MAJOR cbus problem

last night i attempted to modify my cbus installation. i re-addressed three dimmer units from 001,002,003 to 011,012,013 in the database and to the network.

since that time, i am unable to write to any of the devices on the network, nor read from them. i can do the scan fine, but amending the programming (writing to devices) or add/transfer to database fails - the communications goes for a bit, stops, then gives me the error message 3063 - "transfer of programming information failed" i cannot even reset the units as that fails too.

recalling back to when i first started tinkering with cbus, i'm sure this did cause problems before and i basically had to start over.

what can cause this? and the fix? my next step is going to be to separate all unit and try one at a time. see what happens

i have 3 dimmers, 2 relays, a heap of wall switches, and light sensor. i was using toolkit 1.11.? when it happened, upgraded to 1.12 today. i'm trying to create a brand new project and re-enter all data but it just aint going.

 

okay... thank you nick. i was scared stiff thinking that my 3 dimmers and the relay were all cactus. i got it working again but not 100%.

here's what happened:

after realizing that i couldn't program units, i cycled power to all of them. in the correct sequence i turned off power to output channels first, then to the cbus power supply (i have separate supply for each). all of a sudden there was a big bang on one (or more?) of the dimmers. uh oh! all the channels and switches still worked as normal, just the programming couldn't be done. as suggested, the hardware burden was installed, and then i was able to get each output unit going one at a time before reconnecting the inputs. phew! i have fixed up the programming and all seems to be working fine.

but...

it seems that the software burden was blown up (?). i was able to enable it on unit 1, but it had no effect. as soon as the hardware burden was put on, voila! has anyone heard/experienced this before? this is my initial observation since i had to scramble to get lights tonight. i will experiment tomorrow to figure out more.

thanks again nick.

 

There is a safety warning in the CBUS literature that indicates many incidents have arisen from wire clippings falling into electrical appliances and short circuiting the boards inside.

It is probably a good idea to vacuum the CBUS to make sure there are no stray shards of copper inside from when it was installed.

 

Personally I find the manual burden the most reliable fix.

I've had a previous issues in the past where post power cut the system has lost its software burden.

 

I agree.

 

a little burden

One of the most important items in the C-Bus Tech's bag of tricks is a physical burden.
No Comms; reboot,
No Comms: install burden
Works again, majic little burden!