Insteon Ghost Exorcism

[dslocum]

Hi Folks,

It's been a while since I've had the time to dig back into HS, but I've got a stumper here.

I have a circuit that's haunted. I've installed four different Insteon devices with different firmware in three different j boxes, and sometimes the loads just turn on. This occurs on three different loads - one is a low-voltage transformer, one is a chandelier with 300w incand, and the other is 300w of incand outdoor floods. I was able to fix the problem of the chandelier and transformer by installing a relay type lincs instead of the dimmer types, but the floods are on a in-line linc dimmer. Don't know why they'd be different. It's annoying and is costing me 300w when they come on and I can't easily see them.

It's a new 10 year old home and I had an electrician friend double check the wiring.

Failing an electrical or physical fix, how would I setup HS to look at the switch every few minutes, and turn it off based on a virtual "Party Mode" device that I already have set up?

[pbibm]

Doug,
I have a haunted circuit as well that I was able to fix.

Two questions:

1) Are you sure all neutrals travel back to the same breaker on the same wire

2) which plugin are you using... the HS included intsteon, the pay for ISY or the pay for Mark Sandler's Insteon?

Paul

[dslocum]

1) Are you sure all neutrals travel back to the same breaker on the same wire

Not really sure actually. There's a lot of hidden stuff, outside walls, insulation, etc. So without getting into a huge project - Definitely maybe.

2) which plugin are you using... the HS included intsteon, the pay for ISY or the pay for Mark Sandler's Insteon?

Looks like the HS PLC-SDM and PLM ver 1.1.50.17994. Also looks like ark's ver 1.1.50.17994 as well. Can't remember how all this stuff interacts.

[pbibm]

Doug

In response to number 1, I have a circuit that has been historically noisy and one of my 2 problem circuits in the house. After years of trying to figure it out, I went the extra distance, wired in an outlet and used a circuit tester with the switch the shorts to test breakers.. low in behold.. two breakers popped. That meant there were two ways back to the panel for that one circuit.

I got a multimeter, and turned one circuit off at a time and eventually figured out that one gang box, where a keypad linc went, had two sources back to the panel. I cut one off and most of the "wierdness" went away.

It also "ruined" a couple of insteon devices. I started the above adventure when a keypadlinc started "ticking' after 2 months of use, and then beeping and not working. If I moved it to another circuit, it was fine. This double connection problem also fried an inlinelinc that hung in there since 2005 but kept getting flakier and flakier and finally just quit all together.

Its worth getting a multimeter and a tester to short the breakers and see if you can find it. I'm really thinking the problem is electrical.

For number 2, marks newest plugin has a testing tool that helps support how bad insteon signals are on certain circuits. If you paid for and are using his plugin, give that a shot

Paul

[pbibm]

Interesting that I had x10 on that circuit for many years, but it was a device that did not require the neutral and went between the hot on the way to the light...