penn65000 Posted October 8, 2023 Share Posted October 8, 2023 Have the attached issue with all multibutton keypads (6 of them) after power goes out then comes back. This didn’t happen 6-7 years ago after install. Anyone have solution? No issues w other electronics in house and we have whole home surge protector and generator. IMG_5034.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BXTR Posted October 8, 2023 Share Posted October 8, 2023 Try a 15 tap on top button to reset Its likely dirty power from the backup generator causing the issue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penn65000 Posted October 8, 2023 Author Share Posted October 8, 2023 4 hours ago, BXTR said: Try a 15 tap on top button to reset Its likely dirty power from the backup generator causing the issue Backup gen is clean. Modern Generac gen and no other electronics are impacted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpencerT Posted October 9, 2023 Share Posted October 9, 2023 2 hours ago, penn65000 said: Backup gen is clean. Modern Generagen and no other electronics are impacted. I'm assuming that means generac gen (?) Unless you have an inverter on it (or after it), I assure you the power is not "clean". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penn65000 Posted October 9, 2023 Author Share Posted October 9, 2023 41 minutes ago, SpencerT said: I'm assuming that means generac gen (?) Unless you have an inverter on it (or after it), I assure you the power is not "clean". Generac guardian 20kw whole home. Clean power. When it is running is seems cleaner than coned wrt drop outs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpencerT Posted October 9, 2023 Share Posted October 9, 2023 51 minutes ago, penn65000 said: Generac guardian 20kw whole home. Clean power. When it is running is seems cleaner than coned wrt drop outs. Guardian is not an inverter generator. Not knocking it, I have one as well, but I can assure you the power isn't "clean". What's behind it protecting those keypads? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted October 9, 2023 Share Posted October 9, 2023 How are you determining that it's cleaner? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhyPhy Posted October 9, 2023 Share Posted October 9, 2023 The problem is that the power cycles extremely quickly when switching to/from the backup generator. Because of this, the keypad does not completely lose power before powering back on. It gets stuck in a weird “half awake” state. I had this happen to every keypad in my house. I don’t have a backup generator; it was due to a power flicker from the electrical grid. The good news is that it’s very easy to fix. At the breaker box, turn off the breakers for about 10 seconds, then turn them back on, without activating backup power. The switches will resume normal behavior. BXTR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BXTR Posted October 9, 2023 Share Posted October 9, 2023 15 hours ago, penn65000 said: Backup gen is clean. Modern Generac gen and no other electronics are impacted. It isn’t. I’ve seen this happen at many sites Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penn65000 Posted October 9, 2023 Author Share Posted October 9, 2023 36 minutes ago, BXTR said: It isn’t. I’ve seen this happen at many sites With Lutron too? We have another home with same gen but newer C4 multibutton wireless and this doesn’t happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BXTR Posted October 9, 2023 Share Posted October 9, 2023 5 hours ago, penn65000 said: With Lutron too? We have another home with same gen but newer C4 multibutton wireless and this doesn’t happen. I can’t speak to Lutron as we don’t work with it, just with C4 lighting. It’s fairly rare, over the course of a decade we’ve noticed it seems to only happen on sites that have generators, new, old, big, small, it doesn’t mater penn65000 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penn65000 Posted October 9, 2023 Author Share Posted October 9, 2023 2 hours ago, BXTR said: I can’t speak to Lutron as we don’t work with it, just with C4 lighting. It’s fairly rare, over the course of a decade we’ve noticed it seems to only happen on sites that have generators, new, old, big, small, it doesn’t mater Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyknight Posted October 10, 2023 Share Posted October 10, 2023 4 hours ago, penn65000 said: Thank you. Yes I've seen it with Lutron as well, though it seems to need a much 'dirtier' power to get it riled up. penn65000 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhyPhy Posted October 10, 2023 Share Posted October 10, 2023 I had this problem two different times. I don’t have a backup generator. A quick power “flicker” on the grid caused it. penn65000 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyknight Posted October 10, 2023 Share Posted October 10, 2023 4 hours ago, WhyPhy said: I had this problem two different times. I don’t have a backup generator. A quick power “flicker” on the grid caused it. Yep, similar effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penn65000 Posted October 10, 2023 Author Share Posted October 10, 2023 On 10/8/2023 at 9:20 PM, SpencerT said: Guardian is not an inverter generator. Not knocking it, I have one as well, but I can assure you the power isn't "clean". What's behind it protecting those keypads? Can you send a link to a whole house inverter generator? Will help me understand. We have whole house surge protector and our generator delivers alternative current so not sure what is being inverted. Thx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAV Posted October 10, 2023 Share Posted October 10, 2023 A generator is a gas engine. It changes speed based on load, fuel, air quality etc, thus the output AC is going to be 'dirty', or fluctuate. A simple appliance or incandescent bulb doesn't care. BUT, since the whole conservation era and devices using less power, more devices then ever DO care, smaller electronics power supplies can't store and smooth the power like the old days. An inverter 'cleans' the power, doing a DC to AC conversion, to produce a more stable AC sinewave with less distortion and thus less fluctuations. Which your modern electronics and lighting require since they use the sinewave cycle for timing amongst other things. The short time between grid and generator coming online is the critical moment, when it all goes bad. (Or grid brownouts, where the voltage drops) The lawyers for generators don't allow for simple indications of the type of output, and result in "electronics friendly" type marketing terms. All of the above, also applies to UPS battery backups and their ability to provide electronics friendly output. penn65000 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neo1738 Posted October 11, 2023 Share Posted October 11, 2023 Just tap top button 15x on all affected keypads they will reset and work. Also had some keypads stop backlighting and did this works every time it seems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penn65000 Posted October 11, 2023 Author Share Posted October 11, 2023 18 hours ago, RAV said: A generator is a gas engine. It changes speed based on load, fuel, air quality etc, thus the output AC is going to be 'dirty', or fluctuate. A simple appliance or incandescent bulb doesn't care. BUT, since the whole conservation era and devices using less power, more devices then ever DO care, smaller electronics power supplies can't store and smooth the power like the old days. An inverter 'cleans' the power, doing a DC to AC conversion, to produce a more stable AC sinewave with less distortion and thus less fluctuations. Which your modern electronics and lighting require since they use the sinewave cycle for timing amongst other things. The short time between grid and generator coming online is the critical moment, when it all goes bad. (Or grid brownouts, where the voltage drops) The lawyers for generators don't allow for simple indications of the type of output, and result in "electronics friendly" type marketing terms. All of the above, also applies to UPS battery backups and their ability to provide electronics friendly output. Ty. Where do I get whole house inverter generator? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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