How to get notifications from Leak Sensor via ISY

[DIY]

Greetings again Cocooners...
 
I have an Insteon Water Leak sensor 2852-222) that I'm trying to get to send a notification with my ISY994i (v.4.0.5). The device appears to be Linked to the ISY and I see 2 devices: 'Water Sensor-Wet' and 'Water Sensor-Dry'  My ISY e-mail configuration appears to be working OK via Gmail as I'm able to send test messages to the 'Me' group. I've created an extremely simple Program as follows:
 
If
    Status 'Water Sensor-Wet' is On
Then
    Send Notification to 'Me' content 'Water Leak'
Else
    - No Actions
 
I've tried putting the sensor in a bit of water and the LED on it does flash so I know that part is working. I've even tried doing a 'Run Then' on the above which I would have thought would trigger the e-mail but no joy. Any suggestions?
 
Thanks.

 

[oberkc]

I've even tried doing a 'Run Then' on the above which I would have thought would trigger the e-mail but no joy.

You have taken some early troubleshooting steps, the same as would have I, to isolate the problem.  Typical problems include: ISY does not see status change, Program logic problems, Email problems.  Your steps so far tends to suggest something wrong with your program, as I would have also expected a message to be sent.
 
A couple things to look for:
 
- does the ISY see the current status of sensor?  Check the admin panel, and choose the wet device.  Does it have a status?  Is it correct?
 
- in the admin panel, program tab, does this program have a "last run" time and status (true or false)?  If not, this tends to suggest that the program did not run
 
- have you saved any recent changes to your program?  Do you see a little green arrow next to the program?
 
Unfortunately, I don't have a water sensor, so I can speak only on educated guesses.  You might try "control" rather than "status" in the program condition. 
 
To me the program looks correct.  Were it me, I would try the run>then path again and see if the program status changes correctly.  If all indications are that the program ran and you still did not get a message, then I would focus my time on the email setting (despite indications that it is set properly).
 
Another suggestion from another topic was to take advantage of the universal devices forum.  This is probably the best suggestion given to you.  There are some folks there that are crazy good at this stuff and very responsive.  While I don't mind helping where I can, you will probably get better responses from more people at the UDI forums for topics that are ISY-994 related.

 

[DIY]

Awesome.
 
I need to run out the door in a moment but wanted to quickly reply to as much of what you raise as possible since you've been so responsive to my Qs...
 
Sensor status appears to be correct (Dry:On, Wet:Off). There's an obvious check I could do here, just haven't done it yet.
Program Summary shows Enabled:On, Run At Startup:Blank, Activity:Idle, Status:True (??) and Last Run Time:5 minutes ago. Same for Last Finish Time.
I have made numerous changes recently to the program, including changing from a "If Control" to "If Status" based on what I read on the UDI Forum on this topic. Changes were saved (no green arrow).
 
What should Status say if I do a Run->Then?
 
I'm thinking there might be an issue with this program. Maybe I'll try creating another similar one and see if it works any better.
 
Guess I'm not sure when to post here vs. UDI.
 
Thanks!

 

[oberkc]

Program Summary shows Enabled:On, Run At Startup:Blank, Activity:Idle, Status:True (??) and Last Run Time:5 minutes ago

.This tells me that the program ran five minutes ago, and last ran the THEN path (status true).  This suggests that the program IS running.  Good. 
 

What should Status say if I do a Run->Then?

The same as above, except a more recent Last Run TIme.  A True status says that it last ran the THEN path.
 

Guess I'm not sure when to post here vs. UDI.

I find the UDI forum the best for questions specifically related to the ISY-994.  I find this forum better if you are trying to compare various controllers, protocols, or are trying to integrate different technologies, or are simply trying to keep up with the general state of HA systems.

I'm thinking there might be an issue with this program.

Could be, but it sure looks correct to me.  You might try deleting the THEN statement and recreating.  Perhaps there was some error there.  It is not like the ISY gives you a chance to generate a syntax error or typo something.   
 
Unfortunately, everything appears correct to me, but I know that there can be issues with antiviruses, firewalls, and EMail settings that can cause the notification to flunk.  I would have assumed that your test message confirmed that all is working in that area, but stuff happens.  It is possible that a second, third, and tenth set of eyes might also noticed something I missed.
 

Sensor status appears to be correct (Dry:On, Wet:Off). There's an obvious check I could do here, just haven't done it yet.

In case you did not know, the ISY has an event viewer that lets you observe the insteon traffic.  It would be interesting to watch that viewer as you immerse the senor in water.

 

[DIY]

OK. Interesting.
 
So I tested the device with water and looked at the Event Viewer. Lots of Device Communications Messages in there. More importantly, I saw the 'Wet' sensor go from 'Off' to 'On' and back to 'Off' again as I took the sensor back out of the water. I then did the same thing while watching the status of the Program in Summary view. The Status went from False to True when I added water and back to False when I dried it out. So the problem really seems to be with my e-mail.
 
Sigh. And this is where I realized the true root cause of my issue. I'd never actually configured any Message Text / Subject / Body when I setup the message a few months ago. My bad. 

 

[apostolakisl]

OK. Interesting.
 
So I tested the device with water and looked at the Event Viewer. Lots of Device Communications Messages in there. More importantly, I saw the 'Wet' sensor go from 'Off' to 'On' and back to 'Off' again as I took the sensor back out of the water. I then did the same thing while watching the status of the Program in Summary view. The Status went from False to True when I added water and back to False when I dried it out. So the problem really seems to be with my e-mail.
 
Sigh. And this is where I realized the true root cause of my issue. I'd never actually configured any Message Text / Subject / Body when I setup the message a few months ago. My bad. 

 
For whatever reason ISY does not send emails when you leave the body of the message blank.  I don't know why.  I have asked this on the ISY forum just a week ago.  No one had an answer.  I suggested that there be a warning when you close the setup window if the body is blank so you don't beat your head against a wall trying to figure out why it doesn't work.  I personally would have expected to be able to put a subject in and leave the body blank like you can with any other email.

 

[kwmcc]

Thank you! I'd been wrestling with this problem for a long time. My notifications had a blank message body. The "Test" from Settings/Groups works just fine, but running the "Then" clause of my programs never resulted in anything being sent.