Status Light Quick Reference

Many of the components of the FRC® Control System have indicator lights that can be used to quickly diagnose problems with your robot. This guide shows each of the hardware components and describes the meaning of the indicators. Photos and information from Innovation FIRST and Cross the Road Electronics.

Robot Signal Light (RSL)

Robot Signal Light with wiring.

Solid ON

Robot On and Disabled

Blinking

Robot On and Enabled

Off

Robot Off, roboRIO not powered or RSL not wired properly

roboRIO

roboRIO status lights highlighted.

Power

Green

Power is good

Amber

Brownout protection tripped, outputs disabled

Red

Power fault, check user rails for short circuit

Status

On while the controller is booting, then should turn off

2 blinks

Software error, reimage roboRIO

3 blinks

Safe Mode, restart roboRIO, reimage if not resolved

4 blinks

Software crashed twice without rebooting, reboot roboRIO, reimage if not resolved

Constant flash or stays solid on

Unrecoverable error

Radio

Not currently implemented

Comm

Off

No Communication

Red Solid

Communication with DS, but no user code running

Red Blinking

E-stop triggered

Green Solid

Good communications with DS

Mode

Off

Outputs disabled (robot in Disabled, brown-out, etc.)

Orange

Autonomous Enabled

Green

Teleop Enabled

Red

Test Enabled

RSL

See above

OpenMesh Radio

Radio with the Wifi, Eth Link (2), and Power ports labeled.

Power

Blue

On or Powering up

Blue Blinking

Powering Up

Eth Link

Blue

Link up

Blue Blinking

Traffic Present

WiFi

Off

Bridge mode, Unlinked or non-FRC firmware

Red

AP, Unlinked

Yellow/Orange

AP, Linked

Green

Bridge mode, Linked

Power Distribution Panel

The location of the "STAT" and "COMM" lights on the PDP.

PDP Status/Comm LEDs

LED

Strobe

Slow

Green

No Fault - Robot Enabled

No Fault - Robot Disabled

Orange

NA

Sticky Fault

Red

NA

No CAN Comm

Tip

If a PDP LED is showing more than one color, see the PDP LED special states table below. For more information on resolving PDP faults see the PDP User Manual.

Note

Note that the No CAN Comm fault will occur if the PDP cannot communicate with the roboRIO via CAN Bus.

PDP Special States

LED Colors

Problem

Red/Orange

Damaged Hardware

Green/Orange

In Bootloader

No LED

No Power/ Incorrect Polarity

Power Distribution Hub

REV Power Distribution Hub with Status LED, and Channel LEDs Highlighted

Note

These led patterns only apply to firmware version 21.1.7 and later

PDH Status LED

LED Color

Status

Blue Solid

Device on but no communication established

Green Solid

Main Communication with roboRIO established

Magenta Blinking

Keep Alive Timeout

Solid Cyan

Secondary Heartbeat (Connected to REV Hardware Client)

Orange/Blue Blinking

Low Battery

Orange/Yellow Blinking

CAN Fault

Orange/Cyan Blinking

Hardware Fault

Orange/Red Blinking

Fail Safe

Orange/Magenta Blinking

Device Over Current

Channel LEDs

LED Color

Status

Off

Channel has voltage and is operating as expected

Red Solid

Channel has NO voltage and there is an active fault. Check for tripped or missing circuit breaker / fuse

Red Blinking

Sticky fault on the channel. Check for tripped circuit breaker / fuse.

Voltage Regulator Module

Highlights the position of the 12V and 5V status lights.

The status LEDs on the VRM indicate the state of the two power supplies. If the supply is functioning properly the LED should be lit bright green. If the LED is not lit or is dim, the output may be shorted or drawing too much current.

Pneumatics Control Module (PCM)

Highlights both the "Status" and "Comp" lights in the middle and the individual channel lights on the sides.

PCM Status LED

LED

Strobe

Slow

Long

Green

No Fault Robot Enabled

Sticky Fault

NA

Orange

NA

Sticky Fault

NA

Red

NA

No CAN Comm or Solenoid Fault (Blinks Solenoid Index)

Compressor Fault

Tip

If a PCM LED is showing more than one color, see the PCM LED special states table below. For more information on resolving PCM faults see the PCM User Manual.

Note

Note that the No CAN Comm fault will not occur only if the device cannot communicate with any other device, if the PCM and PDP can communicate with each other, but not the roboRIO.

PCM LED Special States Table

LED

Problems

Red/Orange

Damaged Hardware

Green/Orange

In Bootloader

No LED

No Power/Incorrect Polarity

PCM Comp LED

This is the Compressor LED. This LED is green when the compressor output is active (compressor is currently on) and off when the compressor output is not active.

PCM Solenoid Channel LEDs

These LEDs are lit red if the Solenoid channel is enabled and not lit if it is disabled.

Pneumatic Hub

REV Pneumatic Hub with Status LED, Compressor LED, and Solenoid LEDs highlighted

Note

These led patterns only apply to firmware version 21.1.7 and later

PH Status LED

LED Color

Status

Blue Solid

Device on but no communication established

Green Solid

Main Communication established

Magenta Blinking

Keep Alive Timeout

Solid Cyan

Secondary Heartbeat (connected to REV HW Client)

Orange/Blue Blinking

Hardware Fault

Orange/Yellow Blinking

CAN Fault

Orange/Red Blinking

Fail Safe

Orange/Magenta Blinking

Device Over Current

Orange/Green Blinking

Orange/Green Blinking

Compressor LED

LED Color

Status

Green Solid

Compressor On

Black Solid

Compressor Off

Solenoid LEDs

LED Color

Status

Green Solid

Solenoid On

Black Solid

Solenoid Off

Talon SRX & Victor SPX & Talon FX Motor Controllers

Status LEDs on either side of the center of the Talon SRX.

Status LEDs During Normal Operation

LEDs

Colors

Talon SRX State

Both

Blinking Green

Forward throttle is applied. Blink rate is proportional to Duty Cycle.

Both

Blinking Red

Reverse throttle is applied. Blink rate is proportional to Duty Cycle.

None

None

No power is being applied to Talon SRX

LEDs Alternate

Off/Orange

CAN bus detected, robot disabled

LEDs Alternate

Off/Slow Red

CAN bus/PWM is not detected

LEDs Alternate

Off/Fast Red

Fault Detected

LEDs Alternate

Red/Orange

Damaged Hardware

LEDs Strobe towards (M-)

Off/Red

Forward Limit Switch or Forward Soft Limit

LEDs Strobe towards (M+)

Off/Red

Reverse Limit Switch or Reverse Soft Limit

LED1 Only (closest to M+/V+)

Green/Orange

In Boot-loader

LEDs Strobe towards (M+)

Off/Orange

Thermal Fault / Shutoff (Talon FX Only)

Status LEDs During Calibration

Status LEDs Blink Code

Talon SRX State

Flashing Red/Green

Calibration Mode

Blinking Green

Successful Calibration

Blinking Red

Failed Calibration

SPARK-MAX Motor Controller

Table listing the SPARKMAX blink codes.

REV Robotics SPARK

Table of the SPARK blink codes.

Victor-SP Motor Controller

Status LEDs on either side of the center of the Victor-SP.

Brake/Coast/Cal Button/LED - Red if the controller is in brake mode, off if the controller is in coast mode

Status

Green

Solid

Full forward output

Blinking

Proportional to forward output voltage

Red

Solid

Full reverse output

Blinking

Proportional to forward output voltage

Orange

Solid

FRC robot disabled, PWM signal lost, or signal in deadband range (+/- 4% output)

Red/Green

Blinking

Ready for calibration. Several green flashes indicates successful calibration, and red several times indicates unsuccessful calibration.

Talon Motor Controller

Talon motor controller with a single multicolor LED in the bottom right corner.

Green

Solid

Full forward output

Blinking

Proportional to forward output voltage

Red

Solid

Full reverse output

Blinking

Proportional to reverse output voltage

Orange

Solid

No CAN devices are connected

Blinking

Disabled state, PWM signal lost, FRC robot disabled, or signal in deadband range (+/- 4% output)

Off

No input power to Talon

Red/Green

Flashing

Ready for calibration. Several green flashes indicates successful calibration, and red several times indicates unsuccessful calibration.

Victor888 Motor Controller

Victor888 motor controller with a single multicolor LED in the bottom right corner.

Green

Solid

Full forward output

Blinking

Successful calibration

Red

Solid

Full reverse output

Blinking

Unsuccessful calibration

Orange

Solid

Neutral/brake

Red/Green

Blinking

Calibration mode

Jaguar Motor Controller

Jaguar motor controller with a single multicolor LED in the bottom center.

LED State

Module Status

Normal Operating Conditions

Solid Yellow

Neutral (speed set to 0)

Fast Flashing Green

Forward

Fast Flashing Red

Reverse

Solid Green

Full-speed forward

Solid Red

Full-speed reverse

Fault Conditions

Slow Flashing Yellow

Loss of servo or Network link

Fast Flashing Yellow

Invalid CAN ID

Slow Flashing Red

Voltage, Temperature, or Limit Switch fault condition

Slow Flashing Red and Yellow

Current fault condition

Calibration or CAN Conditions

Flashing Red and Green

Calibration mode active

Flashing Red and Yellow

Calibration mode failure

Flashing Green and Yellow

Calibration mode success

Slow Flashing Green

CAN ID assignment mode

Fast Flashing Yellow

Current CAN ID (count flashes to determine ID)

Flashing Yellow

CAN ID invalid (that is, Set to 0) awaiting valid ID assignment

Digilent DMC-60

The 5 LEDs in each of the corners plus the center.

The DMC60C contains four RGB (Red, Green, and Blue) LEDs and one Brake/Coast CAL LED. The four RGB LEDs are located in the corners and are used to indicate status during normal operation, as well as when a fault occurs. The Brake/Coast CAL LED is located in the center of the triangle, which is located at the center of the housing, and is used to indicate the current Brake/Coast setting. When the center LED is off, the device is operating in coast mode. When the center LED is illuminated, the device is operating in brake mode. The Brake/Coast mode can be toggled by pressing down on the center of the triangle, and then releasing the button.

At power-on, the RGB LEDs illuminate Blue, continually getting brighter. This lasts for approximately five seconds. During this time, the motor controller will not respond to an input signal, nor will the output drivers be enabled. After the initial power-on has completed, the device begins normal operation and what gets displayed on the RGB LEDs is a function of the input signal being applied, as well as the current fault state. Assuming that no faults have occurred, the RGB LEDs function as follows:

PWM Signal Applied

LED State

No Input Signal or Invalid Input Pulse Width

Alternate between top (LED1 and LED2) and bottom (LED3 and LED4) LEDs being illuminated Red and Off.

Neutral Input Pulse Width

All 4 LEDs illuminated Orange.

Positive Input Pulse Width

LEDs blink Green in a clockwise circular pattern (LED1 → LED2 → LED3 → LED4 → LED1). The LED update rate is proportional to the duty cycle of the output and increases with increased duty cycle. At 100% duty cycle, all 4 LEDs are illuminated Green.

Negative Input Pulse Width

LEDs blink Red in a counter-clockwise circular pattern (LED1 → LED4 → LED3 → LED2 → LED1). The LED update rate is proportional to the duty cycle of the output and increases with increased duty cycle. At 100% duty cycle, all 4 LEDs are illuminated Red.

CAN Bus Control State

LED State

No Input Signal or CAN bus error detected

Alternate between top (LED1 and LED2) and bottom (LED3 and LED4) LEDs being illuminated Red and Off.

No CAN Control Frame received within the last 100ms or the last control frame specified modeNoDrive (Output Disabled)

Alternate between top (LED1 and LED2) and bottom (LED3 and LED4) LEDs being illuminated Orange and Off.

Valid CAN Control Frame received within the last 100ms. The specified control mode resulted in a Neutral Duty Cycle being applied to Motor Output

All 4 LEDs illuminated solid Orange.

Valid CAN Control Frame received within the last 100ms. The specified control mode resulted in a Positive Duty Cycle being Motor Output

LEDs blink Green in a clockwise circular pattern (LED1 → LED2 → LED3 → LED4 → LED1). The LED update rate is proportional to the duty cycle of the output and increases with increased duty cycle. At 100% duty cycle, all 4 LEDs are illuminated Green.

Valid CAN Control Frame received within the last 100ms. The specified control mode resulted in a Negative Duty Cycle being Motor Output

LEDs blink Red in a counter-clockwise circular pattern (LED1 → LED4 → LED3 → LED2 → LED1). The LED update rate is proportional to the duty cycle of the output and increases with increased duty cycle. At 100% duty cycle, all 4 LEDs are illuminated Red.

Fault Color Indicators

When a fault condition is detected, the output duty cycle is reduced to 0% and a fault is signaled. The output then remains disabled for 3 seconds. During this time the onboard LEDs (LED1-4) are used to indicate the fault condition. The fault condition is indicated by toggling between the top (LED1 and LED2) and bottom (LED3 and LED4) LEDs being illuminated Red and off. The color of the bottom LEDs depends on which faults are presently active. The table below describes how the color of the bottom LEDs maps to the presently active faults.

Color

Over Temperature

Under Voltage

Green

On

Off

Blue

Off

On

Cyan / Aqua

On

On

Break/Coast Mode

When the center LED is off the device is operating in coast mode. When the center LED is illuminated the device is operating in brake mode. The Brake/Coast mode can be toggled by pressing down on the center of the triangle and then releasing the button.

Venom Motor Controller

The LED blink codes for the Venom.

Mindsensors SD540B (PWM)

The two LEDs on the top one at each end and the LED on the side next to the connector.

Power LED

Off

Power is not supplied

Red

Power is supplied

Motor LED

Red

Forward direction

Green

Reverse direction

PWM Signal LED

Red

No valid PWM signal is detected

Green

Valid PWM signal is detected

Mindsensors SD540C (CAN Bus)

The two LEDs on the top one at each end and the LED on the side next to the connector.

Power LED

Off

Power is not supplied

Red

Power is supplied

Motor LED

Red

Forward direction

Green

Reverse direction

CAN Signal LED

Blinking quickly

No CAN devices are connected

Off

Connected to the roboRIO and the driver station is open

REV Robotics Servo Power Module

One power LED and a status LED for each channel all down the center.

Status LEDs

Each channel has a corresponding status LED that will indicate the sensed state of the connected PWM signal. The table below describes each state’s corresponding LED pattern.

State

Pattern

No Signal

Blinking Amber

Left/Reverse Signal

Solid Red

Center/Neutral Signal

Solid Amber

Right/Forward Signal

Solid Green

  • 6V Power LED off, dim or flickering with power applied = Over-current shutdown

Spike relay configured as a motor, light, or solenoid switch

Single LED in the corner.

Inputs

Outputs

Indicator

Motor Function

Forward (White)

Reverse (Red)

M+

M-

Off

Off

GND

GND

Orange

Off/Brake Condition (default)

On

Off

+12v

GND

Green

Motor rotates in one direction

Off

On

GND

+12v

Red

Motor rotates in opposite direction

On

On

+12v

+12v

Off

Off/Brake Condition

Note

‘Brake Condition’ refers to the dynamic stopping of the motor due to the shorting of the motor inputs. This condition is not optional when going to an off state.

Spike relay configured as for one or two solenoids

Single LED in the corner.

Inputs

Outputs

Indicator

Motor Function

Forward (White)

Reverse (Red)

M+

M-

Off

Off

GND

GND

Orange

Both Solenoids Off (default)

On

Off

+12v

GND

Green

Solenoid connected to M+ is ON

Off

On

GND

+12v

Red

Solenoid connected to M- is ON

On

On

+12v

+12v

Off

Both Solenoids ON

CANCoder Encoder

LED at the top of the encoder.

LED Color

LED Brightness

CAN Bus detection

Magnet Field Strength

Description

Off

Off

CANCoder is not powered

Yellow/Green

Bright

Device is in boot-loader. See user manual for more information.

Slow Red Blink

Bright

CAN bus has been lost

Rapid Red Blink

Dim

CAN bus never detected since boot

Magnet is out of range (<25mT or >135mT)

Rapid Yellow Blink

Magnet in range with slightly reduced accuracy (25-45mT or 75-135mT)

Rapid Green Blink

Magnet in range (between 45mT - 75mT)

Rapid Red Blink

Bright

CAN bus present

Magnet is out of range (<25mT or >135mT)

Rapid Yellow Blink

Magnet in range with slightly reduced accuracy (25-45mT or 75-135mT)

Rapid Green Blink

Magnet in range (between 45mT - 75mT)