WITS END - HELP NEEDED - UNITS NOT FOUND AND/OR NOT RESPONDING

Hi everyone,

firstly, i am a complete novice with CBUS. We purchased a home that (unfortunately so far) already had CBUS lighting installed throughout. We have had constant issues with 2 particular 4 gang wall switches.

The current issue is that both 4 gang switches have all 4 indicator lights illuminated in solid red and are currently non functional. So when you attempt to turn a light off or on, it does nothing. Just all 4 switches stay illuminated with the solid red indicators.

1 of the 4 gang switches will work temporarily for a few days, but then one day i will go to turn on a light, and rather than turn the light on, all 4 switches just light up with the solid red indicator on.

i have downloaded the cbus toolkit and opened the network (i dont have a copy of the original database). The issue is, the 2 wall switches in question do not appear on the network scan. 1 of them may appear infrequently, with the message 'unit not responding' next to it. i have been able to open it once or twice but then it either disappears from the network altogether or remains with the 'unit not responding' error. The other wall switch does not appear at all, no matter how many times i scan the network.

i have checked the clock and burden, and it appears to be set correctly. I have 30.4v so i assume adequate power supply.

i just cannot work out if the issue is both 4 gang switches are faulty and need to be replaced or if something else is going on.

What does it mean when all 4 indicator lights remain solid and is anyone able to offer any tech advice in layman terms that i will be understand in toolkit?

 

Firstly I think on this forum you should have started off by saying FORTUNATELY I have CBus installed in my home.

Have you had a CBus expert come and investigate the issue ?

From what you have said, probably is faulty switches (where are the located and how old are they) , it could also be a power supply gone noisy .
1) Do all other switches function correctly.
1 a) if they don't, if you disconnect the clearly faulty switches , does the system scan and function correctly.
2) If you press a button on a faulty switch very quickly does start flashing
3)If you press a button on a good switch very quickly does start flashing
4) if it is a faulty power supply, unfortunately disconnecting a switch, or doing anything on the system, may make the system appear that it is ok or may make it look like the switch etc is faulty.
5) you can also put a scope on the cbus network, this can show up a faulty (noisy) power supply.

My instinct is to say the switches are faulty , why not replace 1, and see if it works without issue, having said that over the last few month I have replaced a lot of power supplies that have gone (noisy) - that may sound bad but don't forget that a lot of CBus systems have been in homes for over 20 Years.

Your best bet is to get an expert in, they will have spare switches etc, to test with .

Hope you get the system sorted and learn to love its power and flexability.

Happy Christmas

 

Thanks for the advice.
Yes I am too thinking it is a faulty switch.
Does the solid red indicator on all individual buttons on the 4 gang switch generally indicate a faulty switch unit?

 

From my experience no a red/orange light does not mean this. A couple of thoughts below to eliminate any wiring issues. What is the model no of the 4 gang switch?

1. Move the switch to another location in the house and see if you get the same response. If you don't and they work it may be interference or wiring issue at the original place.
2. Have a go at downloading c-bus diagnostic utility and connect it up (can't run at the same time as toolkit) Run traffic analyser and reliability test and post your results.