ELK M1G Counters Not Working

[Mark Sullivan]

For many years, I have used M1G counters as a means to keep track of activities, typically setting a counter to indicate a specific event happening or keeping track of the number of times an event occurs.   But for unknown reasons, my rules will no longer change the value of my counters.  This worked a few weeks ago, but seems to have stopped working.  I have no idea what could have changed.  My rules just don’t work anymore.  If I test the rules in RP2, they won’t work there either.  The counters have been defined and sent to the panel.  I tried deleting and recreating the rule and re-sending to the panel.  I tried resending the counters and rules multiple times, but no joy.  Any idea why counters would just stop working?  Any troubleshooting or resets I can try?

This is an example of a simple rule that used to work, but won’t anymore:

WHENEVER EVERY 10 MINUTES

THEN SET Heartbeat V (Counter 7) To 0

[Brad Weeks]

 

Does the M1 keypad or the M1 LOG indicate any odd events for example EEProm Fault , System Start Up or Ethernet Trouble? Have you tried power cycling the M1 and retesting? If unsuccessful then it might be necessary to Default the M1, reload your account and retest:

Default the entire Control

• Make sure your ElkRP2 Account is up to date with information in the panel
• Press the ELK key on the Keypad
• Screen should display 1-View/Control Automation Fncts
• Press the 9 key
• Screen should display 9-Installation Programming
• Press the Right arrow key
• System should prompt you “Auth Required Enter Valid PIN” —- 172839 Factory Default or look under Globals G29 – G42 for Local Programming Code
• Screen Should display 01-Bus Module Enrollment
• Type 07
• Screen should display 07-Global System Definitions
• Press the Right Arrow Key
• Screen should display G01:=x….
• Type 45
• Screen should display G45:DefaultCtl 81=User Codes
• Press the Right Arrow Key and Type 99

 

Once the Default is complete the system should perform the Bus Module Enrollment or you may need to manually perform the Enrollment from the keypad. Connect with ElkRP2 and Send ALL to the M1 and retest.

[Mark Sullivan]

Thank you for the response, Brad.  I checked for errors, and found this one “Data Bus Error Retry T2A3 02841”.  I have no idea what that means.

By the way, I have disconnected the battery and cycled power several times with no success.

Regarding setting the M1G to default, does that also revert any previous firmware updates to the M1G and the various modules (zone expanders, I/O, etc.)?  In other words, will I have issues with firmware?

[Brad Weeks]

The M1’s RS485 Data Bus is supervised meaning the M1 polls for bus devices and if a bus devices (Keypad, M1XIN, Wireless Receiver, P212S, M1KAM, M1XSP, etc) fails to respond to a poll the M1 will log this under Menu 8 System Settings, Menu 86 – System Diagnostics, 1 – Data Bus Errors Retry — the T is the Type of Bus Device T1 = Keypads, T2 = Input Expanders including M1XIN and Wireless Receivers (M1XRFTWM, M1XRF319, M1XRF2H), T3 = M1XOVR, T5 = M1XSP , the A is the Address of the Bus Device — for example T2 (Input Expander A3 (Address 3) failed to respond to a poll and the 02841 is the total number of Retries since the last power cycle.  It is not uncommon to see the total number of Retries increment as long as it isn’t incrementing very rapidly. In most cases if there was an issue with a bus device then the retries would be incrementing rapidly and there would be a Missing Expansion Module in the M1 LOG.

Factory Defaulting the M1 does not change the firmware in the M1 or any of the bus devices.

[Mark Sullivan]

Thanks for the explanation of the Data Bus Errors.  That is very helpful.

So I defaulted the M1G control per your instructions above.  The default went OK, and all modules re-enrolled.  While I was at it, I also updated the control firmware to from 5.3.8 to 5.3.30.  The Counters rule posted above does seem to work now – it is now setting the counter to 0 every ten minutes.  Out of curiosity, why does the defaulting necessary?

However, strangely, if I test that same rule from RP2, it does not seem to work.   Since I can’t see how to read the counter value via RP2, I have to use a third party device (Home Assistant or Homeseer) to see the change, and I get the feeling that the changes are not being transmitted and seen when changed via RP2, perhaps a polling issue.  But I do see the rule counter change via Home Assistant/Homeseer when RP2 is not connected.

Regarding the Data Bus Errors, they are still happening.  I have seen T2A2 (M1XIN), T2A3 (M1XIN), and T3A2 (M1XOVR).  The counts are up into the hundreds after a few hours.   But I have not seen a missing module in the log.  So is that kind of frequency normal?  Or does it suggest a wiring issue?  power issue? module issue?  Anything to be concerned with?

[Brad Weeks]

Defaulting cleared all previous programming as well as reset all counters and outputs in order to give us a fresh start. When ElkRP2 is connected to the M1 all other communications are suspended which is why Home Assistant/Homeseer did not see the change in the counter value. It is not uncommon to see the Retries to increment over time however if the M1 starts displaying or logging Missing Expansion Module issues then we’d need to check:

• Data Bus configuration — no more than two home runs or use of the M1DBH or the M1DBHR to manage the data bus
• Proper termination of the M1 Data Bus — see page 12 -13 of the M1 Installation Manual which describes the 3 methods to wire the bus and proper termination
• Proper voltage at each bus device making sure it is between 12-14 VDC

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