Tstat problems AGAIN

[thefred]

So they replaced the control board on the furnace and the heat was working fine. But because it was turned off while they waited for parts, the battery died in the tstat because it is set for power stealing. A short while later, battery died again. Now, three weeks later, the battery is gone again. The tstat sporadically changes between current date to 1/1/2000 and then says identify where the date is. The heat won't come on. I guess I'll get a new battery tomorrow and see what happens. The tstat is under warranty. Does this sound like a bad tstat?

P.S. And now I have to listen to my wife about how I have mucked up the whole house with this Control4 stuff and why its so complicated and why the HVAc has to be connected to it and why can't we just get a new tstat from Home Depot, blah, blah blah.....

[henniae]

You might want to consider not using power stealing. The C4 t-stat works best if it has a common wire from the HVAC system.

What C4 system software version are you running?

[CFUG]

She's right- it doesn't need to be connected to C4. If it did, Honeywell ACS would be on the carpet before Dave Cote right about now. I tore mine out a long time ago. The deadband on those is as wide as the Grand Canyon and they are not accurate out of the box. About as useless as their Media Player.

[ILoveC4]

She's right- it doesn't need to be connected to C4. If it did, Honeywell ACS would be on the carpet before Dave Cote right about now. I tore mine out a long time ago. The deadband on those is as wide as the Grand Canyon and they are not accurate out of the box. About as useless as their Media Player.

LOL

[digitaltrader]

She's right- it doesn't need to be connected to C4. If it did, Honeywell ACS would be on the carpet before Dave Cote right about now. I tore mine out a long time ago. The deadband on those is as wide as the Grand Canyon and they are not accurate out of the box. About as useless as their Media Player.

Are the C4 TSTATs really not that reliable. I'm asking as I'm considering installing 4 of them.

[CFUG]

Naw, I'm just kidding. I use a few and they are fine. Just follow the install tips given here (including that of calibrating each sensor against a quality standard). Be sure to check the condition of the battery if you experience frequent power outages.

[thefred]

You might want to consider not using power stealing. The C4 t-stat works best if it has a common wire from the HVAC system.

What C4 system software version are you running?

I am running 1.7.2.160. I'd love to not use power stealing. I just have to get power to the tstat. What is with the flashing identify? I can see the tstat in CHE and I can access it though the navigators? Do you think this is just a power issue?

[thefred]

She's right- it doesn't need to be connected to C4. If it did, Honeywell ACS would be on the carpet before Dave Cote right about now. I tore mine out a long time ago. The deadband on those is as wide as the Grand Canyon and they are not accurate out of the box. About as useless as their Media Player.

OK. I won't show her this post. Thanks alot. I thought you were all going to be on my side!

[mercedes]

I have 4 in my home any they work great.

[shaneoneill]

P.S. And now I have to listen to my wife about how I have mucked up the whole house with this Control4 stuff and why its so complicated and why the HVAc has to be connected to it and why can't we just get a new tstat from Home Depot, blah, blah blah.....

your wife and my wife should go bowling

[thefred]

your wife and my wife should go bowling

Agreed!! But when I showed her how she could change the tstats on the touchscreen and navigator she asked why I hadn't shown her that earlier because that's so much easier than walking downstairs. You can't win for losing. Try to make it easy and give simple instructions and you lose. Try to explain all of the capabilities and its too complicated and you still lose!

OK, so I changed the battery again and the battery icon immediately came on on the display. I couldn't understand why the battery icon would be on when I had the tstat on the wall, so I adjusted it and the icon went off and the heat came on. So, I thought I solved the problem. But, alas, about 8 hours later, it stopped working again. As much as I hated to do it, I put in the service call yesterday afternoon.....

[thecodeman]

The battery icon indicates when it is running on battery and not on common power, if I'm not mistaken. My thermostat is powered by a common wire and I do not see the battery icon. You're definately going to want the common wire hooked up.

[henniae]

your wife and my wife should go bowling

Agreed!!

OK' date=' so I changed the battery again and the battery icon immediately came on on the display. I couldn't understand why the battery icon would be on when I had the tstat on the wall, so I adjusted it and the icon went off and the heat came on. So, I thought I solved the problem. But, alas, about 8 hours later, it stopped working again. As much as I hated to do it, I put in the service call yesterday afternoon.....[/quote']

there is a known problem with the little connectors on the wall mount plate of *some* t-stats. C4 has a replacement kit that your dealer can install if you have a t-stat with the problem.

Edit:

I an not saying for sure the connector is the issue. It is possible that you just didn't have the t-stat on the wall mount correctly and the contacts were not firmly seated. Try removing the t-stat from the wall mount and reinstalling it.

I looked up the Technical Support Bulletin. If the connectors on the wall mount for the t-stat are green then you may have one of the problematic units. C4 has a kit that your dealer can get to replace the connectors.

I also agree that you should have the common wire installed.

Here is a post that has a link to a doc about power stealing

http://www.c4forums.com/viewtopic.php?id=2802

[thefred]

your wife and my wife should go bowling

Agreed!!

OK' date=' so I changed the battery again and the battery icon immediately came on on the display. I couldn't understand why the battery icon would be on when I had the tstat on the wall, so I adjusted it and the icon went off and the heat came on. So, I thought I solved the problem. But, alas, about 8 hours later, it stopped working again. As much as I hated to do it, I put in the service call yesterday afternoon.....[/quote']

there is a known problem with the little connectors on the wall mount plate of *some* t-stats. C4 has a replacement kit that your dealer can install if you have a t-stat with the problem.

Edit:

I an not saying for sure the connector is the issue. It is possible that you just didn't have the t-stat on the wall mount correctly and the contacts were not firmly seated. Try removing the t-stat from the wall mount and reinstalling it.

I looked up the Technical Support Bulletin. If the connectors on the wall mount for the t-stat are green then you may have one of the problematic units. C4 has a kit that your dealer can get to replace the connectors.

I also agree that you should have the common wire installed.

Here is a post that has a link to a doc about power stealing

http://www.c4forums.com/viewtopic.php?id=2802

Thanks Alan. I went down this morning and saw the battery icon on again. I twisted the tstat slightly and the icon went off and the furnace came on.

[henniae]

Thanks Alan. I went down this morning and saw the battery icon on again. I twisted the tstat slightly and the icon went off and the furnace came on.

Having to jiggle the t-stat is a possible symptom of the connectors being at fault. Pull the t-stat off and see if the connectors on the wall plate are green. If there are green they could be the issue. The replacement kit have a different set of connectors that are black.

It could also be that a pin is bent or misaligned on the t-stat. Or one of the wires could be interfering with the contacts on the t-stat connecting to t-stat base. It is hard to tell without see the actual t-stat.

[thefred]

your wife and my wife should go bowling

Agreed!!

OK' date=' so I changed the battery again and the battery icon immediately came on on the display. I couldn't understand why the battery icon would be on when I had the tstat on the wall, so I adjusted it and the icon went off and the heat came on. So, I thought I solved the problem. But, alas, about 8 hours later, it stopped working again. As much as I hated to do it, I put in the service call yesterday afternoon.....[/quote']

there is a known problem with the little connectors on the wall mount plate of *some* t-stats. C4 has a replacement kit that your dealer can install if you have a t-stat with the problem.

Edit:

I an not saying for sure the connector is the issue. It is possible that you just didn't have the t-stat on the wall mount correctly and the contacts were not firmly seated. Try removing the t-stat from the wall mount and reinstalling it.

I looked up the Technical Support Bulletin. If the connectors on the wall mount for the t-stat are green then you may have one of the problematic units. C4 has a kit that your dealer can get to replace the connectors.

I also agree that you should have the common wire installed.

Here is a post that has a link to a doc about power stealing

http://www.c4forums.com/viewtopic.php?id=2802

Alan,

It was runnig fine again and then all of a sudden, it just switched off again and the battery icon came on. I took it off and the connectors on the wall mount are black so its probably not the bad connectors. I checked the pins and none appear to be bent and no wires appear to be interfering. I put it back on and the icon didn't go off. I nudged it around until the icon went off and the furnace came on. Still waiting for the return call from service. Left message on Tuesday.......

[thefred]

Just talked to my dealer. He says that they will attach an 18v or 24v transformer to the tstat to power it so we don't have to use power stealing. For some reason, that wasn't how I thought it was going ot be wired. Does that sound right?

[CFUG]

If you are power stealing you might need the 270 ohm resistor. Do you have this installed? Why did you need a control board- old age or other problem? I am brow-raising over the fact you have stated twice now that manipulating the housing on the mount switches you from DC power to AC power and triggers heat.

I would not go with another xformer- what's wrong with the one already there in your heating equipment?

[thefred]

If you are power stealing you might need the 270 ohm resistor. Do you have this installed? Why did you need a control board- old age or other problem? I am brow-raising over the fact you have stated twice now that manipulating the housing on the mount switches you from DC power to AC power and triggers heat.

I would not go with another xformer- what's wrong with the one already there in your heating equipment?

That's what I thought. Shouldn't they just run a wire from the power source for the furnace? They asked if I had an outlet nearby. It sounds like they are goingt o set it up to be plugged into a receptacle.

The resistor is not installed but there does appear to be a jumper wire between two of the contacts. Not sure why that's there. I think the control board in the furnace was replaced becaus it went bad somehow. It was also 15 yearts old so that may have been the reason.

I think that the adjusting of the housing means that something is not getting a good contact.

[thefred]

Loose power wire! This is their diagnosis. Since I wasn't there and didn't get called until affter they left, I'm still on power stealing.... If that was the problem, I stink for not diagnosing that. I don't even need a multi-tester for that!