Chattering Super Sockets

The chattering probably means that little plastic piece has broken. Maybe it had just enough life left in it to get past your initial testing. I had one fail rather quickly here, but another is still working fine after 4 almost years.

Jeff

"almost 4 years" Sorry for the typo.

I'm going to first plug in loads to both outlets, then switch the units codes and then yank the units. Throughout the years I've seen chattering come and go in various modules so I am more than a little curious as to whether this is just a cam issue or some interaction problem. What torques me the most is that I *could* have easily tested them in tandem before I installed them. It will be interesting to see if it indeed was on its last legs and just happened to break *after* I climbed the ladder and screwed them in tight.

-- Bobby G.

Unwired the duplex outlet box and tested each super socket separately. There was only one unit that chattered and it was the used one that has a cracked case, which I assume meant at least a tight fit in a past life if not downright abuse. The new one still had the pre-stripped insulation on the ends and had all the hardware and no scratch marks, so I assume it really is new.

Unscrewed the white cover from the back of the bad super socket so I could inspect the cams and when I tested it again, to observe the chattering behavior close up so I could photograph it, I pressed B4 ON/OFF and it clicked on and off without chattering, repeatedly. WTF!? Now what?

-- Bobby G.

| Bought a few used and new SR227 X-10 wall outlet modules. Tested them | separately before installing by hookup to a line cord. All was well. Wired | them into a duplex outlet box at the end of a run, pigtailed together and | they (I think it's only one, actually) started chattering. | | I've read X-10 appliance/wall socket module chattering is almost always | considered a mechanical issue, but why would they test cleanly one by one | and then chatter when in place?

With some of the relay wall switches (which use a very similar cam mechanism) I've found that the stress of mounting (or even just pulling on the wires as you arrange them in a box) can change the operation from marginally fine to chattering. Mounting them too tightly is usually a mistake; it can distort the frame just enough...

Dan Lanciani ddl@danlan.*com

Could this be mechanical stress on the modules that was absent when you tested in "free air"?

That would seem to be the answer but it's difficult to see exactly how. I'm going to go into it further in the next few days. I know PC's (especially laptops!) seem to run differently when the cover's on or off, but I wouldn't expect a wall outlet to. I'm wonder if gravity and the orientation of the module has an effect. If I test it with the outlet facing down, the way it first chattered, and it chatters again, even with the cover off, it may very well be gravity that's the culprit. That doesn't give me a warm, fuzzy feeling!

-- Bobby G.

Crimminy. That's not what I call confidence inspiring! This unit's case is cracked in two places so I think you and Dave are correct. It's a stress problem. I chose a very deep box just to have room for the wire nuts and stuff but it's still a tight fit since those "stupor" sockets are fairly large. X-10 is still full of surprises. This unit's gotten me twice - it chattered when I didn't expect it and didn't chatter when I did! Still, I paid less than $3 for it so it's not going to break my heart. Thanks for the input.

-- Bobby G.

| Unscrewed the white cover from the back of the bad super socket so I could | inspect the cams and when I tested it again, to observe the chattering | behavior close up so I could photograph it, I pressed B4 ON/OFF and it | clicked on and off without chattering, repeatedly. WTF!? Now what?

Yes, the relay wall switches do that too. You've again slightly changed the shape of the frame.

Dan Lanciani ddl@danlan.*com

Now that I have it completely apart I can see the case didn't crack from being jammed into a small space. It cracked right where the brass relay arm pivots inside the plastic shell. Apparently heat and mechanical wear make the plastic quite weak and brittle and it breaks. The only upside is that I can recover a good (for who knows how long?) cam from the unit and possibly repair one that has broken that way (which I believe is the typical failure mode) instead of at the pivot point. In the meantime, it goes into a baggie that goes into the ever-deepening box of Dead X-10 Junk.

I don't think I'll use the super sockets for anything that will be switched on and off more than once a day and that might even be pushing it. At least I've personally confirmed all the bad reports about the super sockets. I can also see that just a slight change in chemical formulation of the plastic could have a significant affect in one batch of switches being a lot more prone to failure than others.

-- Bobby G.

Welcome to the world of X-10 quality.