From the "Nothing ever works exactly right ever" files Moving a ZWave Switch and failing horribly

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1

So I replaced the GE Dimmer 12729 that was causing me problems in my dining room, and that went beautifully well. I then moved the Dimmer I replaced, to our bedroom as I don't need to do anything fancy, I just want to dim the lights!

But something went wrong, I tried to exclude it and re-discover it, but I can't seem to do so. It's functioning fine as a switch, but I am completely unable to discover it in Hubitat.

I've restarted the hub, I've done ZWave repair, nothing seems to make it discoverable.

Where did I go wrong, and how do I fix my mistake? is there a way to hardware reset the switch? (If it's the slider on the front, I have slid it back and forth a couple of times).

2

You need to exclude the GE device to reset it to pair.

3

If you figure out how to exclude it and re pair please post the steps. I have been fighting with one off and on for a week trying to find a way to get it excluded without success. If I can't find a way this weekend it will get excluded to the trash and replaced with a Caseta.

4

Aaron,

I have clicked the exclude button, and flipped the toggle up, I got no indication that anything happened. I have clicked the exclude button and flipped the toggle down and nothing happened. Perhaps there is, no visual indicator?

5

Ok here is what you need to do, use a laptop at the device location:

  • open two tabs in a supported browser
  • first tab to your HE logs
  • second tab to your zwave settings
  • start zwave exclusion and then flip over to log tab
  • begin the manufacturers exclusion process on device. Only do this once every 5-6 seconds
  • watch for a “Hub” to show up in logs. If it does after you click on it you should see a log message that says “unknown device excluded”
  • if the zwave exclusion finishes (only 30 seconds) then repeat the exclusion process again

Sometimes (rare) a hard reboot of the hub is needed. If you attempt this process about 4-5 times then you may need to do this.

After the device excludes go into your devices and do a zwave inclusion.

6

Thanks for those detailed instructions, but still a no-go. I'm guessing the switch wouldn't work at all if I had it wired wrong. I'm reasonably confident in my wiring, but I may pull it out and check again.

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7

If you activate the toggle/dimmer and your light goes on then you wired it correctly. If not then yes you need to double check.

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8

In order for me to exclude my old GE Z-Wave switches from my Hubitat hub, I had to take perform the Exlcusion process in the same room as the HE hub. That was the only way it would work for me. I actually took an old piece of lamp cord and used it to power the switches temporarily in the same room as the hub. Please be extremely careful if you try this, as the screw terminals on the switch are very easy to touch while powered on.

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9

Definitely has all the non-smart functionality. Dims and on/offs

10

how do you do this with no third wire?

11

You only need Neutral and Line. Load does not have to be connected for the switch to turn on and off and for the Z-wave radio to function. Again, please be super careful. Keep children and pets away to prevent any shock hazards from becoming real problems.

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12

I would also add electrical tape over the connections just to be safe.

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13

Just to follow up. I finally got around to doing the reset, and you were exactly correct! I made a power cord, plugged it in, connected line and neutral, and it reset just fine, and is now back in place!

Thank you!

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