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Thread: Lutron Maestro MACL-153M dimmer

  1. #1
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    Lutron Maestro MACL-153M dimmer

    Hi, I have twelve Lutron Maestro MACL-153M dimmers in use at my residence without any issue. They are an excellent product. However, I just installed an LED ceiling fixture and installed another Lutron Maestro MACL-153M dimmer to control the fixture. When I turn the dimmer switch off, the light still glows...albeit very dimly. Is there any way to rectify the situation? The light has dimmable LED's. I've contacted the manufacturer (Feiss) and they were not able to offer a solution. I've read where there is low current that passes through these digital switches, even in the off position that may be the culprit. Is there anything else I can do? I don't experience condition with any other application in my residence. If not, are there any safety risks?
    Thanks, in advance, for any suggestions.
    Cheers!

  2. #2
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    It's not a safety issue but you are reducing the life of the LED. Electronic dimmers do bleed some current to power the electronics when the load is off. However, I think it is more likely you are getting some interference on the neutral. It wasn't that long ago that every neutral in each box was tied together. Magnetic ballast were notorious for dumping noise on the neutral and preventing the dimmer from completely turning off.
    If this is the case, the fix is to go to each box and separate the neutrals by circuit.
    Convergence Technologies Raleigh, North Carolina
    www.convergenceusa.com

  3. #3
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    Thank you very much for offering your advice randyc. I'll look at the neutrals and let you know how I make out!

  4. #4
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    Did you try to turn off nightlight mode? I got the same problem with the multi-location dimmer macl 153 but that solved it.

  5. #5
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    Hello token 1,

    Thank you for your post!

    Deeson and randyc are both correct. Below is a link to the programming guide to try disabling the nightlight on the MACL, this will reduce the amount of power draw, but minimally:

    http://www.lutron.com/TechnicalDocum...ary/048459.pdf

    If either of their solutions do not work we have four other solutions:

    The first is replacing one LED with an incandescent or halogen bulb. Incandescent bulbs in essence act like sponges absorbing the current leakage and should make the lights turn off. However, the color temperature and lumen output will more then likely not match.

    The second solution is using an LED on our LED compatibility tool, www.lutron.com/compatibility. This tool has all of the tested and approved LED bulbs for the MACL, these are specifically tested for the ghosting and will not have this issue.

    The third is changing the MACL to a analog dimmer such as the DVCL-153P. This has no power draw in the off position and fully turns off the circuit, this is a guaranteed solution to resolve your issue.

    The fourth issue is changing the MACL to a neutral based dimmer such as the MRF2S-6ND-120. The neutral helps to bypass some of the power draw from going to the LEDs, this typically alleviates the issue, however we cannot guarantee this solution.

    Hope this helps!

    Julia K.

  6. #6
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    A really nice dimmer. I like that it gradually turns on/off instead of instantly like normal switches, however I wish it would turn off a little faster. The only downside I can see is that it requires you to tap the switch twice in order to adjust light to full brightness. This might be not an issue for guests who are not familiar with the switch.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by john_smith View Post
    A really nice dimmer. I like that it gradually turns on/off instead of instantly like normal switches, however I wish it would turn off a little faster. The only downside I can see is that it requires you to tap the switch twice in order to adjust light to full brightness. This might be not an issue for guests who are not familiar with the switch.
    See link below or search for application note 459.

    There are several customizable functions including fade on/off time. You can also choose what happens when you single tap the button. The lights will either go to a preset level (could be 100%) or the last level set by the rocker.

    http://www.lutron.com/TechnicalDocum...ary/048459.pdf
    Convergence Technologies Raleigh, North Carolina
    www.convergenceusa.com

  8. #8
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    Hello Julia, I also had a pretty serious problem with the Lutron Maestro dimmer switch attached to a magnetic low-voltage driver. It was a new installation and it didn’t appear to be dimming very well and it would not turn completely off. I double checked all the wiring, everything appeared fine. Since it was a new installation I thought perhaps the magnetic driver was defective. I changed out the magnetic driver and it immediately tripped the driver overload. So, I assumed there was a crossed wire On the 12v side and went through all the wiring again. Still no luck. In desperation, I thought perhaps the switch was the problem. I had just completed another low-voltage driver installation that worked fine so I changed the switches. I had the same problem as at the start, light would not turn off, and dimming function barely worked. It appeared that the switch was at fault. I tried resetting the switch and changing the switch programming, to no avail. I then wired a new switch into my Original installation and it worked just fine. Soon after, I noticed a strange “sizzling” sound. I had wired the bad switch into a 40 W magnetic driver attached to 2-12w, 12 V LED lamps. The driver was extremely hot, smoking, and appeared to be ready to burst into flames! How can a dimmer switch cause such a massive overload on a small 40w 12v magnetic driver?

  9. #9
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    Driver overload

    I also had a pretty serious problem with the Lutron Maestro dimmer switch attached to a magnetic low-voltage driver. It was a new installation and it didn’t appear to be dimming very well and it would not turn completely off. I double checked all the wiring, everything appeared fine. Since it was a new installation I thought perhaps the magnetic driver was defective. I changed out the magnetic driver and it immediately tripped the driver overload. So, I assumed there was a crossed wire On the 12v side and went through all the wiring again. Still no luck. In desperation, I thought perhaps the switch was the problem. I had just completed another low-voltage driver installation that worked fine so I changed the switches. I had the same problem as at the start, light would not turn off, and dimming function barely worked. It appeared that the switch was at fault. I tried resetting the switch and changing the switch programming, to no avail. I then wired a new switch into my Original installation and it worked just fine. Soon after, I noticed a strange “sizzling” sound. I had wired the bad switch into a 40 W magnetic driver attached to 2-12w, 12 V LED lamps. The driver was extremely hot, smoking, and appeared to be ready to burst into flames! How can a dimmer switch cause such a massive overload on a small 40w 12v magnetic driver?

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