RA2 Dimmer Not Working After Transfer

[snmhanson]

I have a new Radio RA2 system that I am just getting online.  It's been a bit of a process but I'm finally to the point where I'm able to transfer programs from Essentials and get some functionality from keypad commands.  Everything seems to be working well except I have one 6NA dimmer that stops functioning after I activate it.  Once I do that I can't control the light even directly using the dimmer.  The dimmer appears to respond to a flash command from Essentials (the LED indicator goes up and down if I hit the flash command) but the light it controls will not turn on.  If I deactivate the dimmer I can use it as a regular dimmer and it functions fine, but of course at that point it isn't integrated into the RA2 network.  Does this sound like a defective dimmer?  Maybe something I'm missing in the Essentials software?  Something else?
 
Thanks for any help on this!
 
Matt

 

[wkearney99]

The process is set up a project, program the scenes/keypads/timeclocks/sensors, activate the devices and then transfer.  Four tabs in the Essentials software.
 
Those aren't the steps you describe.
 
When a switch isn't behaving properly it's a good idea to do a factory reset on it.  This involves triple-tapping, QUICK PAUSE, triple-tapping.  I always have to do a google search to get the right steps because it varies between keypads, dimmers, switches and modules.  
 
So, factory reset first, then activate the dimmer, then transfer.

 

[snmhanson]

Thanks for the reply Kearney, you've been very helpful in my RA2 project.  I didn't really describe things 100% correct in my original post.  I did activate all of the devices before doing any transfers and they all worked correctly and would respond to the flash command in Essentials. 
 
I was actually mistaken when I said that the dimmer in questions stopped functioning after activating.  It did turn the fixture on and off, however it would not dim the fixture - just full on or off.  And, I just double checked and after doing a factory reset it would still just turn the light on and off, no dimming. 
 
After I transferred the programs to the transmitter the dimmer stopped controlling the light altogether.  The LEDs on the dimmer itself appears to receive the flash command from Essentials/the transmitter, indicate the light being on or off, and show dim level.  However, the light just stays off. 
 
I did do a factory reset on the dimmer, reactivated it and then resent the programs but I get the same result.  It's like it's a non-dimming switch when factory reset and after activating and then once I do a transfer it simply stops controlling the fixture altogether.
 
Is there something else I may be missing or should I give Lutron a call to see about a warranty replacement?
 
Thanks,
 
Matt

 

[wkearney99]

Ok, are the LEDs on the dimmer known to be compatible?  You can check on Lutron's website.  If they're not listed, call support.  They will be able to tell you if they've been tested.  Not everything tested gets published on the website, if just to avoid Lutron looking like the 'bad guy' calling out other vendors for producing crap.  Which a lot of LEDs are.  

http://www.lutron.com/technicaldocumentlibrary/3682994a_CFL%20LED%20Bulb%20list_Resi%20Systems.pdf

http://www.lutron.com/ledtool

 

 

[snmhanson]

The fixtures don't show up on Lutron's tools, but I have four other locations where I use this same fixtures with the 6NA dimmer and they continue to work fine.  It's just this one location that I'm having issues with.  I'll give Lutron a call to see if they can add anything, or if this may be a warranty issue.  Wouldn't be entirely surprising to have one out of the 50 units I ordered be defective.
 
Thanks,
 
Matt

 

[wkearney99]

Do you have other LEDs of this exact type also on other 6NA dimmers?  The same quantity?  If so, any chance you can swap the LEDs?  Make sure it's not the LEDs causing problems. 

 

[snmhanson]

I do have one other circuit that is exactly the same.  Same fixture and number of fixtures and also using a 6NA dimmer.  Maybe this weekend I'll see if I can swap the dimmers and see what happens.  Thanks for the suggestion.
 
Matt

 

[wkearney99]

Whichever is less tedious to change.  Can the light fixtures be unplugged?  Might be useful to disconnect some of them to see if one or more are sources of problems.  This as opposed to the more invasive/tedious process of swapping an in-wall dimmer device.

 

[snmhanson]

Just posting an update for the benefit of anyone who comes to this thread searching for answers.  I finally found time yesterday to exchange a same model dimmers that runs the same fixtures with the one in questions.  Convinced that it would solve the issue I made the swap, powered it up and...    same problem persisted.  And it was happening on both the dimmer that I noticed the issue on as well as the dimmer that I swapped it out with.  I threw my hands in the air and gave up hoping I didn't some how break the dimmers.  I figured I'd call Lutron in the morning to trouble shoot further.
 
This morning I woke up with one last thought.  Was the dimmer wired correctly in the first place?  I grabbed my tester and discovered the polarity was reversed.  The hot wire was connected to the load side of the dimmer and the load wire was connected to the hot side.  I reversed the wires and it now functions perfectly.  I also checked the other circuit that I swapped dimmers with and same thing.  I hadn't noticed any issues on that load previously but only because it controls a single fixture on a small mechanical patio that we never use.  I reversed the wires on that dimmer and it now seems to work fine as well.  Noticing a trend here I decided to check a few more dimmers.  Those all seemed to be wired correctly so hopefully I found the only two dimmers that were wired incorrectly.
 
So, long story short, be sure to check simple things like polarity when having issues with your dimmers.
 
Matt