Occupancy sensor immediately off after on

Question

I attempted to install a Lutron 2 AMP occupancy sensor this weekend, replacing a simple single-pole switch.

Installation seemed to be straightforward enough. However, when the time came to test it, it exhibited a funny symptom. About 9 out of 10 times it detected motion and tried to turn on the lights, the lights would be on for a split of a second, and then went off. Very occasionally, the lights would turn on and stay on, functioning normally.

I suspected the switch might require a minimum wattage - I was using 4 LED bulbs, but after changing to 4 incandescent bulbs, the issue still remained.

This sensor requires a ground wire, which is used to power the standby circuit. I made sure grounding worked. It did. In fact, the sensor wouldn't even function without the ground wire connected.

I then tested the switch on a different location, also replacing a single-pole switch. The configuration of wires was identical to the previous location. This time, the lights wouldn't even turn on at all.

I thought I must have broken the sensor, but I tested it again at the first location to be sure. It's not broken (at least not completely), and still exhibited the "immediately off after turning the lights on" issue at the first location.

I am stumped. Was it likely that I got a bad unit? Or is the problem the quality of grounding ("weak ground")? Any advice/suggestion is appreciated!

Answer 1

The first step is to read through the user's guide, and make sure it's not in a "test" mode. If after reading the manual it still wasn't working, I'd exchange it for a different unit.

If the new unit didn't work, I'd either try a different brand/model, or forget about using an occupancy sensor.