Battery Level Link missing for Old Motion Sensors

[Burrington]

Mark, when I first started using the plugin to add an old 2420M motion sensor, it added 4 links and all worked fine. For some time now the plugin stopped adding the fourth link for battery level. Battery level also does not show up in the edit links drop down list.

I can add the fourth link manually in insteon.ini and make it work, but that's not very convenient. I have sensors with firmware 34 and 41 and it happens with both. I suspect others who are not aware that there is a battery level feature don't know to add the link manually.

Would it be possible to get the battery level link added back in?

[mnsandler]

what version of the plugin are you running?

Can you post a pic of the Channels on the plugin device page? And the associated HS devices?

[mnsandler]

The battery level doesn't need a link (in the insteon.ini). Its just a placeholder hs device

here is what i have for a MS with fw 41, and hs devices below


Device Name:Bathroom Motion Sensor
Device Location:Master
Device Type: Motion Sensor
Firmware Version: 41

---

Device Link Table

	Link #2	Dusk/Dawn Sensor has local control reporting to HomeSeer
	Link #3	Low Battery Warning has local control reporting to HomeSeer
	Link #1	Occupancy Sensor has local control reporting to HomeSeer

[Burrington]

I had a sensor that was working fine, but had not updated the battery level for 7 months. I tried to reprogram it, and noticed there was only one link (occupancy), so I factory reset the sensor and reprogrammed it. Then it had 3 links (no battery level). Nine of my 12 motion sensors have four links (as set up originally by the plugin), and 3 have three links as set up more recently by the plugin. I assumed they were supposed to have 4, which prompted my question. Three of my sensors have 3 links and 4 devices exactly as you showed above. The other 9 sensors have 4 links and 4 devices like this:

Device Link Table

Link #4	Battery Level has local control reporting to HomeSeer
Link #2	Dusk/Dawn Sensor has local control reporting to HomeSeer
Link #3	Low Battery Warning has local control reporting to HomeSeer
Link #1	Occupancy Sensor has local control reporting to HomeSeer

---

I see now that the sensor has updated the battery level on HS Device page, but not on the Edit Insteon Device page (which I refreshed). It still shows zero On Commands, and a date from 7 months ago.

:

Read settings after On cmds (0=Disable):
On cmds Count: 0
Settings last read: 2019-09-18 11:49:57 PM

What might be causing that??

[mnsandler]

these older MSs only update the battery level using the "Read settings after On cmds" feature. set it to a non zero value like 20. the battery level should update after 20 Ons are received.

Link #4 is unnecessary and i removed to from the code. It doesn't hurt anything to have it in the insteon.ini.

[Burrington]

I guess my "On Cmds" didn't fully copy to the board, but it has been set to 10 for a few years. Not sure why the device updates the battery level but the plugin still shows the count as 0 and the date as 2019-09-18. That's not really a problem since the device now seems to be updating.

Thanks for clarifying the fourth link being unnecessary. I won't worry about it then!

Thanks for your help Mark!!

[alphatech]

Sorry to jump in. I have the same problem with those motion sensors, some of mine are an old model with Firmware of 34. I have those set to 10 but the count is always 0, should I increase the setting to 20?

[Burrington]

After sitting at zero for 7 months, my "On Cmds Count" counter has suddenly started counting again. The only thing I did was factory reset the motion sensor (also firmware 34), which updated the battery level in the HS Battery Level Device, but left the Insteon counter at zero and a 7 month old date. After I rebooted HS3, the Insteon counter now appears to be counting and showing a current date. You could try that to see if it works for you too.

[JimSpy]

I am just now discovering that I have this same problem.

What I would like to do is be able to read the battery level in Volts in a HomeSeer device, like the rest of the MS settings. Yet you say the Battery Level link to HomeSeer is unnecessary; but then how else would I accomplish this? I know that there is a readout of the battery level under Device Properties -> Custom Settings -> Battery Level (and herein lies another mystery: Why would this be a changeable "setting" rather than simply a status readout? Oh well...😏😏😏) So it seems like it would be possible to forward this channel into a HomeSeer (sub)device.

My MSs are all FV 44, by the way. And I only have 4 of them left, I am slowly moving to MSIIs by way of attrition, so it's not a major difficulty, I'd just like to see the actual number because I notice sometimes the Low Battery Warning doesn't get tripped when it should.

Any advice appreciated.

[Burrington]

Jim, that battery voltage you see in the settings is just a place holder for the current voltage rather than a setting that can be adjusted. Even though there is no link for battery voltage, there should be a device for it. Each MS1 should have 4 devices: Occupancy, Dusk/Dawn, Low Battery Warning, and Battery Level. Battery level is the current voltage. It is updated every time you reach the number set in "Read settings after On cmds (0=Disable)". You can see how many On commands have been reached by the "On cmds Count: x" right under it. Also the "Settings last read: ddd ttt" shows when it was last updated.

[JimSpy]

Jim, that battery voltage you see in the settings is just a place holder for the current voltage rather than a setting that can be adjusted. Even though there is no link for battery voltage, there should be a device for it. Each MS1 should have 4 devices: Occupancy, Dusk/Dawn, Low Battery Warning, and Battery Level. Battery level is the current voltage. It is updated every time you reach the number set in "Read settings after On cmds (0=Disable)". You can see how many On commands have been reached by the "On cmds Count: x" right under it. Also the "Settings last read: ddd ttt" shows when it was last updated.

Interesting that there's no link for it. So when the motion sensor is first configured in Insteon, and you hit "Program device for HomeSeer", it just creates the battery level device, without the link in the Insteon database? Ho-kay.

[Burrington]

So when the motion sensor is first configured in Insteon, and you hit "Program device for HomeSeer", it just creates the battery level device, without the link in the Insteon database? Ho-kay.

Correct.

[mnsandler]

the link #3 is supposed to provide the message to hs when the battery goes below the threshold. this is created for MS and MS IIs. it isn't very reliable. use the battery level to track when its time to change the battery.

old motion sensors get these links

Link #1	Occupancy Sensor has local control reporting to HomeSeer
Link #2	Dusk/Dawn Sensor has local control reporting to HomeSeer
Link #3	Low Battery Warning has local control reporting to HomeSeer

the new motion sensor II get these links

Link #1 Dusk/Dawn Sensor has local control reporting to HomeSeer
Link #2 Low Battery Warning has local control reporting to HomeSeer
Link #3 Heartbeat has local control reporting to HomeSeer
Link #4 Tamper Switch has local control reporting to HomeSeer
Link #5 Temperature has local control reporting to HomeSeer
Link #6 Occupancy Sensor has local control reporting to HomeSeer
Link #7 Dusk/Dawn Sensor has local control reporting to HomeSeer

there is no link required for battery level itself. that is read from either a status message or heartbeat