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Author Topic: Everything has stopped working, after 2 years of great service.  (Read 22095 times)

Noam

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Re: Everything has stopped working, after 2 years of great service.
« Reply #30 on: April 03, 2013, 10:02:35 PM »

Sorry, my bad. It's been a little busy around here.
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Easttexasdragon

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Re: Everything has stopped working, after 2 years of great service.
« Reply #31 on: April 06, 2013, 12:06:48 AM »

Hey guys are you ready for this, Its all working again....  :'   The source of all my problems showed its evil head around 3 am this morning..LOL  I woke up with my dogs acting up then I noticed light coming from my livingroom so I got up to investigate, What I found was this flashlight that the power company had sent me several years ago, It plugs into the wall outlet and acts like a night light but when you have a power outage the flash light part comes on automatically to light the way, Well it was on and lighting the way...the only problem was we weren't having a power outage, I had to unplug it from the wall to get it to shut off, then later today I noticed all my X10 stuff was working again... all this because of a nightlight......and it was from the power company......WTH  This was the one thing that I didnt test because it didnt have a power supply,  I'm not quit sure why this thing shut down my WHOLE house but it did, EVERYTHING is working again,  Well Thanks guys for all your help

More info on the night light.
The Eco-i-Lite is multi-function power failure light. It offers a 6 LED illumination during power failures, and a convenient 2 LED night light that automatically turns on when the area gets dark. It is always charging through an induction charging base while plugged in. When it senses a loss of power the LED flashlight automatically comes on to light your way for up to 7 hours. The flashlight may also be removed from the induction charging base. The Eco-i-Lite™ sits in its own electromagnetic induction charging base. A major advantage of inductive charging charging is that there are no exposed conductors.

The flashlight has three 3-position push-button: "on/flash/off". The nightlight has a 3-position switch - auto/on/off. When plugged into an outlet, this emergency light will reach full charge in 24 hours (initial) or less.

    Dimensions: 9.13" long x 3.8 x 3.8" square
    Light Source, Nightlight: (2) .06 watt LEDs
    Light Source, Flashlight: (6) .06 watt LEDs
    Light Output: 30 lumens
    Internal Battery: Lithium-ion rechargeable battery
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gfriedman

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Re: Everything has stopped working, after 2 years of great service.
« Reply #32 on: April 06, 2013, 04:11:43 AM »

Sounds like one giant signal-sucker.   Congrats on finding that.
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Brian H

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Re: Everything has stopped working, after 2 years of great service.
« Reply #33 on: April 06, 2013, 06:09:55 AM »

I have seen similar models mentioned here and in a few other automation related forums.
I am glad you found the problem.
Thanks for sharing the fix. I am sure others will find the information a help.
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dave w

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Re: Everything has stopped working, after 2 years of great service.
« Reply #34 on: April 06, 2013, 01:06:37 PM »

Good deal Texas!
The lesson is when looking for noise makers and signal suckers, make no assumtions. The Eco-I-Lite has been a problem for our system also (see first thread). In fact it has been mentioned in several threads:
http://forums.x10.com/index.php?topic=28064.0
http://forums.x10.com/index.php?topic=27717.0
http://forums.x10.com/index.php?topic=27443.0
http://forums.x10.com/index.php?topic=27374.0
http://forums.x10.com/index.php?topic=21628.0
I have two older units that have a large enough base that I could shoe horn a choke in described in the first thread. It sounds like you have a problem with your unit anyway, so stickig in a drawer may be the solution for you. Eco-I-Lites and X10 do not play nice.
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Easttexasdragon

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Re: Everything has stopped working, after 2 years of great service.
« Reply #35 on: April 08, 2013, 01:04:06 AM »

Well it was one GIANT step forward and a baby step back. Everything was working.... >! then I decided to change all the House codes back to A because all of the sensors are set on A and they are a pain in the Ass to set, I got everything set to A but the Lamp Module behind the couch that controls two lamps and I didnt change it because My wife was sitting on the couch so I decided to wait till she went to bed. But I checked all the others and everything worked like a charm, even when the neighbors Dog came up on my porch the sensors turned on my porch light then turned it off after 3 minutes. I was happy  :)%

My Wife went to bed and I changed the House code to A on the Lamp Module behind the couch. The lamps were on when I unplugged the module but after I changed the house code and plugged it back in the lamps were off. I grabbed the remote and tried to turn the lamps on but they didnt respond. I gave them a few minutes to reset and tried again, still nothing. I brought up AHP and tried with it, Still nothing then I tried to turn on some of the other modules, everything worked but the module behind the couch and the one on the porch. Well It was now around 3 in the morning so I went to bed disappointed.

The next morning I got up and was all ready to tackle the problem again and everything was working, I had to step back and scratch my head. Everything continued to work all weekend, Then tonight (Sunday) the timer didnt turn off the lamps beside the couch, I tried with the remote and it didnt work ether so just for the hell of it I tried the porch light, Didnt respond. So checked some of the others they all worked so I'm thinking what do the ones that arent working have in common?

The wall behind the couch has a wall outlet on each end of the couch, one of the outlets is controlled by a wall switch next to the front door, the Lamp module is plugged in to that outlet and the wall switch stays on. The other wall outlet has a surge protector plugged in with my wifes Laptop and the phones plugged into it.  Ok the light switches on the wall next to the front door, The switch that controls the lamps is next to the switch that controls the porch light so I'm thinking that something is blocking the X10 signal on that wall but the problem with that logic is that I have a floodlight (PR511) thats wired into the Breaker box outside and is set on the same house code as the porch light and its not responding to the remote or the AHP ether but it was earlier.  One step at a time....I'm thinking the Surge protector is Bad... I dont like it anyway because its a pain in the ARSE, When ever the power goes off You have to reset the thing to get the phones and my wifes computer to work again and sometimes it just shuts off all by itself so I'm changing it out tomorrow. Will let you know how that goes.....  Oh and I forgot to tell ya, ever sense I got rid of that night light I havent had any yellow codes on AHP in the find other Computers. ;D
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dave w

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Re: Everything has stopped working, after 2 years of great service.
« Reply #36 on: April 08, 2013, 09:17:39 AM »

So checked some of the others they all worked so I'm thinking what do the ones that arent working have in common?
Well I'm going to guess: Your two troublesome lights are on the same breaker. Somewhere on that same breaker you have a night time noise maker (CFL bulb?, cell phone charger still charging phone in high current mode? TV? etc.). The noise maker does not *have to be* physically close to the lights, but is likely on the same breaker. (Being *electrically* close and *physically* close, can be two different things.)
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Easttexasdragon

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Re: Everything has stopped working, after 2 years of great service.
« Reply #37 on: April 08, 2013, 04:37:27 PM »

Dave, I replaced the Surge protector with a new one, Didnt help. But noticed something else, I can control those lamps with the wired controller in the bedroom.  ??? but not from AHP or remote, So just for fun I plugged the RR501 next to the Lamp Module, I can control the lamps now from the remote,but they have about a 5 second delay.

I'm going to problem solve as I describe the house layout for you.
This is a mobile home so lets say the wall with the couch is the right side wall, The AHP, CM15A is on the left side wall, both are in the living room, The wired controller is on the left wall in the bedroom, The Breaker panel is in the bedroom on the right side wall. I'm Assumeing that you are correct in that the couch lamps, porch, are all on the same breaker and probably the outlet with my wifes computer and landline wireless phones. there is only 8 outlet plugs on the right wall from one end of the trailer to the other. the front door is on the right wall, on the right side of the door is 3 wall switches, first switch is for the porch light, second switch is for the wall outlet behind the leftside of the couch. The third switch is for the ceiling fan.
 The ceiling fan has five lights but non of them are CFLs/LEDs. The only CFLs in the house are in the porch light and in the kitchen light fixtures. But am I wrong in assuming that the lights have to be on for them to cause a problem? one of the light switches on the right wall controls a set of CFLs in the kitchen and next to the switch is a wall outlet that is empty (nothing is plugged in) the other outlets on that wall have the microwave and toaster oven plugged in the last outlet has the fridge plugged in.

But I'm getting off track here, I was going to say that its just at night but I havent been able to control them today until I plugged in the RR501, So I walked through the house looking at all the power outlets on the right wall. in the front bathroom is a hair dryer and a frebreeze air freshener, I unplugged it and checked to see if I could turn on the lamps, Still a delay. The ONLY thing thats was on in my daughters room was a LED night light that changes colors so I unplugged it and ran my check, the lights came on with out a delay, so I tried the porch light and it came on without a delay. so I came into the kitchen and plugged the night light into the outlet so it would be between the problem module and the breaker box. I tried to turn on the lamps, They came on but I couldnt turn them off, I unplugged the night light and they went off with no delay. So I thought I had it fixed but noticed that I still cant control the lights with the CM15A. Just checked the find other computers its now showing house code N all yellow except N12 is red saying it received a code a few minutes ago while I was testing mine. I have nothing on house code N or on unit code 12.

Something is blocking the signal from the CM15A, so what Im trying to figure out is whats between the Interface and the wired controller, but thats not right ether because I can control the fans in the bedroom thats on the same wall as the couch and breaker box. The outlets between the interface and the breaker box, one has a dishwasher and a convection oven plugged in, then another has a chest type freezer, then in the utility room is the washer and dryer, the dryer is wired for 220, the AC is wired in to a breaker outside. two light switches one for the back light porch and the the utility room ceiling light. all have normal bulbs, the next room is the bedroom, light switch that control ceiling fan with normal bulbs, wall outlet with wife's alarm clock plugged in it, then you got the left wall with 2 outlets, one has a lamp module for the night stand lamps (no problems) the other has the wired controller and my alarm clock, the bathroom is last with light switch normal lights and a outlet with a wireless phone and blow dryer. then the closet with a pull chain light and the breaker box on the right wall, We have two more outlets one with two appliance modules (no problems) the next outlet has my computer and wireless landline phone. back to the kitchen wall, I put a appliance module into the empty outlet and could control it without a delay, using the remote has a 3 second delay, the next outlet is the one with my wifes laptop then were back to the problem module.??? I think I'm going to move the problem module to that outlet and see if it makes a difference. I moved it I can control them now with the CM15A but still have no control over the porch light with the CM15A, So I would say that the problem is going to be on the porch, The porch has a appliance module controlling a CFL bulb and 2 video cameras, one with a Ninja and the RR501 is also plugged in on the porch. I would say the RR501 is whats allowing me to control the porch light. looks like I will be going around unplugging camera power supplies and testing. I dont think its the CFL because its not on, I Will let you know what I find.
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dave w

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Re: Everything has stopped working, after 2 years of great service.
« Reply #38 on: April 08, 2013, 06:31:20 PM »

But am I wrong in assuming that the lights have to be on for them to cause a problem?
Nope. If the CFL ain't on, then it is not likely making any noise.
But it is always good to know EXACTLY what each breaker is feeding. There are some early threads about mapping your home on the forum. It really helps in *serious* X10 troubleshooting. The noise source (or signal sucker) will "usually" be on the same breaker as your transceiver or transmitter (CM15A, TM751, RR501, etc.) or on the same breaker as the target module which is not responding. It can be on a totally unrelated breaker, but you have to start somewhere. If you have your fixtures and outlets mapped to the breakers it make trouble shooting easier. 
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Easttexasdragon

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Re: Everything has stopped working, after 2 years of great service.
« Reply #39 on: April 08, 2013, 11:10:39 PM »

Well Dave its funny you said that, I got in the fuse panel and started flipping breakers today and putting lables on the breakers. The weird thing is the breaker for the problem module also controls that whole wall and half the kitchen. My daughters bedroom was on the same breaker as the CM15A, My bedroom and the rest of the kitchen and the utility room was on a different breaker. so I'm not sure whats going on, it seams to be the porch, but I have unplugged everything on the porch one at a time and I still cant turn the porch light on from the CM15A. I can put a test module on the same breaker and it works fine.....  B:(  >*<
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dhouston

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Re: Everything has stopped working, after 2 years of great service.
« Reply #40 on: April 09, 2013, 05:33:53 AM »

So just for fun I plugged the RR501 next to the Lamp Module, I can control the lamps now from the remote,but they have about a 5 second delay.
That is a very strong indication that there is noise present. The RR501 waits for a clear powerline to transmit. Normally it takes about 1/2 second - that it is taking so long is an indication that it is seeing something on the powerline in the 75-200kHz range. The noise is likely coming from a switching power supply in a CFL, LED, cellphone charger, etc.
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dave w

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Re: Everything has stopped working, after 2 years of great service.
« Reply #41 on: April 09, 2013, 09:18:35 AM »

it seams to be the porch, but I have unplugged everything on the porch one at a time and I still cant turn the porch light on from the CM15A. I can put a test module on the same breaker and it works fine.....  B:(  >*<
Well it doesn't have to be either the CM15A breaker or the porch breaker, but have you completely mapped the porch breaker? And do you have a motion sensor porch light? I agree with dhouston, and have been spouting "noise" from beginning of thread, it's just a matter of finding the booger. Do you have a new high efficiency washer or dryer?
I think we went down this road, but what happens if you click off ALL breakers except the CM15A and the porch? (don't use RR501). This is just breaker isolation where the first step is to find problem breaker circuit, then isolate from there. BTW are you sure daughter doesn't have a cell phone, iPod, TV, etc snuck in somewhere?

Finally does the home have GFIs or Arc Fault breakers or outlets. I have had older GFI outlets stop X10 cold. It is not a big problem unless the GFI outlet is used as feed through protection, then every outlet past the GFI outlet is X10 dead also. I don't have any Arc Fault breakers or outlets, but there are threads on the forum identifying them as big X10 stoppers. 
At this point in time, start suspecting everything, even the wired in stuff like wired smoke detectors, HVAC, etc. Only to find them is breaker isolation.
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Easttexasdragon

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Re: Everything has stopped working, after 2 years of great service.
« Reply #42 on: April 09, 2013, 07:20:40 PM »

I have mapped the breakers, There is not a porch breaker to say. You might say its a little Aggie engineering, A wire ran to 4 junction boxes from the porch light. there is a junction box/power outlet on each end of the porch and in the middle, A Wireless color Day/Night Camera plugged into both end outlets and one of those has a NINJA. As I said earlier this is a mobile Home, there is only 16 outlets in the whole house, I have only one place to charge Cell phones and thats next to my recliner and they are plugged into a surge protector also in that surge protector is a LM465 and I dont have any problem controlling it from the remote or AHP. My Daughters room only has two outlets and a clock Radio is in one and the other is empty now because I removed a LED night light from it last Week. Today I shut off every breaker but the one with the CM15A and the Wall behind the couch. Still couldnt turn on the lamps. Then after I turned everything back on My Lamps came on because of the timer in the CM15A and I have control again. Something is running and shutting off or turning everything off for a while reset something but I'm still looking.
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dave w

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Re: Everything has stopped working, after 2 years of great service.
« Reply #43 on: April 09, 2013, 09:16:54 PM »

There is not a porch breaker to say. You might say its a little Aggie engineering, A wire ran to 4 junction boxes from the porch light. there is a junction box/power outlet on each end of the porch and in the middle, A Wireless color Day/Night Camera plugged into both end outlets and one of those has a NINJA.

Today I shut off every breaker but the one with the CM15A and the Wall behind the couch. Still couldnt turn on the lamps.
1. sure there is, it's the breaker the porch light is fed from. Did you unplug the cameras and check for the porch light operation?
2. so the porch light is on the same breaker as the wall behind the couch, correct? Only two breakers on, the X10 source breaker (CM15A ) and the target breaker (porch light). and the porch light did not work(?). If all other breakers are off, then the problem is on one of those two circuits all other circuits are disconnected.
« Last Edit: April 09, 2013, 09:19:13 PM by dave w »
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Easttexasdragon

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Re: Everything has stopped working, after 2 years of great service.
« Reply #44 on: April 09, 2013, 11:41:19 PM »

I wonder if its possible to have a Breaker making the line noise? Today when I was mapping the breakers and had everything off but two breakers, I unplugged everything on the porch and And still couldnt turn on the lamps or the porch light with AHP.   -:) Something else that I just thought of Dave is the X10  PR511A Security flood lights thats mounted to the utility pole and hard wired into the main breaker.... Seams like I read some where those cause noise. I didnt have anyway of shutting the floodlights off because of them being hard wired.
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