Dimmer 2 stuck at one light level with bypass 2 and 5 led bulbs

[hetbeest 0]

Hi all,

 

I've been searching and reading in this forum and haven't found my exact problem and it's solution just yet.

 

I have a dimmer 2 (fgd212) connected to 5 Pharox 4W led bulbs. I've bridged the leds with the Bypass 2. I've got a dual momentary switch connected to the dimmer, just like in the Fibaro manual, see the attachment. The dual momentary switch is connected with leads between 5 and 10 cm. When I connect the dimmer to power, it starts calibrating. The leds go in increments from off to full bright, so the dimmer is able to get the leds at different light levels. After calibrating the leds get stuk on a single light level, I guess something like 30%. The don't switch off, they don't burn at full level, not through the HC2, nor with the momentary switch. I've looked at all parameters, changed them, did exclusions and reinclusions of the dimmer, etc. No luck. I connected the dimmer to a old fashioned light bulb, not using the bypass, furthermore the same setup. I just had to enable the S2 switch in the settings and it works flawlessly. What could be wrong with the led setup?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Evert

Please login or register to see this attachment.

[petergebruers 1,265]

I've been around for a while here and I follow all FGD-212 related problems... So I think I can confirm: yes, this may be something new! Though I doubt that will make you any happier.

Please login or register to see this image.

/emoticons/default_icon_wink.gif" alt=";-)" />

A few things come to mind:

- Could you please tell us the values of parameters 1,2,5,6,7,8,14,30,31,32,33,34 because they tell a lot about the (auto) configuration.

- Would it be possible to power off, power on the module?

- Would it be possible to try a 3-wire setup instead of a 2-wire (if that is not too much trouble)?

[hetbeest 0]

Hello Peter,

 

- Could you please tell us the values of parameters 1,2,5,6,7,8,14,30,31,32,33,34 because they tell a lot about the (auto) configuration.

I'll do this coming wednesday. I'll have time to reinstall the dimmer and switch in my livingroom. But from the top of my head they were:

1: 1%

2: something like 56% (not sure)

5: 1%

6: 0,01s

7: 1%

8: 0,05s

14: 1 (autocalibrate, until I started fiddling around

Please login or register to see this image.

/emoticons/default_wink.png" alt=";)" srcset="https://forum.fibaro.com/uploads/emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

30: 2 (automatic load control)

31: 1 (trailing edge)

32: 2 (automatic mode, also tried 0 and 1)

33: 0 (dimmable)

34: 1 (short soft-start)

- Would it be possible to power off, power on the module?

I've done that several times. Is there anything specific you'd like me to figure out with that?

- Would it be possible to try a 3-wire setup instead of a 2-wire (if that is not too much trouble)?

No. That's exactly why I need a dimmer over there. I can't get the third wire there, or I'll have to destroy my beautiful, new ceiling (my wife will kill me).

 

Regards,

 

Evert

[petergebruers 1,265]

Hmm! Parameter 2. Maximum brightness level = 56 is on the low side. You have 5x4W = 20 W. Knowing that some watts are a bit lower than others (cough), that could be between 10 and 20 W. The minimum load for Dimmer 2 is specified as 50 W, but from reports here + some testing I know that number is pessimistic. Because the lamp supplies the power to the dimmer in a 2-wire setup, the range is more limited than when you have a 3-wire. I know, you can't do that. Out of curiosity, do you have an exact partnumber? I've checked the Pharox website and they have a nice list, but too many lamps too choose from:

Please login or register to see this link.

The other parameters look normal.

You can try p13=2 to force a calibration with bypass to see if that changes anything (check parameters), but I doubt it.

After that, the next thing to try is parameter 30. Load control mode

Forced auto-calibration will set this parameter’s value to 2. Available settings:

0 - forced leading edge control

1 - forced trailing edge control

Also, try to increase (or decrease) parameter 2 in steps of 5. If you set it too high, the dimmer will shut down.

Some lamps have a different dimming range when you change this.

I asked to power off the module, to make sure it detected 2-wire mode. Could be the case if you were testing this module, live, on a bench, without powering off. But I really doubt that has happened. It's a bit like Windows: "Did you try turning it off and on again?".

Please login or register to see this image.

/emoticons/default_icon_smile.gif" alt=":-)" />

Do these lamps work with another dimmer? Like Dimmer 1?

[hetbeest 0]

Dear Peter, first of all I'm shocked by what happened in Brussel. I hope you and your family/friends have not been harmed.

 

The lights are Pharox LED filament lamp Candle Bent Tip Flame 320 lumen, artikel 01072 on the website of lampenlicht.nl.

 

I did try the p13=2. No luck.

I've set P30=1. No luck.

 

I'll try the increase of P2.

 

I did do the CTRL-ALT-DEL on the Dimmer 2 (kidding, power off and on I mean)

 

I don't have another dimmer, but during calibration Dimmer 2 is able to dim the lights perfectly. It's only after calibration that it doesn't work.

 

Thank you.

 

Evert

[petergebruers 1,265]

Dear Peter, first of all I'm shocked by what happened in Brussel. I hope you and your family/friends have not been harmed.

 

The lights are Pharox LED filament lamp Candle Bent Tip Flame 320 lumen, artikel 01072 on the website of lampenlicht.nl.

(...)

I don't have another dimmer, but during calibration Dimmer 2 is able to dim the lights perfectly. It's only after calibration that it doesn't work.

 

Thank you.

 

Evert

Thanks. It's still early to say, I don't have relatives or friends near/in the airport, but maybe in the center of Brussels. Knowing that my daughter will take a flight next week, brings the terror very close to home.

You say: "It's only after calibration that it doesn't work." is something that keeps nagging at me. The dimmer indeed steps through various settings, then decides what's optimal. As far as I know, you can override any setting made by the auto calibration. I have some IKEA bulbs, that do not dim down very well, visually I'd say they don't go below 30%. That's what you say about that Pharox flame lamp, so that may be your minimum brightness. Possibly, the autocal deciced that you don't have a lot of power (20 W at best) so it reduced the maximum brightness to 56. This now means you have almost no dimming range. It might be possible to increase P2. Or the dimmer shuts down. If you find the time and are as curious as me, you could try to replace one of the lamps with a 230 V halogen, so the dimmer sees a higher load.

[hetbeest 0]

Hi Peter,

 

I fiddled around with P2. No luck. I changed out one of the led bulbs for a traditional 25W bulb, bingo. Now it works flawlessly. But this is not what I want. So, does this give you an idea?

 

Thanks,

 

(en sterkte in deze moeilijke tijden)

 

Evert

[hetbeest 0]

I bought halogen lights. Way less environment friendly, but at least it works.

[petergebruers 1,265]

Your test confirms my idea that the type of load (kind of power supply in the lamp) and the amount of load (too low) don't leave much room for the dimmer to operate (in 2-wire mode). I checked my notes, and although I've tested about 10 different LEDs, I have not seen exactly that effect. All I saw was either not working or a reduced amount of dimming. I'm afraid I can't think of a fix, that uses the same bulbs on dimmer 2. Since 25 W incandescent fixes the issue, you might try the exact parameters of the auto calibrate and apply that to the Pharox.

This is a VERY long shot: I think it has to do with the fact that these are filament LEDs. A filament is in fact a string of tiny led chips, all in series. That makes the voltage drop much higher (if it's 20 LEDs, then it's 20 x higher) than a lamp based on a few bigger chips. That drop is unavailable to the dimmer. I don't have a dimmable filament lamp, al my test bulbs are "traditional". So it is just a theory. I've mentioned this before, so people will start thinking that I own stock of Philips, but I really like the "Philips Warm Glow". But I don't know how it behaves in a 2-wire setup. You'll need a minimum load in any case, regardless of LED technology. I can't just check that, because all my dimmers are 3-wire, so I'd have to make a bench setup.

[hetbeest 0]

Thanks Peter. By the time these halogen bulbs break I'll try the Philips bulbs.