craig@electricalsolutions Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Hi Guys,Anyone ever had this problem? I had the homeowner power cycle the router, switch, 1000 , and the 300. (The 1000 is the main controller) Still all devices are unresponsive and continue to flash red & green. I tried logging into 1000 remotely but was unable to connect. I could log in using 4sight and see the devices. However, even though I could turn the devices on and off on my screen, no devices were actually being operated in the home. (The customer confirmed lights were not turning on or off). Heading out first thing in the morning to check it out.Any input would be greatly appreciated!Thanks,Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecodeman Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 I'd try pulling the airgap on the dimmers for a while, and then seeing if that reboot changes anything.Is your coordinator controller online?Zigbee Pro or Embernet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig@electricalsolutions Posted May 15, 2012 Author Share Posted May 15, 2012 I couldnot access the controller remotely so I am not sure. Im heading out there right now to see if I can connect locally and see whats going on. This project has about 30-40 switches in it and is running Zigbee. Completed installation less than 6months ago. Running 2.1.1Thanks for the airgap suggestion. I'll try that as well and report my findings later this evening.Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanchow Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Dimmers and Switches should work regardless of communications to zigbee. Thats the beautiful thing about them. Flashing Red/Green as well is a bit of a concern as i've never heard of this colour combination. I would give C4 tech support a call as this does not sound normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFUG Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Red/Green: could it mean devices leaving the mesh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig@electricalsolutions Posted May 15, 2012 Author Share Posted May 15, 2012 Hello Everyone,Thanks for the reply posts. Here is the "FULL" Story:After arriving to my clients house she informed me that when her power went out last night her "20kw Briggs and Stratton Generator" came online powering up ONE of her main electrical panel boxes. Luckily, All essential loads are backed up on the generator INCLUDING 80% off all lighting in her home, the router, 1000 Controller, and the 300 Controller that is running the Zigbee Network. And this morning upon arrival, the power was already restored by the Power Company and ALL Dimmers and Switches were back to NORMAL and functioning properly!So you may ask, whats the problem? Why did the switches start flashing red/green and become TOTALLY INOPERATIVE?????(I searched the knowlege base until 1:00am last night looking for this and could find nothing)!Heres the answer. I called tech support when I arrived on site and spoke to Dan. Here is what he said:All Control 4 switches and dimmers check in to the controller every 10seconds or so telling it Im OK and Im receiving 120volts at 60htz. (That was how it was Identified in Composer during the itial startup)What happens is when a generartor starts up, it may take a few minutes for the generator to level off and produce power at 120v and 60htz. If the switches try to check in every 10seconds and DO NOT SEE what they need, the go into "Self Preservation Mode" and WIL NOT OPERATE until the SAME 120v 60htz is restored from the original source. Hence the Power Company! That is why when I arrived this morning EVERYTHING was working, ALL devices was seeing the SAME voltage and Frequency that it was looking for!Dan from tech support said they have this problem alot on the islands that have alot of power outtages and go into generator backup. (Imagine that)!He did say there is a "temporary fix" He said you can open the "air gap" on the switch to re-boot the device and when it comes back up online and sees the generator power, it woiuld work because now its looking for voltage/frequency "LESS THAN" what the utility company is providing and what is being provided by the generator. (I was not able to verify that this actually works)BUT, here is the problem. When UTILITY POWER is restored, You will have to repeat the air gap switch procedure because the devices will go back to "Self Preservation Mode" and not be happy with the utility power! (I was not able to verify that this actually works)Heres what I decided to do: I called the Generator Installation Company to see if they can come out and ADJUST the voltage and frequency taps on the generator to match the power company output. I am waiting to here back from them and see if that is even possible. (I have not heard back from them yet). I know on larger commercial generators there are many adjustments you can make. Not sure on these smaller Home Generators. Kinda curios now because we also install generators (Generac 20kw) but this is the first time I have ever heard of this issue AND next month I am installing C4 in a clients house that we installed a Generac 20kw generator.Im hoping that this is just HER generator that needs to be serviced and adjusted to closer tolerances that will fix the problem. I will post again after the generator company comes out and services the unit.Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanchow Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 Interesting. Thanks for the info craig. learn something new every day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turls Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 They need a smarter transfer switch it sounds like. Look at the Generac Nexus. It will do smart load management and I think it would avoid the voltage fluctuation issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuru Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 Thank you for the information Craig. I have a client with exactly the same problem (running on a generator at the moment). Hopefully everything will be back to normal once the power utility switches the power on again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhyPhy Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 I'm experiencing this LED blinking problem right now with every switch in house, but otherwise everything is working properly. My EA5 is running and I can control the switches via ZigBee without issue. I don't have a backup generator, but the power has gone on and off several times in the past hour. Air-gapping each switch reset it back to normal. I don't know exactly what happened to get every switch into this state and why they won't exit on their own, but it's annoying to have to do this to every switch in the house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
South Africa C4 user Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 Would dropping all power to the house for 5 minutes not solve the problem with much less hassle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhyPhy Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 On 1/2/2020 at 4:15 PM, South Africa C4 user said: Would dropping all power to the house for 5 minutes not solve the problem with much less hassle? I switched off the main breaker for about 20 seconds and all of the Control4 switches in my house were normal after I turned it back on. The cause of the problem seems to be near instantaneous power cycling (i.e. power flickers.) Slow power cycling is the fix. South Africa C4 user 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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