I’m having a weird issue where a LZW31-SN is causing flicker on an unrelated light fixture. I’m hoping someone can help me troubleshoot.
In my kitchen I have replaced some T8/T12 fluorescent bulbs with dimmable LEDs from Toggled (https://toggled.com/toggled-products/dimmable-led-tubes/). These are on a dumb, single-pole switch and have been working fine for years.
In my dining room (on the same lighting circuit), I had an old Insteon dimmer controlling a ceiling light. This recently died and I replaced it with a LZW31-SN, and the local dimming works fine.
However, there’s a weird interaction between these two different lights: When the kitchen switch is OFF, and the dining room LZW31-SN is ON, they both flicker, even though the kitchen LEDs are on a single-pole switch that is turned OFF!
Sometimes when this is happening, the LZW31-SN is unresponsive and requires multiple presses before the local load responds. Other times, though very infrequent, it turns itself off when in this state.
I have no idea what’s going on, and I don’t understand why the kitchen lights would flicker when their single-pole switch is turned off!
Just a WAG, but pull the load conductor from the Inovelli. I realize that will temporarily disable the dining room light. See if the weirdness goes away. It sounds like some leaked voltage from the Inovelli might be making it’s way to the kitchen.
When you say “pull the load conductor”, do you mean the air gap switch on the front of the switch? Or do you mean to pull it from the wall and disconnect the load directly?
Opening the air gap switch DOES stop the kitchen light from flickering, just as if the Inovelli switch was off. I haven’t tried pulling it from the wall.
I have no idea how the switches are actually wired from the breaker. I guess I could try disconnecting one of the switches and seeing if the other still works. Any other way to tell?
If there WAS voltage “leaking” into the kitchen light, even with its switch turned off, how would I go about fixing that? Is it a wiring issue? Is it a defect in the Inovelli switch? Do I need to douse the walls with holy water and then burn some sage?
Pull the switch out and remove the wire connected to the Load terminal. That is the switched hot going to the light. Better than the air gap because I want the switch to remain powered. With that conductor removed, you the switch should still be powered up and addressable from the hub. Trying to isolate the problem.
If the kitchen lights are on, the dining light can be dimmed and turned on and off properly with the Inovelli? It’s only an issue if you have the kitchen lights off and try to operate the dining room light?
Is the dining room a bulb you can remove? If so, do the kitchen lights work with the dining room bulb removed?
Same question with the kitchen lights removed. Does the dining room light work with the kitchen bulbs all pulled?
When I remove all 3 bulbs, the Inovelli switch totally stops working. LEDs go out, everything. Like it isn’t getting any power.
Updated: When I do this, the kitchen lights DO flicker when turned on (and they seem to flicker MORE / more brightly)
When I have only a single bulb inserted, and I turn the switch on, the light flashes one time and then the switch reboots. I posted a video here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ihVdw8gkLd4b72dt6
Same question with the kitchen lights removed. Does the dining room light work with the kitchen bulbs all pulled?
Haven’t tried it yet b/c they are a pain to remove, but I’ll do that next.
Does the Inovelli have a neutral connection? If it does, then I’m suspecting you have a neutral wiring problem, like a bad connection or broken connection.
Does the Inovelli have a neutral connection? If it does, then I’m suspecting you have a neutral wiring problem, like a bad connection or broken connection.
BINGO! I swear I hooked it up exactly as the replaced Insteon was, but after double checking the Inovelli was only hooked up to some of the neutral wires in the wall.
After making sure all of the neutral wires were bundled together, everything works perfect.
Thanks to @PJF and @Bry for helping me figure this out. Kinda wish it had been something more interesting than a rookie mistake, though…