leads looked like it was melting and the PC Board was turning dark. Used two with half the voltage rating same wattage in series. Been working for a few years now.

[wmarkhay]

I was experiencing similar problem with 3 dimmer switches that formerly worked perfectly "degrading" to working fine when manually manipulated but not responding to remote commands.  Circuit breakers on-off experiments and then specific appliance plugging/unplugging led me to the culprit:  I'd gotten a Sirius table-top radio (TTR1) last week.  Just a small, simple plug-in device (not a grounded plug), but it must be an awesome signal sucker.  It's an internet-based box rather than having its own Sirius antenna, and I have it set to access my network wirelessly.  At first I thought it might be the wireless broadcast/reception that was playing havoc, but since it seems to cause the problem as soon as it's plugged in, even if not yet powered on, I suspect it's pure signal-sucking.  I've experimented a bit with moving it around, and it seems to have its deleterious effect based somewhat on the proximate locale relating to these affected wall switches, which I'm guessing also indicates they're already my weakest signal receivers.  They are indeed also closest to my office, which has no X10 devices but 2 unfiltered computers and assorted corresponding peripherals.  With the radio unplugged, all these switches work fine, with the exception that the one closest to the office will turn on but not off or dim.  Next I'll try turning off the computer components one by one to see if that last function gets restored.  Of course I had all the computers off when I originally set this stuff up and verified all switches worked, because I was turning circuit breakers on and off during installation, and that included the office circuit.

[dave w]

Signal sucker, maybe, noise from the switching power supply more likely. A X10 filter on the radio will probably clear it up.
http://kbase.x10.com/wiki/Selecting_a_Filter

[wmarkhay]

Yup, filters here we come... I've always been amazed at how robust this stuff (20+ switches and appliance controls) was already with just a plug-in coupler-repeater and no filters despite all the computers and other electronics I have (doubt many X10 users are short of other electronics, either), probably a function of my house being 4-bedroom but relatively small in square and cubic feet footprint.  I did verify that the 2 biggest culprits are that little Sirius table-top radio and the computer stuff running through my UPS, independent removal of both having same effect:  with both online, none of those 3 proximate switches work at all (though everything else in the house is still remotely controllable); with either one or the other but not both, all 3 of those switches work with the exception of no off or dimming on the closest one; and with both those suckers/noisemakers offline, even that closest switch will go off and dim remotely.

[Knightrider]

With all the negativity on this forum as of late, I love it when  logical mind can work out the limitations, and we can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel and a happy ending.

 

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