Troubleshooting Steps for Connecting to SL or SLX Safety Controllers

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1

Here are the things to check and try if you cannot connect to a SafePLC. The list is roughly in order starting with things that most commonly solve the problem and continuing downward to more specific / rare solutions.

  1. Cycle power on the SafePLC.

  2. Close SafeDESIGNER. Make sure that AS is connected to the gray PLC. Then re-open SafeDESIGNER and try to connect.

  3. In SafeDESIGNER, go to Online → Communication Settings. Make sure the selection is set to “SL-communication through BR-CPU”. (The other two options are almost never needed / used).

  4. Make sure ModuleOK is TRUE for the SafePLC. If it is false, then you will never be able to connect to it.

  5. Check the LED status of the SafePLC. Make sure the SafePLC is/does NOT:
    a. Booting
    b. Getting new firmware
    c. Updating firmware on the safe IOs
    d. Have an X2X/IO power issue
    If the SafePLC is in any of the above states then you will not be able to connect to it.

  6. Make sure the System Timer is synchronized to Powerlink or X2X
    a. Synchronize to Powerlink if you have an SL or an SLX behind a Powerlink bus controller
    b. Synchronize to X2X if you have an SLX connected directly to an X20CPU

  7. Re-compile SafeDESIGNER. Close SafeDESIGNER. Rebuild AS. Transfer to the gray PLC. Wait for the gray PLC to come back online. Open the Software Compare and make sure the ‘assl1’ data object exists on the target. If it does not, you won’t be able to connect, so transfer again. Then open SafeDESIGNER and try again to connect.

  8. If the customer is establishing a remote connection to the machine, make sure the “Server communication port” for the SafePLC is open through the remote connection. By default this port is 50000, but it can be changed in the SafePLC configuration in AS. Similarly, if the customer is using ARwin with ICS then this port needs to be forwarded.

  9. Update the firmware of the SafePLC.

  10. If SLX, check the BM module. Make sure it is not a BM23 or BM26 (which have IO supply interrupted to the left).

  11. Make sure the customer is attempting to connect via the Remote Control, not via the SafePLC icon in SafeDESIGNER. The SafePLC icon should only be used during commissioning if you have an X20SL80xx.

  12. Make sure there aren’t two simultaneous connection attempts to the SafePLC (i.e. one from the Remote Control and one from the AsSafety Technology Solution visualization via a VNC client). Only one connection can be made to the SafePLC at a time.

  13. If the customer has the AsSafety library in their application, temporarily disable any tasks that use it. If afterwards you can connect via the Remote Control, then there is a bug in their safety code in AS.

  14. If SLX, make sure there is not an SP1130 module to the left of the SLX on the X20 rack. If there is, the rack needs to be re-arranged so the SP1130 is to the right of the SLX.

  15. Check the logger.

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Thank you, this is a very useful list. Some additional thoughts:

  • Checking the logger should maybe not be the last thing to do :wink:
  • ad 4.: this is true for SLX but not quite for X20SL8xxx. Powerlink nodes need a valid configuration for the ModuleOK to get TRUE. That’s why you have to be able to do the initial download of the Safety project to an X20SL8xxx although ModuleOK is FALSE.
  • a minor clarification to 11.: In case of SLX the SafePLC icon doesn’t work until the SLX is up and running (or at least at bootstate 0x3440)
  • maybe some of the information in AS help GUID 7b68ae55-998c-4436-8f9a-1393e82f1c11 is useful
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Regarding point 13 - the same goes for the SfDomain library in the case of mapp Safety :slight_smile: (AsSafety applies exclusively to Safety Release)

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Amendment to the above post
Step #7 Only applies to Legacy Safety - The assl1 software object will not appear in the non-legacy safety system.