GE Z-wave switch died then resurrected itself

[walken100]

Last night a recently installed GE switch made a subtle pop when turned on locally and didn't activate. Tried to cycle it on and off and the switch was apparently dead including no blue light. After cycling the switch remotely, the next day, I noticed the the blue light was back on and the switch worked again.

What the heck? Anyone have a clue what is going on?

 

[etc6849]

Hmm... I bought a couple of outlets from the Radio Shack deal and they work well. No load sensing capability though.

I wonder if you have a loose lamp socket or the bulb is not making full contact? Most of these switches require the bulb (and socket) to work or they will have no power since they rely on the lamp for return to neutral. Also, could the remote switch had been in between positions or something? Other than that no suggestion except buy American next time

 

[pete_c]

My testing with the RS GE appliance switches results with my Landscapting lighting were the same as with the Intermatic. The turning on of the appliance module kicked the breaker off. So far only ones that work well are the older X10 appliance modules and the UPB appliance modules.

 

[walken100]

Hmm... I bought a couple of outlets from the Radio Shack deal and they work well. No load sensing capability though.

I wonder if you have a loose lamp socket or the bulb is not making full contact? Most of these switches require the bulb (and socket) to work or they will have no power since they rely on the lamp for return to neutral. Also, could the remote switch had been in between positions or something? Other than that no suggestion except buy American next time

Lights have been untouched and in good shape. I am at the wattage limit of the switch. 300W in a 3 gang box. Switch was cycled a number of times so I don't think I was in between positions. Still working just fine.

 

[drozwood90]

If you are at the wattage limit, maybe you blew a built-in resettable fuse?

So, when you left it off for a while, the fuse was able to return to normal resistance and then the switch started to operate again.

--Dan

 

[walken100]

If you are at the wattage limit, maybe you blew a built-in resettable fuse?

So, when you left it off for a while, the fuse was able to return to normal resistance and then the switch started to operate again.

--Dan

Do you know if they have a built-in fuse?

 

[etc6849]

If you're right at the wattage limit, it makes me wonder about things like voltage fluctuations and how this would affect the actual load on the switch.

If there's a small voltage increase during low peak hours on the incoming line from your utility, you could exceed the wattage rating of the switch (V=IR, P=VI therefore P=V^2/R as V increases, so does power. However, this assumes your bulb is a constant resistive load. A light bulb's resistance may very well change to do several factors including temperature. A bulb would also have some reactive component, but I'm assuming this is negligible).

Normally, one would think there should be some margin built into the rating of the switch, but who knows. If it happens again, I would consider using Vizia RF switches, but the cost is greater. They do look and feel better, but are 5-6 times the cost!

 

[etc6849]

What kind of breaker was it connected too? GFCI?

My testing with the RS GE appliance switches results with my Landscapting lighting were the same as with the Intermatic. The turning on of the appliance module kicked the breaker off. So far only ones that work well are the older X10 appliance modules and the UPB appliance modules.