Smartfade 2496 acting like a 1248

This might be the set-up of the patch of channel to dimmer.  You could try clearing the patch and then set the patch 1 to 1 (channel 1 to dimmer 1). Here is an extract from the user manual page 19 on how to do this.

Clear Patch

     The patch is cleared from the Patch Menu.
     Menu>Patch>Patch - special>[Clear Patch]
     Press (MENU) to confirm.

Set Patch 1 to 1

    The patch is set 1 to 1 from the Patch Menu.
    Menu>Patch>Patch - special>[Set Patch 1 to 1]
    Press (MENU) to confirm.

This might be the set-up of the patch of channel to dimmer.  You could try clearing the patch and then set the patch 1 to 1 (channel 1 to dimmer 1). Here is an extract from the user manual page 19 on how to do this.

Clear Patch

     The patch is cleared from the Patch Menu.
     Menu>Patch>Patch - special>[Clear Patch]
     Press (MENU) to confirm.

Set Patch 1 to 1

    The patch is set 1 to 1 from the Patch Menu.
    Menu>Patch>Patch - special>[Set Patch 1 to 1]
    Press (MENU) to confirm.

I should also add that before this I set the patch 1-1 and cleared the settings. That didn't work so a upgraded the firmware to 3.0. Still no change. 

a further note on what its doing. when I hit 1-48 it shows 1 and 13 below it when i hit it again it doesn't change same thing with mems. When I hit 49-96 it displays 25 and 37 not 49 - 61 like it should. This definitely is a console issue just cant figure out if it can be effected through software or if it is a hardware problem.  

This sounds like a hardware issue, and may need to come back to the factory for repair.  Give ETC Tech Services a call in the morning, and we can help you straighten it out. 

Thanks for you insight that was exactly my plan

As it turns out this was a software error. The smartfade failed into 1248 mode and had to be reinitialized in the diagnostic menu. Very interesting failure