I have my brand new house wired with all x10 switches. I have 2 lights that I am having problems with. They are both standard lamps, 100w bulbs. From the switch I can turn on and off the lights. From a mini or maxi controller I can turn on and off the lights. From any remote I cannot turn off the 2 lights. They respond to 'on', but not off.

I tried replacing one of the switches and it responded to 'off'. About 30 minutes later it wouldn't respond to 'off' anymore.

I have moved the transonder all over the house. I get the same results.

The wiring in both of the switches has one of the wires in a 'U' shape (ie: it goes somewhere else in the house to supply power).

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Kevin

Kevin,

I've had this EXACT same problem in a 20 year old house. Everyone said that a device to combine both 'phases' of my wiring would fix the problem, however the problem still persists when the dryer/oven is on.

That's the first thing you need to check. Turn your dryer on (which will combine both 110v sections of your wiring because it uses 220v) and see if that cures the problem. If so, you need to purchase a $50 device which combines them permanently.

If not, you're in the same boat I am - don't use an X10 switch on that light :(


Thank you,

www.RRDeals.com

I have purchased a phase coupler (before I bought the house), but haven't installed it yet. I can control every part of my house from every other part (except for my 2 bad lights), so I haven't bothered installing it yet. The fact that I could control 'off' for a few minutes with a new switch leads me to believe that there might be something odd with the wiring that is killing the switches. I haven't tried to use a 'dead' (no off) switch in another location to see if it still works - I will try it tonight.

I have a gas dryer, so it only runs on 110v. Actually, as far as I know, I have no appliances that run on 220v, except the central air conditioning.

I am thinking I will just use a lamp module - i have a stick-a-swich right next to the 'bad' switch. For my other light - it controls my outside garage lights which are on a motion detector. I would like that one to work.

I am thinking that I can make a macro that will see 'E10 off' and send 'E10 off' through the power line like a mini or maxi controller does, since for some reason plugged-in controllers can turn the light off. It might work...

It sounds like noise with the noise level going up just a bit when the light is on and the signal being weak enough, at that point, that the extra noise is just enough to prevent it from working.

Are the lights on ceiling fans?

Your coupler could increase the signal level enough to solve the problem so that's worth a try. You can also try filtering other noise sources to bring your total noise level down.

This is a case where a noise/strength meter would be really handy so you could see what's really going on on your power line.

"Are the lights on ceiling fans?" - No.

"Your coupler could increase the signal level enough to solve the problem so that's worth a try. You can also try filtering other noise sources to bring your total noise level down."

I don't know a lot about the 'internal' workings of X10, but why would the coupler matter? The light responds to any controller that is plugged into the wall. It won't respond to any wireless ones that use a tranceiver.

I am going to install the coupler this Thursday or Friday. Hopefully it will work.

Thanks for the help

Kevin,

All homes have noise on the power line. The noise level can vary significantly from one curcuit to another. The X10 signal will almost also find a path from one phase to the other but there's often significant attinuation so the signal on the "other" phase is signifianctly lower than on the original phase. Put this all together and you get situations where a signal can overpower the noise on one phase, or one circuit, but not others. Also, all transmitters are not created equal. Some transmit stronger signals than others and without a test meter you have no way to verify either the noise level or signal strength.

Larry - thanks for the info. I will post my results once I have the coupler installed.