Troubleshooting

Introduction

This section describes the procedures to troubleshoot your Modicon M218 Logic Controller.

Transferring the Application is not Possible

Possible causes:

oThe PC cannot communicate with the controller.

oIs your application valid?

oIs the CoDeSys gateway running?

Resolution:

oRefer to the part below (Communication Between EcoStruxure Machine Expert and the Modicon M218 Logic Controller).

oYour application program must be valid. For more information, refer to the EcoStruxure Machine Expert Programming Guide: Managing Applications > Maintaining Applications > Debugging.

oThe CoDeSys gateway must be running:

a.click the CoDeSys Gateway SysTray(stopped) icon in the task bar,

b.select Start Gateway.

Communication Between EcoStruxure Machine Expert on a Computer and the Modicon M218 Logic Controller is not Possible

Possible causes:

oIncorrect cable usage.

oThe controller is not detected by the PC.

oCommunication settings are not correct.

oThe controller is not correctly operating.

Resolution:

Check	Action
1	Check that: othe cable is correctly linked to the controller and to the PC and not damaged, oyou use the specific cable depending on the connection type: oTCSXCNAMUM3P cable for an USB connection.
2	Check that the Modicon M218 Logic Controller has been detected by your PC: 1.click Start > Control Panel > System, select the Hardware tab and click Device Manager, 2.check that the Modicon M218 Logic Controller node appears in the list: . 3.If the Modicon M218 Logic Controller node does not appear or if there is an icon in front of the node, unplug/plug the cable on the controller side.
3	Check that the active path is correct: 1.double click the Controller node in the Devices window, 2.check that the Modicon M218 Logic Controller node appears in bold and not in italic. If not: a.stop the CoDeSys Gateway: right click the Gateway SysTray(running) icon in the task bar and select Stop Gateway, b.unplug/plug the cable on the controller side, c.start the CoDeSys gateway: right click the Gateway SysTray(stopped) icon in the task bar and select Start Gateway, d.select the gateway in the Controller configuration window of EcoStruxure Machine Expert and click Scan network. Select the Modicon M218 Logic Controller node and click Set active path. NOTE: If your PC is connected to an Ethernet network, its address might change. In this case, the currently active path set is not correct anymore and the Modicon M218 Logic Controller node appears in italic. Select the Modicon M218 Logic Controller node and click Resolve Name. The node must not appear in italic anymore, click Set Active Path.
4	Refer to the System & I/O Diagnostic LEDs section.

Application Program is not Executed

Possible causes:

No POU is declared in the task.

Resolution:

As POUs are managed by tasks, you must at least add a POU to a task:

1.double click a task in the Applications tree tab,

2.click Add Call in the task window,

3.select the POU you want to execute in the Input Assistant window and click OK.

Possible causes:

oApplication does not go to RUN state.

oOne input is configured in RUN/STOP mode.

oRun/Stop Switch is switched to Stop position.

Resolution:

oUse the input configured in RUN/STOP mode to run the application.

oTurn Run/Stop Switch to the Run position.

CoDeSys Gateway does not Start (CoDeSys Gateway SysTray icon is black)

Possible cause:

Connection during a long time.

Resolution:

If the CoDeSys Gateway SysTray icon is black (stopped):

1.Open the task Manager,

2.stop the Gatewayservice.exe, and start it again:

oReset your computer or,

oin Control Panel, open Administrative Tools and Computer Management,

oin Service, double click CoDeSys Gateway,

oClick Start Service button.

3.Control if the CoDeSys Gateway SysTray icon is red (running).

Serial Line Communication is not Possible

Possible causes:

oCommunication settings are not identical between serial line devices.

oThe controller is not correctly operating.

Resolution:

Check that:

oProtocol communication settings (baud rate, parity...) are identical for all serial line devices.

oThe correct communication manager is added on the Serial Line object:

oModbus manager if the line is used for Modbus protocol,

oMachineExpert-Network Manager if the line is used for communication to access IEC variable.

oThe controller operates correctly. Refer to the System & I/O Diagnostic LEDs section.

Creating the Boot Application is not Possible

Possible cause:

The operation is not possible while the controller is in RUN state.

Resolution:

oSelect Stop Application,

oSelect Create Boot Project.

PTO Function does not Start

Possible cause:

The AUX input is configured as Drive ready but not used.

Resolution:

oIf the AUX variable is set to Drive_Ready, check that the Drive is correctly operating, or

oset the Dis_Drive_Ready variable of the PTOsimple function block to 0.

Changing Device Name do not Work

Possible cause:

Application is running.

Resolution:

oSelect Stop Application,

oChange device name.

Monitoring of the POU is Slow

Possible cause:

Task interval is too small or POUs is too great.

Resolution:

oIncrease the configured task interval.

oSplit the application in smaller POUs.

ERR LED is Flashing Fast on the PLC

Possible cause:

A system error was detected.

Resolution:

Check your application program (pointer management, arrays management, etc...).

Controller is in HALT State

Possible cause:

The PLC has stopped due to a watchdog event.

Resolution:

oIf a task watchdog is configured:

a.Run the application without task watchdog

b.Get the maximum task cycle time from the task monitor

c.Set the task watchdog greater than the maximum task cycle time

oIf a task watchdog is not configured:

oIf a Cyclic task is configured, increase the cycle time to a value > 1.25 times the average task time

oIf several tasks are configured, one of these is a Freewheeling task, try reconfiguring the Freewheeling task as a Cyclic task

Possible cause:

A division by 0 is detected in the application program.

Resolution:

Check your application program. Use POUs for implicit checks in your application to manage this kind of situation.

Source Download Leads to Communication Error

The following table describes the possible causes of a communication error during Source Download:

Possible Cause	Resolution
You attempted to download the source while the controller was in a RUN state.	Stop the controller before attempting the download.
The source file exceeded the available memory space in the controller.	If sending additional files with the source, considering deselecting them to reduce the overall size of the download. See Project > Project Settings > Source Download > Additional Files... in the EcoStruxure Machine Expert main menu.