Faulty MDS8RW101 - Vantage Controls - 120V Fused Dimming Module

[UkiwiS]

I have a Vantage Controls lighting control system with 6 of these "Fused Dimming Modules" in a chassis. Each Module controls 8 light circuits.

One of the dimming modules is faulty as 2 lighting circuits cannot be powered off.

I know the module has an issue because when I replace it with a known good module the circuits work correctly. If I then move the failed module to another location in the chassis I then have 2 failed circuits in a different location.

I can go through am Authorized Dealer for repair and I can expect to pay a ridiculous amount...or I can source a second hand module on eBay. That is what I have done.

Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced repair shop in San Diego where I could get this module looked at and perhaps repaired, if economical?

TIA
KIWI

[akash.g...@gmail.com]

I was able to fix my Vantage MDS8RW101 module by replacing the fuse in the module.

* Located the module which had the Fuse LED light OFF. The LEDs are one the top of the module. The Fuse LEDs are 2nd from left and the other one is 2nd from right.

* Removed module by unclipping the clips on the side of the module. - First tried to remove the vents by unscrewing the vents. Don't make the same mistake :)

* Found the fuse and replaced it with the spare.

The following document was helpful:
http://design.vantagecontrols.com/lib/docs/Dimming%20Module%20MDS%20Series_install.pdf

[chery...@gmail.com]

Hi,

I am having (I think) a similar problem, and wonder if you might have any advice. Had a driveway light off my kitchen panel, which started to stay on all the time, a week or so ago, ignored my shutting the switch.

Early this morning (Boston area, hot weather all week- maybe some type of power surge issue in the city?) a few lights suddenly went on by themselves.

I put manual override in my Vantage box in basement, on, then off. Circuit breakers on, then off. And all of the Vantage lights that had been staying on, went off, and were okay, except the entire kitchen area, where there are maybe 8 or 10 different lights. Now I have nothing at all in there, unless I put the manual override back on, and then all kitchen lights are on, and stay on.

Does this sound like a fuse in the module issue to you, by any chance? And if so, is that a special fuse that has to be ordered from Vantage, or would any old fuse replacement do? (The system is at least 10 years old, here when I bought it).

Naturally, this happens on July 3, when lots of people are off for the holiday. Worse things could happen...

[jsc...@gmail.com]

Hi Chery -

This is a late response, but perhaps it will help someone else.

I could not follow some of your descriptions of on/off actions. Here is what I recommend. Turn off all circuit breakers that go to your Vantage modules, then turn them all on. If you have one enclosure, your CPU (master controller) will be rebooted by one of the circuit breakers. This is good. It will take a minute or so for it to reboot. If all works, you are good. If nothing works or you have more than one enclosure and only some light switches work but others do not, you have problems so continue reading.

Now you want to try to manually control individual circuits. There is a feature called Override which permits you to test without allowing the CPU do the work. In the master enclosure (has the CPU), there is an Manual Override switch. If the enclosure is not the master, then the Override feature may be linked to the master enclosure (this is normal) or it could be configured to only override that enclosure.

When Override is switched 'on', you can control individual loads/lights. This accomplished by the 8 micro white switches on the top of each module in the enclosure. Switch up = on, switch down = off. If you can control each load then the 8-load module is not the problem. If you cannot control anything unless Override is active, a controller is suspect - either master or slave.

When the enclosure is a 'slave' enclosure (2nd, 3rd, ... enclosure), if the CPU location in that enclosure is filled with an aluminum box, you have a slave controller for that enclosure. I have seen Master and Slave controllers fail due to lightening. The weak point in both is the power supply in those boxes. Replace those boxes and you will be good to go. A slave controller only needs to be replaced - no other action necessary. If it is a master controller, it will have to be programmed with your configuration. Hopefully that programming is available to you.

If the slave enclosure has no aluminum box that reads 'Slave Controller', you have the newer InFusion configuration and will only see a circuit board at the bottom of the enclosure. For these, there is no slave controller to contend with.

[Hermino Rosa]