The lights which are connected to this dimmer work normally but around the clock of 22:00h they suddenly start to flicker for a few seconds.
This repeats itself every 30 minutes ut on the full hour they flicker more then on every half hour.
I first suspected a defect lamp, so i switched the lighting bulps, this had no effect.
Then i switched the dimmer, replaced it with a spare (other brand/type etc) and i even switched it with an other one from an other lamp (which does not flicker) but to my surprise this doesn’t had any effect either… The light still flickers…
I tried an other power socket, no effect.
I really have no idea what is causing this flickering , does anyone have an idea what this could be?
I have a lot of z-wave dimmers in my network, none of them flicker only this one, changing them from location does not solve the problem. The attached lights keep flickering… (as said, already changed the lighting bulps, this had also no effect)
[quote=“B3rt, post:1, topic:187050”]I have a strange problem with 1 dimmer.
The lights which are connected to this dimmer work normally but around the clock of 22:00h they suddenly start to flicker for a few seconds.
This repeats itself every 30 minutes ut on the full hour they flicker more then on every half hour.
Who can advise/help?[/quote]
I am not sure I am understanding the timing of this anomaly. From what you are saying it only happens after 10pm and then twice an hour it flickers, every 30 minutes?
If it is time based then it is most likely caused by something that is run by a timer/clock/cpu etc. Especially if you can set your watch by it.
Do you have anything like this (timer/clock/cpu) in the vicinity of this one dimmer? If so try turning them off.
If you bypass the dimmer with a regular switch does the light still flicker?
Does the type of bulb (incandescent, led, cfl) affect things, assuming you can change out the bulb?
Have you checked for loose connections at the light fixtures and at the circuit breaker?
Does the load affect the symptoms? You mention light fixtures. If you remove the bulb from one or more of the fixtures does it affect the flickering?
You may need to switch off one circuit breaker at a time until you narrow down the circuit that the culprit is on. Although it is very possible that the culprit is on the same circuit as the problem dimmer. But this would then narrow down the likely suspects.
Do you have any scenes or PLEG logic controlling this dimmer? These would only affect it if you have reset them for the new device after swapping it.
Otherwise I would suspect a problem with the wiring. This could be a poor connection at some point in the circuit or something that draws a large current…
[quote=“rbakley, post:2, topic:187050”][quote=“B3rt, post:1, topic:187050”]I have a strange problem with 1 dimmer.
The lights which are connected to this dimmer work normally but around the clock of 22:00h they suddenly start to flicker for a few seconds.
This repeats itself every 30 minutes ut on the full hour they flicker more then on every half hour.
Who can advise/help?[/quote]
I am not sure I am understanding the timing of this anomaly. From what you are saying it only happens after 10pm and then twice an hour it flickers, every 30 minutes?
If it is time based then it is most likely caused by something that is run by a timer/clock/cpu etc. Especially if you can set your watch by it.
Do you have anything like this (timer/clock/cpu) in the vicinity of this one dimmer? If so try turning them off.
If you bypass the dimmer with a regular switch does the light still flicker?
Does the type of bulb (incandescent, led, cfl) affect things, assuming you can change out the bulb?
Have you checked for loose connections at the light fixtures and at the circuit breaker?
Does the load affect the symptoms? You mention light fixtures. If you remove the bulb from one or more of the fixtures does it affect the flickering?
You may need to switch off one circuit breaker at a time until you narrow down the circuit that the culprit is on. Although it is very possible that the culprit is on the same circuit as the problem dimmer. But this would then narrow down the likely suspects.
Hope this helps,
-bob[/quote]
It is not exactly each half hour ut more or less a half hour…
About the questions:
no timer/cpu near the switch
bypassing dunno, do not have a lot of switches, use mostly dimmers.
the lights bulps are LED, i only use LED in my house. Old fashion light bulbs are for some years no longer sold here anymore
no loose connections (checked it), there are 2 seperate lights connected to the switch, both flicker at the same time.
the load has no effect, when it is set to 70, 50 or 20 percent, they flicker, higher loads do mean MORE intense flickering!
[quote=“RexBeckett, post:3, topic:187050”]Do you have any scenes or PLEG logic controlling this dimmer? These would only affect it if you have reset them for the new device after swapping it.
Otherwise I would suspect a problem with the wiring. This could be a poor connection at some point in the circuit or something that draws a large current…[/quote]
Yes i use (intense) programming, mostly done by lua code. I do not use PLEG addon. There are running scenes constantly (motion, temp, time controlled etc) but there are no scene which run on the time of the flickering. Also if it was programming other dimmers should have the same flickering, i have no prgramming just for this dimmer, only for rooms or groups of lights.
Your symptoms suggest that there is a bad electrical connection somewhere in the circuit. This could be at another switch/dimmer or even at the distribution board (breaker panel). This can be hard to locate unless you know the exact route of the cabling. I would check every switch, dimmer and light fixture that is controlled by the same breaker. It only needs one loose screw…
don’t think it is a loose connection or power issue.
When i connect simultaniosly the plugin dimmer and an other light bulb to the same power socket (using a splitter) only the dimmer flickers, the direct connected light bulb works normally.
I tried this:
2 way splitter in power socket, then disconnect 1 of the 2 lights which are on the dimmer, so only 1 light to dimmer.
Connect the dimmer with 1 light into the splitter and the other light without the dimmer also to the splitter.
Then wait…
suddenly the light connected to the dimmer starts to flicker, the other light (direct connected to the splitter) works normal without any flickering…
So i can be pretty sure the power lines or panel have no fault.
Again, when i replace the dimmer the problem stays… als when i change the lights connected to the dimmer the new lighst also flickers.
I believe it is a zwave polling issue (or something) what is causing this, maybe an external device (but no idea what/which device it could be, tried every thing).
I must say it is the switch which is nearest by all my multimedia devices (tv, setop box, sat receiver, dvd, nuc, amplifier, telephone, speakers etc etc)
I must say it is the switch which is nearest by all my multimedia devices (tv, setop box, sat receiver, dvd, nuc, amplifier, telephone, speakers etc etc)
Does it also flicker if you plug it in to another socket - say in your garage?
no, when i plug the dimmer in an other socket of an other part of my house it does not flicker.
Also if i set a other dimmer or second dimmer to the current location both will start to flicker
Did you try turning off all the nearby electronic items to eliminate them as sources of interference? A switching-mode power supply could generate enough noise on the electrical circuit to disturb a dimmer. You can buy EMI-filtered power sockets that might help with that.
This is a really interesting problem. I’m eager to see what the culprit is.
Based on the description so far, it is my feeling that this issue is location specific and Z-Wave device specific. @RexBeckett offers great suggestions regarding interference and switching power supplies. These can certainly create local interference situations.
Something else to consider, that could bring in the Z-Wave and polling aspects of this, is a nearby Z-Wave device that is failing or has “lost its mind” and is in need of power cycling. I suggest you consider powering off or power cycling nearby intermediate nodes that could be inappropriately introducing broadcast storms or excessive polling events.
[quote=“B3rt, post:9, topic:187050”]no, when i plug the dimmer in an other socket of an other part of my house it does not flicker.
Also if i set a other dimmer or second dimmer to the current location both will start to flicker[/quote]
One thing to remember is that Z-wave dimmers are far more susceptible to external interference and voltage fluctuations than most other home wiring devices.
Since your dimmer works correctly when moved to another circuit in your home, My first instinct would be, as RexBeckett pointed out, a problem with the connections in that circuit… additionally, along with the wire connection points, also consider replacing the breaker for that circuit… over time, the internal contacts on a breaker will degrade (through wear, corrosion and oxidization) causing voltage drop and noise on the circuit.
This sounds familiar. I had two plugin switches showing a similar behaviour but the flickering used to stop after a while. Strange thing was that it happened every day around the same time. I have replaced the plugin switches and that solved the problem. I still have the old ones and reading this topics makes me look into plugging them in again and see if I can find anything.
What is the brand/type you use? Mine are Eversprings AN157, three year old and I expect an issue in the Zwave part.
I have 3 circuits of leviton incandescent switch dimmers with 6 9W LED Recessed Retrofits in them. I get the random “flicker” every now and then on those circuits alone, and not on all three at the same moment. It definitely seems like a polling thing because all three are fed from the same side of the breaker, and all three never flicker at the same time. It’s almost like a momentary pulse or drop-out while it is polled or communicated with.
As a side note, I have 1 Leviton ELV switch dimmer with a 120W of load (incandescent). I’ve never seen that flicker at all.
-Jon
I do have also a Fibaro System for 3,5 years and I’m experiencing, since the very begining, exactly the same issue that Bert is mentionning in the original post.
Did anyone ever solved this?
LOL :), while reading this thread I find out I reacted myself to it three years ago and I even don’t remember the problem anymore. Just replace the switch (you can use it somewhere else for a different scenario and play around with it to analyze the issue)
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