Load Side Noise Preventing PAM02 From Turning Off

[geobrick]

The XTB-F10 didn't work for my specific issue so I did a bulb by bulb check and found the offending 12v LED. It was a Philips model "9290002216". The light works fine but when I pull it from the circuit, the X10 PAM02 responds perfectly (even an AM466 with no AGC works perfectly).



I replaced the noisy bulb with a different model Philips LED and the X10 switches continued to work well. I still have two of the bad ones new in their packages so I may try one to see if it was a bad bulb or just a bad design for X10 purposes.



The hunt for the noise generating bulb was made much easier using the X10 wifi module I recently added because I was able to use the X10 app on my phone to activate the switch from outside my house as I pulled each bulb one by one. I highly recommend the wifi module.

[Knightrider]

I'm glad you found the offender and the tenacity to locate the problem.

[Noam]

Many years ago, I had a problem with most of my X10 switches not responding at night, even *with* and XTB-IIR. After doing a breaker-by-breaker search of my entire home, I couldn't find the culprit. It turned out to be a failing CFL bulb *across the street* on my neighbor's porch. The light still worked, but you could hear it buzzing when you got close. When he unscrewed the bulb, the problem went away. I bought him a new pair of bulbs. I had the same thing happen to me a few years later, when one of my own CFL bulbs started doing the same thing. I was able to find it much faster, though (since that was the first thing I checked).

[Tuicemen]

The hunt for the noise generating bulb was made much easier using the X10 wifi module I recently added because I was able to use the X10 app on my phone to activate the switch from outside my house as I pulled each bulb one by one. I highly recommend the wifi module.

Glad to see you found the offender and another use for the WM100 and app.

[HA Dave]

These are the "scary" stories... of set-ups gone bad.

[brobin]

I'll toss in another "scary" story.  In 1985, about 6 months after I first installed my DAK supplied lot of X10 switches and modules - along with a GE HomeMinder - I started having major signal issues.  That's when I started leaning about signal bridges and filters. Thinking about things that had changed, I had noticed that my next door neighbors had a new baby. That meant Baby Intercom!   I asked them to unplug it for a bit and the problem was solved. I installed what is now known as an XPNR filter (used to be a Leviton part #) across the two legs in the service panel and we both lived happily ever after.  Without the benefit of the internet back then it was harder to learn things. I was fortunate to find Jim Wilson at Dyer Electric in Los Angeles, where I lived at the time, who taught me a lot and gave me tons of Leviton/X10 documentation.