tcwalker5 Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 I have a wireless outlet dimmer that doesn't seem to be cutting power all the way off. In the monitoring tab, C4 thinks the load is at 0%, but there is a faint light coming from the lamps (both outlets behave the same) Any suggestions of what this could be? I'm assuming it is hardware malfunction, but I don't have another to replace it. So I'd rather troubleshoot first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 Using LED bulbs or incandescent?Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lippavisual Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 Most likely led Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcwalker5 Posted January 28, 2019 Author Share Posted January 28, 2019 There are no markings, but I can't hear the filament hitting the glass, so I will assume it is LED. Why would this happen? 0 power should be the same regardless of the bulb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcwalker5 Posted January 28, 2019 Author Share Posted January 28, 2019 I did try with an incandescent and no visible light. Very weird to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 Led has different current draw and these are too old to work properly w ledSent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyknight Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 43 minutes ago, tcwalker5 said: I did try with an incandescent and no visible light. Very weird to me. Very normal to me - you're not reaching the minimum wattage threshold. 53 minutes ago, tcwalker5 said: 0 power should be the same regardless of the bulb. No, it really shouldn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcwalker5 Posted January 29, 2019 Author Share Posted January 29, 2019 8 minutes ago, Cyknight said: Very normal to me - you're not reaching the minimum wattage threshold. I am trying to turn the lights off, so I'm not following how a minimum threshold would be reached. I want it to be zero. 9 minutes ago, Cyknight said: 1 hour ago, tcwalker5 said: 0 power should be the same regardless of the bulb. No, it really shouldn't. I'm very confused, under what conditions should off not be off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonic30101 Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 LED are so efficient, especially when they are not dimmable and dimmers still allow a trickle of power even at off. Especially outlet dimmers which are very old and have not gotten updated to include LEDs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcwalker5 Posted January 29, 2019 Author Share Posted January 29, 2019 5 minutes ago, sonic30101 said: LED are so efficient, especially when they are not dimmable and dimmers still allow a trickle of power even at off. Especially outlet dimmers which are very old and have not gotten updated to include LEDs Ok, this helps. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyknight Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 4 hours ago, tcwalker5 said: I am trying to turn the lights off, so I'm not following how a minimum threshold would be reached. I want it to be zero. I'm very confused, under what conditions should off not be off? To further clarify a dimmer at 0% (ANY dimmer) is not OFF at all. That's why many dimmers (on wall switches or 'lamp modules') have a final 'push down that 'clicks' or a separate toggle button for full on/off. And that minimum threshold is the minimum wattage requirement for the device in use, and yes dimmers have minimum wattage requirements (again, not jsut C4). As sonic mentioned, for those outlet dimmers, that's quite high - they predate LED bulbs -and dimmable CFL bulbs- for lamps and common house lighting being something your average consumer would look at or even know about). Off the top of my head, that minimum is something along the line of 25W for the outlet dimmer - nothing for incandescent or halogen lighting, but 25W of LED is...what 200W incandescent equivalent? Your assumption is (was) that a dimmer at 0% means it is 'off' in that there is no power running though, which is incorrect (or perhaps inaccurate is a better word choice). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcwalker5 Posted January 29, 2019 Author Share Posted January 29, 2019 3 minutes ago, Cyknight said: Your assumption is (was) that a dimmer at 0% means it is 'off' in that there is no power running though, which is incorrect (or perhaps inaccurate is a better word choice). So I have come to learn. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Roscoe Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 we hit this problem a few month back, not due to our fault but customer adding more extras. we used resistors or "dummy loads" to take the hit and get the light (single light in our case) to switch off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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