Processor internal battery?

[gcoker]

I recently had power outage at my house and HWI-PM-D48-120 homeworks illumination system lost its OS and programming. I believe it is from a dead battery so I ordered the battery and will replace but cant find the software/firmware to upload the OS. I really dont need the lighting program since I addressed everything with the hardcode addresses of the switches external so just the OS should get me back up and running. No lights for a few days already so this is getting old quickly. Does anyone have this info on where to get the OS to load into system after battery replacement? Tech support at Lutron denied my request so I am desperate to find this code.

[johnmax]

You are going to need the program file for the system and the Lutron software to load it in as the OS gets sent with a program upload I believe. Since you are not a dealer/installer that may be difficult as the software is for dealers only. I would look for a local Lutron dealer.

[gcoker]

Not having much luck with finding Lutron dealer willing to call back for just this fix and Lutron only will support if I buy new system.

[WaarrEagle]

You must NOT use HWI165 to do the OS upload.Use an older version of the software as something is wrong with how 165 writes the OS to the processor.Once the old one is in you will find it works properly and THEN you can use 165 to update THAT working processor to what will be 1.64 version of the OS.Something I discovered in the last few days. UGGHHHHNow we all know!

For anyone that finds this, I am told that the acceptable versions in this situation are above 1.18 and below 1.50. I ran into this problem and was successful with 1.49, then upgraded again with 1.65 to the final version.

[Jon Sr]

For anyone that finds this, I am told that the acceptable versions in this situation are above 1.18 and below 1.50. I ran into this problem and was successful with 1.49, then upgraded again with 1.65 to the final version.

What happens when the old battery is removed, it resets the Supervisory Circuit which manages memory support (MAX793RCSE) and its Battery Freshness Seal. The freshness seal is a feature of the chip and prevents battery drain on the board before software is loaded. Unless the OS software resets the seal, the battery remains disconnected from the memory. As soon as you turn off the power coming out of boot mode, the OS you just loaded goes away. This only happens with OS v1.50 and higher. V1.49 is the last version that resets the Battery Freshness Seal.

[topcat88]

What happens when the old battery is removed, it resets the Supervisory Circuit which manages memory support (MAX793RCSE) and its Battery Freshness Seal. The freshness seal is a feature of the chip and prevents battery drain on the board before software is loaded. Unless the OS software resets the seal, the battery remains disconnected from the memory. As soon as you turn off the power coming out of boot mode, the OS you just loaded goes away. This only happens with OS v1.50 and higher. V1.49 is the last version that resets the Battery Freshness Seal.

Hi,


Just looking for clarification before I start down this road also. My system is a Homeworks Illumination Series 8 based system processor - H8P5-MI-H48-CE. I am a computer scientist and hobbyist home automation builder. I have my system linked into Home Assistant which allows control via Siri or Alexa. We inherited the system and it has worked for 5 years without issue. This morning I woke up to the waterfall lights on our keypads and I assume the battery is now on the way out. I have reuploaded my programming using version 1.65 of the Homeworks software and we are back up and running but I fear this is going to continue everytime we have a power fluctuation.


I have all the integration I need via home assistant so not interested in upgrading. I am also handy enough with a soldering iron so opening the processor up and replacing the battery doesn't scare me. I have 2 questions for the experts though.


1. Which battery do I need for this model - H8P5-MI-H48-CE. Is soldering it risky given it is Lithium Ion and does anyone have experience of any enclosure that I could route wires outside the processor to make the battery easier to change in the future?
2. Can you use 1.65 to reload the programming on the Illumination system and restore the Battery Freshness Seal? @Jon Sr - Is your comment above for all systems? There seems to be conflicting advice about this from other people on reddit.

[Jon Sr]

topcat88, I have changed well over 40 of these batteries in both the HWI and P5 series processors. The P5 Series from factory uses the TADIRAN TL5104. You can also use the SAFT LS14500. Finding the TL5104 with the same leads as the originals in the processor, have proven to be difficult. However both the TL5104 and LS14500 are readily available with AXIAL Leads. If you do not have a backup program for the system be sure and extract one before removing the battery. If neither exist, a new one will have to be written. When replacing the memory battery, good de-soldering practices should be followed along with wearing safety glasses. Important also is the boards are static sensitive and can be damaged beyond repair just by improper handling. You will need a simple boot version of Illuminations v1.49 to load through the RS232 port into the processor first. Then once the processor comes alive, you can set the IP and Gateway and using the ethernet link, follow it with Illumination v1.65 will be faster. I believe this applies to all P5 (Illuminations) processors, however, I have never had an issue with HWI (Interactive) processors which use a different battery. One thing to keep in mind with older electronic equipment in general is that passive components "age out" (i.e. Capacitors, GALs, PALs and Poly-Switches) and create other issues causing a dead or erratic processor that replacing the memory battery will not fix. This seems especially true with the H4P5 processors, since the LV24 panels did not have ventilation and the processor was positioned directly above the plugin 15VDC Power Supply. It would get pretty warm in the panel and especially if the location wasn't air conditioned like a garage. When replacing a memory battery, I also test a number of components and if questionable, replace them as well. Lastly, Lutron's newer QS & QSX systems offer many new state of the art features, equipment integration friendly and electronically designed to handle todays LED technologies. Some LED products will damage older system controls that were designed for incandescent and halogen fixtures. It may be wise to plan ahead for a planned upgrade. Hope this has been useful. Jon Sr.

[topcat88]

topcat88, I have changed well over 40 of these batteries in both the HWI and P5 series processors. The P5 Series from factory uses the TADIRAN TL5104. You can also use the SAFT LS14500. Finding the TL5104 with the same leads as the originals in the processor, have proven to be difficult. However both the TL5104 and LS14500 are readily available with AXIAL Leads. If you do not have a backup program for the system be sure and extract one before removing the battery. If neither exist, a new one will have to be written. When replacing the memory battery, good de-soldering practices should be followed along with wearing safety glasses. Important also is the boards are static sensitive and can be damaged beyond repair just by improper handling. You will need a simple boot version of Illuminations v1.49 to load through the RS232 port into the processor first. Then once the processor comes alive, you can set the IP and Gateway and using the ethernet link, follow it with Illumination v1.65 will be faster. I believe this applies to all P5 (Illuminations) processors, however, I have never had an issue with HWI (Interactive) processors which use a different battery. One thing to keep in mind with older electronic equipment in general is that passive components "age out" (i.e. Capacitors, GALs, PALs and Poly-Switches) and create other issues causing a dead or erratic processor that replacing the memory battery will not fix. This seems especially true with the H4P5 processors, since the LV24 panels did not have ventilation and the processor was positioned directly above the plugin 15VDC Power Supply. It would get pretty warm in the panel and especially if the location wasn't air conditioned like a garage. When replacing a memory battery, I also test a number of components and if questionable, replace them as well. Lastly, Lutron's newer QS & QSX systems offer many new state of the art features, equipment integration friendly and electronically designed to handle todays LED technologies. Some LED products will damage older system controls that were designed for incandescent and halogen fixtures. It may be wise to plan ahead for a planned upgrade. Hope this has been useful. Jon Sr.

Thankyou so much for taking the time for such a detailed response. I think I am going to give this a go and see how stable the system is once done then look to do a more significant upgrade in line with some building works we are planning for next year. My only issue with this is going to be getting access to 1.49 version of Illuminations. Any suggestions from anyone here greatly appreciated!

[Jon Sr]

Thankyou so much for taking the time for such a detailed response. I think I am going to give this a go and see how stable the system is once done then look to do a more significant upgrade in line with some building works we are planning for next year. My only issue with this is going to be getting access to 1.49 version of Illuminations. Any suggestions from anyone here greatly appreciated!

topcat88, send me your email address and I will send it to you. jonsr@udgaz.com

[docboston]

topcat88, send me your email address and I will send it to you. jonsr@udgaz.com

I have an old system HWI-PNL-8, needing a new battery. Do you know the specs for it?
If you happen to be in Massachusetts, i would like to pay you to take care of the battery issue.
Thank you again