Elk M1G and HAI Omnistat RC80 Troubleshooting

[wuench]

So I got my RC80 wired up and after replacing a blown fuse in the omnistat got it talking to the HVAC OK. But I can't seem to get the Elk to recognize it. The M1XSP led is blinking once per second.

I suspect that the 22/4 wire I ran is the culprit or perhaps my terminations, but my question is how do I troubleshoot this. I can't seem to find anything in the Elk logs good or bad about the TSTAT. The keypad says the TSTAT is Not Enabled. I would like to narrow this down before I attempt to re-terminate and/or pull another CAT5 instead.

Is there anywhere I can look in the Elk to verify things?
Does the 1 sec blinking LED on the M1XSP indicate anything?
Can anyone point me to the RS232 protocol for the RC80, I can't see to find any info on it?

 

[tmbrown97]

When I installed mine I had a similar issue - and found absolutely nothing useful for troubleshooting... so the next step was confirming my connections, figuring out what I'd configured wrong on the M1XSP, and then power-cycling the M1 and the M1XSP - and it all came together.

 

[wuench]

Well, I give up. With the complete lack of information from HAI and piss poor tools as far as the Elk on this stupid P.O.S I give up. I think I am going to go with the RCS RS485 solution instead, it's more expensive, but the wiring is a lot simpler, and I won't have to use harnesses on each end.

Gotta go, my Omnistat has a date with my B.F.H....

 

[Spanky]

Excerpt from the M1XSP documentation: Page 8 http://www.elkproducts.com/pdf/M1XSP_Light...al_Port_Exp.pdf

Power up the HAI Thermostat, enter the Installer Setup Mode (see the HAI manual), and program the following:
A. Set Item #00 "Address" to a value from 1 to 16. The first unit should be address 1. If multiple thermostats are
installed, each should be set to a consecutive address, starting at 1.
B. Set Item #01 "Communications Mode" to a value of 0 (300 baud, RS-232 mode).
C. Set Item #03 "Display Options" to one of the options designated as "non-programmable" (4 thru 7). This disables
the thermostat's internal setback time schedules so they do not override the M1 Automation commands from the M1XSP.
An alternate method is to disable specific schedules by setting their times values to "----" (1 step past the 11:45pm time set).
D. Set Items #05 & #06 "Cool Setpoint Limit" and "Heat Setpoint Limit" (if desired). CAUTION: The thermostat will
ignore any setpoint commands sent to it that are outside these limits.


The HAI thermostat does work with the M1 when it is setup properly.

 

[wuench]

Excerpt from the M1XSP documentation: Page 8 http://www.elkproducts.com/pdf/M1XSP_Light...al_Port_Exp.pdf

Power up the HAI Thermostat, enter the Installer Setup Mode (see the HAI manual), and program the following:
A. Set Item #00 "Address" to a value from 1 to 16. The first unit should be address 1. If multiple thermostats are
installed, each should be set to a consecutive address, starting at 1.
B. Set Item #01 "Communications Mode" to a value of 0 (300 baud, RS-232 mode).
C. Set Item #03 "Display Options" to one of the options designated as "non-programmable" (4 thru 7). This disables
the thermostat's internal setback time schedules so they do not override the M1 Automation commands from the M1XSP.
An alternate method is to disable specific schedules by setting their times values to "----" (1 step past the 11:45pm time set).
D. Set Items #05 & #06 "Cool Setpoint Limit" and "Heat Setpoint Limit" (if desired). CAUTION: The thermostat will
ignore any setpoint commands sent to it that are outside these limits.


The HAI thermostat does work with the M1 when it is setup properly.

I have checked my settings over and over on the Tstat and M1XSP. I have reterminated. I even tried to hook the thing up to my laptop with a serial port sniffer with both the original wire and then just the harness. As far as I can tell, I am not getting anything out of it. I think I either have a bad Omnistat (it came with a blown fuse) or a bad serial harness. It would be nice, though, if the logs would just say something, trying to poll tstat, no response or whatever, or even gave LED's for the COM lines. I really dread that "magic moment" when you get things all wired up, turn it on, and hope.

And it would be nice if all vendors including elk would do away with these harnesses. In this case I have a serial harness on one end and the 4 pin on the HAI end. Screw down terminals would be much easier and cleaner. That's why I am going to do the RS485 solution. Because there I have screw terminals, so there's two pieces I don't need to worry about next time.

But I appreciate the response, Spanky, I believe it works for others. Just not me. Don't worry, I still love my Elk. :lol: