series 4 keypad malfunction - what do these lights mean??

Dear all,

Have had a series 4 installation for ten years now with relatively few issues - all of which appear to have been resolved with a reset. Just now, however, four keypads in close proximity of my home have stopped working. All other switches seem to be working properly, and a reset failed to resolve the issue! I'm nervous this is going to mean an expensive call out, but am hoping some kind soul might be able to help me walk through whether there might be a loose wire to check, or some other on/off reset to attempt!

Ill try to upload a photo of the switch - the top led is on, as are two leds on the lowest two buttons, and a light between the two half buttons at the bottom. Not familiar with the Lutron product rage so dont know if there is a large variety between switches, but they are all wired, have four buttons at the top and then two at the bottom, with the lowest one split in half, usually used for dimmer up/down.

Any help for a novice much appreciated!

Attachment 700

That is a seeTouch keypad. Unless it has a front IR window, the part in the wall is the same for all the models. The button kit is available in 1-7 buttons, some with raise/lower.

All of the buttons are back lit. That is the light you are seeing between the bottom raise/lower button. This is normal. If they keypad were engraved, the back light would cause the letters to glow. On lighter color buttons the whole button glows around the darker engraving.

If the power supply is old (Series 4 is old) it may not have enough power to supply all of the keypads. There is usually a black, plug-in power supply in the panel with the processor. I have had to change a lot of these. They are strong enough to light up the keypads but not strong enough to push the data. Depending on the number of keypads, you may have 2 power supplies.

The PS is available from Lutron but I don't think they will sell to an owner. You may be able to find a comparable power supply. The connector that plugs into the circuit board is unique and is polarity sensitive. I would not recommend splicing the existing cable onto a new PS, but if you did, make sure you get the polarity right.

The symptoms may move around and will eventually spread as the PS grows weaker.

Thanks so much for takin the time to reply in that detail.

I did notice the light between the raise/lower buttons was brighter than normal and compared it to one of the properly functioning switches and I’m correct, it is unfortunately unusual in my case - and it’s the same with all malfunctioning switches.

I did unplug and plug the black power supply to see if it would make a difference but it didn’t!

It’s somewhat reassuring ironically that they tend to go - at least this gives some sense of what it might be rather than a spoiled embedded bit of wiring.

The back light has 3 settings, high/med/low. It is possible some got set to different intensities.

You may have a 2nd power supply hidden somewhere. They are typically plug-in devices and may be hidden in a closet, garage, etc.

As a test, you can swap the non working keypad with one that is working. They keypad function is determined by its address. If you move the dining keypad to the kitchen, it should still control the dining lights. If the fault follows the keypad, it implies the problem is the keypad. If the working keypad stops working, it implies the power supply.

Very good, I’ll try that when I return home next week. Do the switches pop out easily enough? I’ve not taken one out before.

Remove the two screws (not the ones holding the plate). There is a low-voltage plug in the back. Note the orientation. It's hard, but not impossible to plug it in backwards.

Excellent, thank you kindly for that, I’ll report back with the results once I have them!

I took your advice, and the issue appears to be the power supply (switched a non working keypad A to a working keypad B location, and A worked as per normal).

The set up is that I have is: 3 keypads in one room (A1-3), 2 keypads in a hallway (B1 B2), and then two keypads in two other rooms (C, D), and then finally one keypad in a living room (E) which is closest to the Lutron box. In addition (dont know if the control system overlaps), there are two Crestron control pads which are working fine and also control lights in bathrooms).

In that set up, as it happens, the two key pads closest to the Lutron nerve centre are working ok (B2, E), and all other 6 keypads look exactly the same, with the top LED on, the light between the raise lower buttons on, and unresponsive to any key press (as opposed to the two working keypads which dont have that bright light between raise/lower as previously described).

If a set up like that likely only requires one power source, I think I know where it is (photo below, together with normally working keypad).

I've been in touch with Lutron Europe directly and they say they will be in touch, so hopefully it will be as simple as you suggest, the power source looks pretty easy to plug in/out to replace!

Once again, thank you for your help, it really is much appreciated.

Attachment 702 Attachment 704 Attachment 703

ps would the power source failure be testable with a simple voltmeter? when I detached that black lead, all the keypads became unresponsive, and all the LEDs switched off.

Crestron talks directly to the processor either by RS232 or Ethernet.

The volt meter isn't likely to help. When the demand increases the power supply can't keep up.

Terminals 1 & 2 are power. If you remove either one you break the current path and all the keypads will stop.