Timer events not working?

Configuration
1

HA 2022.2.3. (also tried in 2022.2.1)
I created a timer in the UI at /config/helpers.

There is one automation which should fire an event to start it. From the UI editor:

event: timer.lab_light_timer.start
event_data: {}

and another automation which should be triggered by timer expiry. UI editor:

platform: event
event_type: timer.lab_light_timer.finished

The automations also turn a light on an off.
I have made the timer visible in my dashboard.

  1. the dashboard shows that when triggered, the timer does not start, but the light turns on.
  2. When I start the timer from the dashboard, I can see it counting down but on expiry, the light does not turn off.

Can someone please confirm if this is an issue or if I do something wrong?

I could not find the timer code anywhere in the host’s config folder, so I deleted the timer from the UI and re-created it in configuration.yaml:

timer:
  lab_light_timer:
    duration: "00:01:00"

It did not make any difference.

2

Timer Events

Event Description
timer.cancelled Fired when a timer has been canceled
timer.finished Fired when a timer has completed
timer.started Fired when a timer has been started
timer.restarted Fired when a timer has been restarted
timer.paused Fired when a timer has been paused
3

Thanks for the hint.
The timer now triggers the automation. From UI:

platform: event
event_type: timer.finished
id: timer.lab_light-timer

However, I still cannot figure out how to fire an event. This does not work:
Screenshot from 2022-02-08 16-13-30

4

You don’t fire an event, you call the timer.start service.

In an automation or script:

  - service: timer.start
    target:
      entity_id: timer.lab_light_timer
5

Got it! Thanks.

But I am now mystified why the UI Automation Action Editor has the “Fire event” item?

Screenshot from 2022-02-08 16-36-02
Screenshot from 2022-02-08 16-36-02240×565 17 KB

6

You can fire custom events for your own purposes. See: Script Syntax - Home Assistant.