troubleshooting...
Finding a Stuck Switch:
You will need to start by going to the relay panel in your system that has the Transverter. To troubleshoot a stuck switch, first prove the transverter is working properly. A voltage of 28-31vdc with nothing connected is a perfectly working transverter. With a stuck switch situation, the voltage reading will be something in the range of 3vdc with the wires connected, which means a stuck switch is holding the circuit closed, and the transverter is protecting the relay coil. The transverter has one low voltage wire that connects to one wire of every single relay in the system, and the other wire from the transverter connects to the Switch Common wire at every single switch location in the house. This means that there is a strong chance that there are many wires linked together under wire nuts that join every switch common wire to the transverter. The historical wire color was White if the original installer used Touch-Plate® wire and followed factory recommended guidelines in the early days. With power ON to the transverter, dis-connect the “Switch Common” bundle of wires from the transverter. This restores the transverter to proper output voltage to control relays. Then, one at a time begin to touch the collection of Switch Common wires that come from all the switch locations to the transverter’s wire labeled in a manner that indicates it is the wire going to all the switches. (One wire is marked Relays, the other Switches). Continue touching the Switch Common wires until you hear a relay “click”. If you have relays located in panels all around the home you will need a second person to be the additional set of eyes. If you cannot hear the relay ‘click’ at the panel you are working on, then the second person will have to be located at the other relay panel, or be checking around the home for the light that is going ON and OFF with each touch of the wire. Remember that the switch is stuck, so each time you touch the switch common wire to the transverter wire you are in effect pressing a switch button, closing the circuit, operating the relay.
When you find the light that is being operated, you have narrowed down the possible switches causing the problem. One of the switches that operate the discovered light is stuck in the down position like someone is holding the button down. This switch will need to be replaced or fixed. If no switch can be found defective, then there will be a short in the wiring inside the walls on the house and more extensive troubleshooting is needed. The standard troubleshooting tools that any electrician has will be able to find this sort of problem.
*NOTE! Perform the following at your own risk. The troubleshooting described above is limited to Class 2, low voltage wires. Do NOT attempt to troubleshoot any wiring in the High Voltage compartment. Contact an electrician and give him this information if you are unsure of the presence of dangerous voltages. A simple multi-meter or voltmeter should be sufficient for testing for the presence of high voltages (use AC and DC mode both to check for high voltages).
If you need additional help, please do not hesitate to contact us.
