I wrote this microswitch replacement procedure out of respect and thanks to all who participate and share their experiences on the home automation forums.
[SIZE= 14pt]The Problem[/SIZE]
Anyone who spends time on the home automation forums, such as HomeSeer and Cocoontech, are very well aware of the problems associated with the Smarthome brand of AC powerline controlled light switches called SwitchLincs. The microswitches used within the SwitchLincs for ON and OFF have a long history of poor reliability.
Evidence shows the problem started sometime predating the ICON and Insteon series that hit the market starting in 2005. In my case, some of the X10 only series of SwitchLincs (2384, 2385, 2388T, etc.) I purchased in 2004 are exhibiting microswitch failure. After 5 years I have 3 with this failure out of about 20 total installed. Two more are starting early signs of it.
The ICON and Insteon series are much worse. Reports on the forums indicate these switches have had severe failure rates of 10% to 50% or more within 2 years and possibly near 100% eventually, depending on the batch of microswitches used. It’s unclear when the problem really went away. Smarthome says they have fixed the problem with currently shipping product. Time will tell.
The original warranty on these products was 2 years. After denying the problem for years, Smarthome acknowledged it and offered an extended warranty of 7 years from date of purchase for the ICON and Insteon series of SwitchLincs. However the warranty was not extended for the X10 only series. In my case I now have a house full of these X10 only series of SwitchLincs. There was no way I was going to buy replacements from Smarthome after this experience. I’m going to fix my switches!
Click here to view the article
[SIZE= 14pt]The Problem[/SIZE]
Anyone who spends time on the home automation forums, such as HomeSeer and Cocoontech, are very well aware of the problems associated with the Smarthome brand of AC powerline controlled light switches called SwitchLincs. The microswitches used within the SwitchLincs for ON and OFF have a long history of poor reliability.
Evidence shows the problem started sometime predating the ICON and Insteon series that hit the market starting in 2005. In my case, some of the X10 only series of SwitchLincs (2384, 2385, 2388T, etc.) I purchased in 2004 are exhibiting microswitch failure. After 5 years I have 3 with this failure out of about 20 total installed. Two more are starting early signs of it.
The ICON and Insteon series are much worse. Reports on the forums indicate these switches have had severe failure rates of 10% to 50% or more within 2 years and possibly near 100% eventually, depending on the batch of microswitches used. It’s unclear when the problem really went away. Smarthome says they have fixed the problem with currently shipping product. Time will tell.
The original warranty on these products was 2 years. After denying the problem for years, Smarthome acknowledged it and offered an extended warranty of 7 years from date of purchase for the ICON and Insteon series of SwitchLincs. However the warranty was not extended for the X10 only series. In my case I now have a house full of these X10 only series of SwitchLincs. There was no way I was going to buy replacements from Smarthome after this experience. I’m going to fix my switches!
Click here to view the article
