Lutron Caseta Lights Flashing When Off (Troubleshooting)

The Lutron Caseta Smart Lighting system changes the way you think about smart lighting in your home; using your existing wiring to upgrade all your standard bulbs to smart ones saves money and time. While installation and integration with your current switches are easy, there are times when you might experience some flashing when you turn your Lutron Caseta switch on.

If your bulbs are flashing when the Lutron Caseta dimmer is turned on, checking bulb compatibility, resetting the dimmer’s low end, and using a neutral wire can help you troubleshoot the flickering issue.

Troubleshooting the lights flashing when you turn on your Lutron Caseta switch can involve resolving a few potential issues. Keep reading to learn more!

Troubleshooting When Lutron Caseta Lights Flash

Depending on the type of bulbs you are using and the potential for incompatibility with certain brands of LED bulbs, you might experience flashing when you turn on (or off) your Lutron Caseta switch. But why would this happen?

Check the Bulb Compatibility

You might be surprised to learn that there are no standards for the manufacturing of LEDs. This can lead to many variances in the bulbs you purchase and the possibility that they might not be compatible.

Lutron has taken the time to test many of the available LED bulbs and provides an online compatibility tool to help you find a bulb that should work well with your Lutron Caseta system. If you are still having issues with your Lutron Caseta flashing after finding a bulb that should work, there are other steps you can take to troubleshoot this issue.

Adjust the Dimmer’s Low End

Flashing lights can sometimes be common at low light levels. By adjusting the low end of the dimmer, you can avoid this problem and potentially solve the lights flashing when the Lutron Caseta is turned on. You can find a visual guide to this procedure in the user manual here.

1. To begin, hold the top button and the right side of the middle button for six seconds. A flashing status light will appear on the switch.
2. Hold the middle right button down until either the light is no longer dimming, or it turns off.
3. To adjust, hold the middle left button until the light is no longer flickering.
4. Save this setting by holding the bottom button until the status light is no longer flickering.
5. To verify that these steps solved your flashing issue, tap the top button once to turn off the light.
6. Next, tap brighter one time. The light should come on.
7. If this did not solve your problem and the light is still flashing, repeat the steps.

Use a Dimmer with a Neutral Wire and Change the Dimming Technology

The PD-6WCL dimmer could be a possible cause of your flashing issue with the Lutron Caseta. If you have already changed bulbs, adjusted the dimmer’s low end, and are using a neutral connection, you may need to change to a different dimmer.

The PD-5NE is recommended for solving this issue. This model has the capability of utilizing both Forward and Reverse Phase Dimming Technology. These two types of dimming technology work with all kinds of bulbs, including incandescent, halogen, MLV, ELV, and LED, broadening the ability of the dimmer to work with all the bulbs in your lighting profile.

The following steps will show you how to set the dimmer phase. (Click here for a visual guide in the user manual.):

1. Start by pulling out the FASS switch, then pushing it back in.
2. Hold the top and bottom buttons for six seconds until a status light begins to flash.
3. For forward-phase (MLV), tap the top button. You will see the top status light begin to flash.
4. For reverse-phase (ELV), tap the bottom button. You will see the bottom status light begin to flash.
5. To complete the setting, hold the bottom button until the status light stops flashing.
6. Be sure not to delay completing the setting. If the dimmer times out after one minute of no activity, or if the power is turned off, the new setting will not be saved, and you will have to repeat the process.

Change the Bulb Type

If you find that you still have lights flashing after trying the above troubleshooting steps, there is a final option: Changing out one LED bulb for an incandescent or halogen bulb may solve the problem. This can help stabilize the other bulbs and improve dimming performance.

Conclusion

Lutron Caseta offers an advanced, cost-effective way to provide dimming for your home. Troubleshooting when you have lights flashing is easy as long as you follow the steps in this guide!