Issues with C-Bus System help?

I have installed new parts in my C-bus System and still getting errors and some switches randomly going orange and blue when pressed at random times, reading through comments i have installed 3 x New Space logic Dimmers and 1 x Space Logic Relay and have all 4 of the new relays powering the cbus network. With all 4 powering the network i am still getting issues so i can safely rule out power supplies as being the issue. I also have 2 x new power supplies in the system but i disconnected them to prove that it wasnt a faulty power supply causing the light switch issues.


Using traffic Analyser is there a way to show up what the errors in red are? is there a log or document you can view to narrow down what errors are showing up?

Using Reliability Test there is a couple of devices that are showing poor these units are like phantom units that don't show there type and i cant identify the unit after test on the unit address, The unit addresses dont exist? Any help why this would be occuring?

I have disconnected the Ness M1 RS232 cable from the Ness M1 panel to the cbus version 3 module? Do i need to disconnect the pink wires altogether to rule this out?

Do you normally have issues with a SHAC or PACA device?

Any suggestions on what to do next all i can safely say is it is now not a power supply issue as i have spent money on Spacelogic parts to rule that out?

 

I am in adelaide in Glenelg North if any experts are able to help

 

Disconnect pink cbs wires to rule it out it may be crashing cbus with data overload?? have you checked cbus voltage over different parts of the network I always like 25V DC min also have you checked that one of the cbus legs is not going to ground by checking between cbus + and ground and cbus - and ground should be about half the voltage of system voltage also you may have a faulty unit.
Do you have 1 burden activated.
Don't have to many system clocks activated.

 

I disconnected the pink wires out of the Ness Cbus interface today unfortunately it didn’t fix the issue, delayed response and orange and blue lights coming up on switches, I need to check + & - to earth I have not done that yet ? when I split the network in half I seem to get a functioning network but can’t pinpoint the spot?
If you disconnect the Cbus wires from the switches do you need to make sure the End of line is connected to the switch does this matter ?
I only have one burden when I am fault finding and add a second as a bandaid until I figure out the issue?
I have no more than 3 clocks enabled, I am pretty sure it’s field end issue as I have all 4 new space logic relays/dimmers brand new supplying power to the network to rule out power supply issues.
Do you know what a faulty switch does if one switch is faulty will it cause orange and blue blinking?
Can you rely on voltage check on diagnostic tool or need to use a multimeter to test?
when running reliability test should you get no errors when running if system is okay ?

 

This sounds like a burden issue. Unclick all burdens from the new space logic devices and re instate 1 x burden on an older cbus unit.

 

I currently have a software burden enabled on the 5500PCU and a hardware burden as a bandaid, the system was running good for 6 years and then issues with blue and orange flashing lights on light switches. I had just one hardware burden installed the previous 6 years, all power supplied by 4 x new space logic power supplies built into relays/dimmers.
Are you saying remove all burdens and re-apply I don’t believe I have burdens enabled on space logic parts

 

Give us a buzz 0404967249

 

Your 100% right with the new spacelogic relays and dimmers if you plug the hardware burden into them you need to tick and enable the burden unlike the old Clipsal version. I spent numerous time trying to get to the bottom of the light switches flashing blue and orange. Once splitting the network into 3 ways and reconnecting 2/3 back up the network appeared to be stable once I knew there was an issue with the 1/3 of the house. I then split the last third of the network in half and found the issue to be a faulty indoor 5753PEIRL to be causing all the issues connecting to the PC interface, Cbus toolkit and Cbus commission apps have been working flawlessly again when the issue was there it was a struggle to find all devices and connect to them. I least know now splitting the network apart is the easiest way to find the faulty device once you have eliminated checking for a faulty power supply. Was expecting the issue to be a faulty power supply or water ingress inside outdoor infrascan sensors but turns out I looked in the wrong area to start of with hence why it took me longer to find the issue, reading through so many comments in this forums sent me in the wrong direction but thankfull for everything I learned and I will be better equipped to figure out future issues quicker now with everything I learned. Thanks for the help

 

What you have described would have been the first plan of action I would have taken to identify the fault source.
Faulty power supplies can be a supply that dies resulting in not enough power to support the Bus and devices connected, however, a faulty power supply can be supplying voltage but also supplying unwanted electrical noise that stops Bus comms. Failed components in any C-Bus device can also produce noise that stops the bus comms.
You mentioned that everything was working fine for years then comms related issues started. Network burden is an important consideration but a network burden is simply a capacitor and resistor so failure of this little arrangement is not as likely as something in an active C-bus unit. Call me old fashioned but I always preferred a plug in burden to a software enabled network in an output unit (not sure if you can still get the plug in burdens).

Splitting your network in half and things working well is a great step on the path to isolating the issue.
When you do this you need to ensure the working network segment has enough C-Bus power supply to power the amount of devices connected. You need at least one clock and one burden on your segment otherwise you don't have the essential components of a working -Bus network and you will get a false negative on your test.
If you can get half or more of your C-Bus network operational then keep adding cable runs / devices back to the network until it falls over you are well on the way to finding the fault.
The fault can be a rogue device, damaged cable, water etc.

Congratulations for getting there, this is an important thread.
C-Bus is an incredibly robust and reliable system, however, over time it is completely understandable that a component or two in a twenty year old device might fail causing comms to go noisy and things not to work like they have done for the last 10-20 years. ;-)

 

Yes at some stages I lost patience and went back to the drawing board with no success to start with. But the knowledge I have learnt if it is a field issue and not a power supply simply split the network, i also bought a network bridge to use but never ended up using it as I found the issue before it was required