Leviton or X10 switched outlet problem

["Jeff Volp" <JeffVolp@xxxxxxx>]

I wonder if anyone else has seen the following problem with the Leviton/X10
switched outlet:

I installed one of these switched outlets a couple of months ago to turn on
a garage exhaust fan when it cools down at night, and turn it off again as
it warms up in the morning.  It had been working fine for weeks, but twice
in the last several days it did not respond to the OFF signal in the
morning.

Now, here is the interesting problem:  It would not even respond to multiple
OFFs sent from a maxi controller plugged directly into the switched outlet.
However, after sending a single ON, followed by an OFF, the outlet did
switch off.  It is not the typical broken plastic piece problem because
after it finally turned off, it properly responds to additional ON and OFF
signals.

The ESM signal strength meter shows a fairly strong 1V signal from my
automation controller at the switched outlet.  There are no signal suckers,
and no noise source.  All other X10 switches are virtually 100% reliable.  I
don't think there was a power glitch because dimmed X10 modules are still
dimmed off, and our most glitch sensitive digital clock still has the
correct time.

Does anyone know if these switched outlets become confused as to what state
they are in?  If so, a simple fix may be to preface every OFF command with
an ON.  Otherwise, I guess the answer is to install one of the Leviton 16293
relay switches I use elsewhere for compact fluorescents.