Using Vera with Home Link car remote

I just ordered it off Amazon.

As soon as it comes in I’ll post how it worked.

For that price I’ll give it a try too. I was going to remove the homelink module in my car and wire the buttons into a zwave scene controller but this will be much easier.

I’m going to try it too. They still have them on Amazon for $10 - http://www.amazon.com/Wayne-Dalton-WDHA-12R-HomeSettings-Wireless-Gateway/dp/B001HL3CS8

Can i use this one in germany too?

No, it uses the U.S. Z-Wave frequency and is not compatible with European Z-Wave devices.

What color car do you drive?

Okay, mine finally showed up. I ordered it from the same Amazon link:

http://www.amazon.com/Wayne-Dalton-WDHA-12R-HomeSettings-Wireless-Gateway/dp/B001HL3CS8

What I got was a WDHA-12L which is labeled Car2U compatible (no mention on the outside packaging of Homelink

In my research, am I correct in assuming older cars pre-2008 used Homelink, and newer vehicles use Car2U?

In my 2007 vehicle owners manuals they both mention Homelink.

Is this Car2U WDHA-12L version incompatible? Should I send it back?

Thanks for any insight

Chris

:frowning:
Update: I found several pdf manuals online for the WDHA-12R and read them. The instructions give methods for installing with both Car2U & Homelink vehicles, so I thought cool and opened my package to read the installation instructions.

The manual I received with my product was similar to the online versions, but had all the Homelink references removed. So I guess I’m going to have to return it. The Amazon link referenced above says this is a closeout item and can not be returned through Keywest Lights & Controls. Well, I purchased the WDHA-12R NOT the WDHA-12L so I can probably still return it.

[quote=“ChrisTheC, post:26, topic:164111”]Okay, mine finally showed up. I ordered it from the same Amazon link:

http://www.amazon.com/Wayne-Dalton-WDHA-12R-HomeSettings-Wireless-Gateway/dp/B001HL3CS8

What I got was a WDHA-12L which is labeled Car2U compatible (no mention on the outside packaging of Homelink

Chris

:frowning:
Update: I found several pdf manuals online for the WDHA-12R and read them. The instructions give methods for installing with both Car2U & Homelink vehicles, so I thought cool and opened my package to read the installation instructions.

The manual I received with my product was similar to the online versions, but had all the Homelink references removed. So I guess I’m going to have to return it. The Amazon link referenced above says this is a closeout item and can not be returned through Keywest Lights & Controls. Well, I purchased the WDHA-12R NOT the WDHA-12L so I can probably still return it.[/quote]
I’m in the same boat, apparently. I have a 2012 Subaru Impreza, but all the Subaru documentation mentions Homelink, not Car2U. So if the Car2U receiver isn’t compatible, then I’ll need to return mine as well. I just got it today, so I haven’t had a chance to try it. That stinks.

I just got the following response from the seller:

This unit even though it has the L at the end stands for LEER which wayne dalton made product for. The 12r and the 12L are the sane product in every way shape and form. Leer paid Wayne Dalton to put there Model number and packaging on their WDHA-12R
So I guess I'll try it out and see what happens.

[quote=“ibrewster, post:28, topic:164111”]I just got the following response from the seller:

This unit even though it has the L at the end stands for LEER which wayne dalton made product for. The 12r and the 12L are the sane product in every way shape and form. Leer paid Wayne Dalton to put there Model number and packaging on their WDHA-12R
So I guess I'll try it out and see what happens.[/quote]

We’ll see. It’s ominous to me that they removed all references/instructions to Homelink in the manual . . . It’s a snow day here, so I’m going to play with it now. It will either work, or it will do what Dagwood08 reported in reply #16 above.

I’ll post my findings.

Chris

Update: Got it to work finally (after 3 hours) - I’ll write it up and add a new post to this thread

What follows here is the story of how I got the 3 HomeLink buttons in my 2007 Toyota Sienna to trigger Vera3 scenes through the Wayne Dalton WDHA-12L (Car2U compatible) gateway.

Since I am still pretty new with Vera, I’m writing this from a newbie’s brain. So some of these steps that follow may seem kindergarten, but that’s how I’m writing it.

The purchase was from Amazon through Keywest Lights & Controls for $10.00 + $4.99 shipping (not Prime eligible) here:
[url=http://www.amazon.com/Wayne-Dalton-WDHA-12R-HomeSettings-Wireless-Gateway/dp/B001HL3CS8]http://www.amazon.com/Wayne-Dalton-WDHA-12R-HomeSettings-Wireless-Gateway/dp/B001HL3CS8[/url]

When the item arrived it was labeled WDHA-12L Car2U Compatible Gateway Module. As I noted in a previous post, the manual removed any instructions for programming with HomeLink systems. I thought that the item was not going to be compatible. A poster here (ibrewster) contacted the mfg/seller and was told the unit would work with HomeLink transceivers, that the models 12L & 12R were identical “in every way shape and form.”

Well why then remove the instructions for setting up with Homelink (the methods for programming HomeLink vs Car2U are radically different) . . . I digress.

I downloaded the original manual for the WDHA-12R near the bottom of the page at:
http://www.smarthomeusa.com/ShopByManufacturer/wayne-dalton/Item/WDHA-12R/

I printed only page 6 of this manual for the moment when I’ll be ready to program the buttons in the car.

First I needed to set it up in Vera. There is a wiki here
[url=http://wiki.micasaverde.com/index.php/Wayne-Dalton_WDHA-12]http://wiki.micasaverde.com/index.php/Wayne-Dalton_WDHA-12[/url] that is a little outdated for UI5, so I did it the following way.

I paraphrased some of the following 6 steps from page 10 of the new manual I received (or page 11 of the WDHA-12R that I downloaded) and general Vera stuff. The step numbers below correspond to the way I did this, not the step numbers in the manual.

Step 1 - Place Wireless Gateway within 6 feet of the Vera 3 (well, that is sort of what step 1 of the manual says)

Step 2 - Press and Hold the COPY button, then (while still holding the COPY) press and hold the Scene 1 button for 3 seconds until the LEDs all light up on the device. Let go of all buttons and all 3 LEDs will be flashing.

Step 3 - Hurry up back to my computer to add the device via: Devices > Add Devices > Advanced Z-Wave devices - (Add) > Add One (this is the option that states “Recommended: Add the device to remote Vera’s network, letting Vera be the primary controller”) I think the WDHA manual says it has to be done within 20 seconds, so have your Vera web page ready.

After you click “Add One”, Vera does it’s thing adding the device & node, and does a reload.

Step 4 - (I’m using Chrome), refresh your browser

Now under devices (no room) I have the new device called _Scene Controller. The first thing I did was to rename it “WD_Controller” which of course required another save, reload, & refresh.

Anyway, there are no configuration options that I can see. I ignored the WDHA manual for now & continued with Vera.

Step 5 - In Vera > Automation, I created three new simple scenes for testing. Heck, I am just learning what a scene is, so I just wanted something simple that I know (hoped) will work. I named them: HomeLink-1, HomeLink-2, & HomeLink-3. These scenes do nothing, I figure I can add stuff to each later.

In each of these scenes, I then created a trigger named WDButton1 for the first scene, WDButton2 for the second scene, WDButton3 for the third. Each trigger was my new device #74 WD_Controller. The type of event was “A scene is activated”, for “Which scene number”, I put the number that corresponds to the button on the Wayne Dalton. I could have had each scene turn a light on, or off, or whatever, but for now I chose in the Edit trigger options “Optional: Which of the following users . . .” so that I can send an alert to my cell phone each time the scenes were activated. (if I was going to have to test outside in my car, I just needed my phone to alert me if the scene activated)

Step 6 - okay, then I tested the Wayne Dalton device in the house. I plugged it into the wall and pressed the Scene 1 button. I got an alert on my phone that button 1 was pressed. I pressed the other 2 buttons and got the proper notifications. I think this part of the setup is good. The 3 buttons work to trigger scenes in the Vera. so I’m ready to move to the car & try to configure the HomeLink portion.

Meat & Potatoes

The next part had me cursing for the next coupla’ hours, and being absolutely positive that this device was not compatible with my vehicle.

There were several sets of instructions in the Toyota manual regarding garage door remotes, Canadian methods, rolling code methods, etc. One thing was common. When the damn button in the car was ready to be programmed, the HomeLink light/icon would flash rapidly. I pressed & held button 1 on the car along with button 1 on the Wayne Dalton forever, in many different positions and could never get the HomeLink light to flash rapidly.

The HomeLink icon in the vehicle would flash slowly for about a minute, then give up. All instructions say to keep the WDHA 1-3 inches from the HomeLink button. After 10 or 15 tries of holding this thing up high and pressing & holding, my muscles were telling me to give up! It’s just not compatible. I put a fresh 9v battery in the WDHA (I know that was suggested elsewhere, but I just got around to it) NO DIFFERENCE.

Decided to take a break & search the internet some more. I didn’t really find anything, but did see a few folks who said that positioning & angle of the unit could be important. I tried again, this time going through the tiring sequence of pressing & holding 2 buttons at a time for roughly 90 seconds at a time, but holding the WDHA at a different position & angle each time.

Then with one angle I got a rapid flash from the HomeLink icon in the car! A picture of the angle that worked for me is posted below. Great, I got one step further. What do I do now, what sequence of buttons? Whose manual? I’m going to try by following page 6 (for Homelink) which of course, was not in my manual, but downloaded from the smarthomeusa link above.

I programmed button 1 following the instructions exactly, and at step 7 the HomeLink icon flashed 3 times like the instructions said! I tried testing the HomeLink button 1 right there but it didn’t work (I don’t think it is supposed to, I believe the WDHA-12 needed to be back in my house, plugged into an outlet). So I took it inside, plugged it in, went back out to the car, & pressed button 1.

Presto, I got a notification on my cell phone that the WDHA-12 button 1 had activated the scene in Vera! So I brought the WDHA back out to the car, & programmed the other 2 HomeLink buttons in the same way.

Now I can sit in my car, press either of 3 buttons, & trigger 3 scenes. I’m happy, (well, in a geeky sort of way, it would be really useful if button 1 brought a pizza, button 2 . . . etc). I hope this can help someone else who is taking advantage of this $10.00 deal.

Thanks so much for the detailed instructions. I’m still waiting for mine to arrive but looking forward to giving it a go.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for the write up.

Does your 2007 Toyota Sienna have:
Homelink - 1 Red LED
or
Car2U - 3 Yellow LEDs

[quote=“Z-Waver, post:32, topic:164111”]Thanks for the write up.

Does your 2007 Toyota Sienna have:
Homelink - 1 Red LED
or
Car2U - 3 Yellow LEDs[/quote]

Thanks Z-Waver,

I have Homelink, but have neither LED that you mention. The Homelink house logo appears lit up on the multi-purpose LCD display when I press one of the physical buttons.

Are you just asking to verify that the vehicle uses Homelink vs Car2U?

Regards,

Chris

Yes. And to allow others to more easily identify what they have.

I can now confirm that the 12L device does, in fact, work with my 2012 Subaru Impreza with Homelink. As ChrisTheC did, I followed the directions from page 6 of the manual he linked to, holding my device in the position he showed, and it worked perfectly. The only difference was that for my vehicle, the instructions at HomeLink for my vehicle stated that before programming I needed to hold down two of the home link buttons for 20 seconds, which I did. After that, the directions in the online manual for the 12R produced the expected light flashes. Thanks for the detailed instructions and the tip about the $10 unit! The buttons in my car are now good for something! :slight_smile:

Darn it, I should have included a photo of the display (when the logo was lit) and the actual buttons.

This is likely why it was discontinued :slight_smile:

While it didn’t take me 3 hours to set up, I do remember nearly giving up after about 30 mins or so of failing too. I guess I got lucky after that and it paired.

Caution: If you already have a button in the car programmed to open the garage door, pressing the two outer buttons on Homelink will erase all the settings for Homelink.

If you want to program the unused buttons on Homelink without erasing current functions, begin with step TWO of the Homelink manual, HomeLink

Thanks to @ChrisTheC for posting!

I got mine yesterday. I was able to add the “Car2U” as a scene controller.

When you set it up what scene to run… it refers to the buttons on the device, not vera scenes.

SO, it’s connected and i set up to turn on a light for testing. I thought this was going to be the hard part.

Programming button 2 on my car (AUDI Q5) is impossible. The Audi has an LCD screen that tells you what to do… I did my garage door with no issues.

I’m pretty sure this will work… but it’s one of those PITA things.

They clearly done’t sell a lot of these… the 9V battery that came with it was dead & leaking.

I hope to pair it with my may car… I picked up 3 of them … one for office and one for home. and one because for $10 why not.

I got this working on my 2008 Sequoia. Strangely, having Vera Lite set the buttons was the easy part.

I used the position indicated above in the picture (thanks for that!), however, I would completely skip the part in the manual that, after pairing (i.e. the rapid flashes on the homelink happen), you have to release both buttons (car and remote) and THEN press the scene button you were programming AGAIN, until the led light turns off again, then immediately press the corresponding button in the homelink you were programming. Skip the last part and it won’t work. I know, it’s in the manual, but the above posts left me with the impression that all you needed to do was to look for the rapid flashes. I got that first try. But RFM.