I have new construction underway and had the builder and his electrician install Simply Automated US-1140, US-240, and USR40 switches throughout the house as well as a phase coupler. We just got the power turned on and nothing works as inspected. Switches in the dining room are turning on lights in the master closet, kitchen switches are turning on lights in the mudroom, etc. I believe they were all wired incorrectly but without taking them all apart to check, I am not sure. My first question is on the LEDs. If the electrician followed the wiring diagrams in the installation guides, how should I expect the LED to function? There are two scenarios in the house, an 1140 controlling a single load (like the master closet light) or there is a master (either a 1140 or a 240 depending on the location in the house) in a three way circuit with a R40 as the slave. When I look at the LEDs they are all over the map. Some are wired blue always on, some are wired green always on, some are wired blue on when the load is off and then when you turn the load on they change to green and when you turn it back off back to blue, others are the opposite (green off, blue on), and lastly, there are a few where the LED is not illuminated until the load is turned on and then it is blue. So this tells me there is no consistency in which they were wired as evidenced by the LED colors. Assuming you followed the installation instructions, what is the default illumination of the LED? I can't find this in the documenation anywhere and this would at least allow me to argue that the wiring is wrong. The electricians are blaming the switches. I find it statistically impossible that 50+ switches are all bad. Any suggestions would be appreciated. There are also several scenarios where there are 3-4 SA switches together in a 4-5 gang box. I'm not sure if that is causing any of the problems either. I have not used upstart yet. I wanted to make sure everything worked upon install before I entered into the software. So far, nothing controls the correct loads. The house is ~3000 sqft and is 110' end to end (large ranch). I have one phase coupler installed and have another coming. I'm not controlling anything crazy either, just the overhead lights in - Master Bedroom/Bath/Closet, Greatroom, Dining, Kitchen, Breakfast, Living, Mudroom, and Outside. This is super frustrating. I had tried to equip them with the manuals and other tips and suggestions I had found while devouring this site to try and avoid any issues but I am assuming they ignored everything as not a single switch works as expected.
Default setting for UPB LED if following the installation instructions?
- Thread starter coope08
- Start date
pete_c
Guru
Sounds to me like the installers were clueless. Note that this is my opinion only.
If you are paying the contractor for the installation of these switches and they have not been correctly installed then its really his problem.
You will need to pull out every UPB switch and look at the wiring; there is no other way to check the switches.
Personally I would subcontract another electrician who knows what he is doing with UPB switches and have your current contractor pay for said services.
That said if he didn't charge you any extra to install UPB switches rather than conventional switches; I would have him remove the UPB switches and install conventional switches.
I would then hire / subcontract an experienced electrican to install the UPB switches.
Leaving the switches in place miswired may damage your UPB switch investment. (note that this is my opinion).
Desert_AIP
Senior Member
Have you/they done a network verify (or setup) through UPStart?
That's the only way to know for sure how each switch is configured.
The default out of the box LED behavior is usually off when the load is off and Blue when the load is on.
Except the remote switches are only Green LEDs IIRC.
The LED behavior is controlled internally by a software switch, there's no way to "wire it" to blue, green, etc. Except the remotes which come on when energized.
Wiring the switches should be straightforward for any electrician.
White, black, ground, brown to the load.
The travelers for remotes are the only "off" item, and they are similar enough to standard 3-way switches.
The unused travelers (striped) just get capped off.
Are the three LEDs illuminated on the coupler?
If they haven't programmed them then a lot of the switches all have the same unit IDs. So they will respond to "internal" links from other units with the same unit number.
Out of the box the US240s have local load links programmed, if those are getting transmitted, then any switch programmed to react to it will react. Usually links 240/241. By default that should be an internal link only, but it could get transmitted.
They are also set to dimmers out of the box.
If you are controlling something non-dimmable that can have poor results.
Without doing a network verify and using UPStart anything else is just guessing.
You need a PIM and a laptop.
Once the verify is done you can methodically go through the switches and ensure that the proper switch is in the proper location controlling the proper light with the proper links and behaviors.
Use the identify feature to flash the LEDs of the switch.
If there are numerous switches with the same unit ID a verify won't work.
You have to add each switch to the network and assign it a unique unit ID number.
They can remain wired in, but you have to place each switch in setup mode, five rapid presses of the rocker, sequentially.
Once everything is in the network, it is easy to change IDs and behaviors.
That's the only way to know for sure how each switch is configured.
The default out of the box LED behavior is usually off when the load is off and Blue when the load is on.
Except the remote switches are only Green LEDs IIRC.
The LED behavior is controlled internally by a software switch, there's no way to "wire it" to blue, green, etc. Except the remotes which come on when energized.
Wiring the switches should be straightforward for any electrician.
White, black, ground, brown to the load.
The travelers for remotes are the only "off" item, and they are similar enough to standard 3-way switches.
The unused travelers (striped) just get capped off.
Are the three LEDs illuminated on the coupler?
If they haven't programmed them then a lot of the switches all have the same unit IDs. So they will respond to "internal" links from other units with the same unit number.
Out of the box the US240s have local load links programmed, if those are getting transmitted, then any switch programmed to react to it will react. Usually links 240/241. By default that should be an internal link only, but it could get transmitted.
They are also set to dimmers out of the box.
If you are controlling something non-dimmable that can have poor results.
Without doing a network verify and using UPStart anything else is just guessing.
You need a PIM and a laptop.
Once the verify is done you can methodically go through the switches and ensure that the proper switch is in the proper location controlling the proper light with the proper links and behaviors.
Use the identify feature to flash the LEDs of the switch.
If there are numerous switches with the same unit ID a verify won't work.
You have to add each switch to the network and assign it a unique unit ID number.
They can remain wired in, but you have to place each switch in setup mode, five rapid presses of the rocker, sequentially.
Once everything is in the network, it is easy to change IDs and behaviors.
Desert_AIP
Senior Member
You can return any switch to factory configuration by rapidly depressing the top rocker ten times.
The LED will flash, then change colors.
Tap it once more to return to operation.
The LED will flash, then change colors.
Tap it once more to return to operation.
pete_c
Guru
A guess here is that the electrician just installed the switches out of the box and did not utilize Upstart to validate installation.
And if they did utilize Upstart they really had no clue what they were doing with it.
None the less; it'll be a PITA but I would start first checking the physical wiring to the switches as I have seen non experienced electricians short cut stuff based on multimeter logic rather than conventional electrical standards. (and mix and match colors based on multimeter logic).
If the base electrical wiring is wrong then its not worth trying to fix it with Upstart; because it will not.
Once this has been validated then go slow and use Upstart checking out one room at a time cold resetting every switch installed.
Thanks Everyone! I'm not sure if they configured them using Upstart. I have not. I was planning to go in after everthing was confirmed to be working but it sounds like I better start in Upstart first and see if everything looks alright and if not, then start looking at the way in which they were wired. Argh! I have a PIM and was planning to hook it up this weekend after the heat is turned on - it's pretty cold sitting on concrete floors!
Sorry, yes, all three lights are lit up on the phase coupler. Another concern is that the even though the switches are not controlling the correct loads, they are not consistent either. So it may act as expected (albeit on the wrong load) turning it on and off the first time but if I press it again, it may not turn the light back on - it just stops working. Could that be the link not transmitting, getting lost or maybe the switch over loading?
fcwilt
Active Member
Without more information it's hard to say way is going on.
It most cases the rocker on the dimmer is going to control the dimmer itself as opposed to controlling some other dimmer. If this is the case if the dimmer is controlling the wrong load then it's wired wrong.
Had the installer done UPB installs before?
To use UpStart you need a device that connects your computer to the UPB network. This is called a PIM (powerline interface module) or CIM (computer interface module) depending on the manufacture.
Do you have such a device? If you don't I suggest you get one.
When you have such a device you can download and install UpStart on your computer, connect the PIM/CIM and do a network discovery which will load UpStart with information about all of your devices and how they are configured. Once this is done you can start to examine you devices and insure they are configured as you want them.
It most cases the rocker on the dimmer is going to control the dimmer itself as opposed to controlling some other dimmer. If this is the case if the dimmer is controlling the wrong load then it's wired wrong.
Had the installer done UPB installs before?
To use UpStart you need a device that connects your computer to the UPB network. This is called a PIM (powerline interface module) or CIM (computer interface module) depending on the manufacture.
Do you have such a device? If you don't I suggest you get one.
When you have such a device you can download and install UpStart on your computer, connect the PIM/CIM and do a network discovery which will load UpStart with information about all of your devices and how they are configured. Once this is done you can start to examine you devices and insure they are configured as you want them.
Desert_AIP
Senior Member
If there's been no UPStart programming, then you have a lot of switches all with the same unit ID.
Unless you buy the starter kits that are pre programmed with consecutive unit IDs, you have to assign unique IDs via UpStart.
Random things appear to be happening because the switches are not programmed in a comprehensive network.
The coupler sounds like it is installed properly, that's good.
Unless you buy the starter kits that are pre programmed with consecutive unit IDs, you have to assign unique IDs via UpStart.
Random things appear to be happening because the switches are not programmed in a comprehensive network.
The coupler sounds like it is installed properly, that's good.
