How to troubleshoot your I/O™ actuator
LINAK® understands the importance of uptime – and an inoperative actuator must be fixed or replaced as fast as possible.
Even though LINAK actuators are designed to be intuitive to use, questions might arise.
Actuator troubleshooting should not be complex, which is why LINAK provides you with possible solutions to solve an issue. The following guide explains the most common root causes of problems, and what you can do to fix them.
If your questions are not answered in the sections below, please contact your local LINAK office for further technical support.
Curious to know more about our I/O™ actuators or some of our other interface options?
Our team is on hand to assist you with any technical questions you might have.
Visual inspection – LED status indicator
The actuator can be equipped with a transparent connector and an LED. This enables fast diagnostics by a simple visual inspection.
The LED can show different colours depending on the actuator state:
. Red: Inoperative (internal errors)
. Yellow: Inoperative (external errors)
. Blue: Bluetooth® connection
The light from the LED can be used to quickly determine whether the actuator is running as it should or has a fault that needs to be examined more closely.
In addition to creating a visual indicator of the current state, it can also be used to identify which actuator you connected to via Bluetooth® in Actuator Connect™.
If the LED does not light up, try checking the power cable and power supply for incorrect connections or damage.
LED is not available for I/O™ Basic actuators.
ERROR CODES DIRECTLY TO YOUR CONTROLLER (PLC)
For applications where downtime is not an option, LINAK offers error codes as a digital output for easy troubleshooting.
Several error codes can be read out on the digital output.
During a time frame of 10 seconds, the actuator will send pulses to your controller (PLC) – depending on the error type - following the pattern in the table below.
It will save you time if you can easily troubleshoot the system and get the remedies to solve the problem, which might otherwise end up in unnecessary replacements.
LED
Numbers of pulses
(per 10 seconds)
Error
Remedies
0
No error
When the actuator is fully operational, the LED will be green and the signal will be constantly low. If the LED colour or the number of pulses changes, it might indicate a system malfunction.
1
Overcurrent
(external error)
The actuator has stopped due to overcurrent. Please remove possible obstacle(s) and run in the opposite direction of the blocking.
2
Hardware
(internal error)
The actuator has detected an internal hardware error. Try repowering the system or initialising the actuator. If the hardware failure cannot be solved, please contact your local LINAK office for further assistance.
3
Temperature
(external error)
The actuator has detected a high temperature and has been switched off. Please lower the ambient temperature or adjust the duty cycle within range. Also make sure that the applied load matches the rated maximum of the actuator.
4
Overvoltage
(external error)
The supply voltage is too high and has caused the actuator to stop. Please check the power supply to make sure that it matches the rated voltage.
5
Undervoltage
(external error)
The supply voltage is too low and has caused the actuator to stop. Please check the power supply to make sure that it matches the rated voltage and typical amp consumption of the actuator. Also ensure that cables are thick enough to avoid voltage drops.
6
Analogue input out of range
(external error)
The analogue input used to run the actuator (servo or proportional) is out of range. Please make sure that the chosen signal type is within range.
7
Position not changing
(internal error)
The internal Hall sensor has not seen a pulse for more than 1.5 seconds. This could indicate that the motor is stalling. Try repowering the system or initialising the actuator. If the error cannot be resolved, please contact your local LINAK office for further assistance.
8
Run signal overruled
(external error)
To avoid unintended movement the actuator has ignored the run signal after repowering. Please remove the run signal and try again.
9
Initialisation
(internal error)
The actuator has detected an internal initialisation error. Try repowering the system or initialising the actuator again. If the initialisation failure cannot be resolved, please contact your local LINAK office for further assistance.
10
Parallel startup
(external error)
Upon startup, the parallel system has detected that the number of actuators is incorrect. Check the configuration in Actuator Connect (each actuator must have the same configuration) or check the wiring of the violet and white wires used for parallel operation.
11
Parallel running
(internal error)
If one of the parallel actuators is disconnected without the power being turned off, the system will indicate “wrong number of actuators”. Please make sure that the number of parallel actuators matches the parallel configuration.
12
BLDC motor
(internal error)
The actuator has detected an error on the BLDC motor controller. Try repowering the system or initialising the actuator. If the failure cannot be resolved, please contact your local LINAK office for further assistance.
25
(Continuous)
Position lost
(internal error)
The actuator has lost track of its position. Please run the actuator completely inwards and then outwards past the area from 35-70 mm to initialise the actuator.
More error codes
How to initialise the actuator
In general, it is recommended that the actuator is initialised on a regular basis to ensure accurate positioning. This process can also be used to solve simple problems, which may result in an error message.
To initialise the I/O actuator, please start by driving the actuator to its fully retracted position. Then run the actuator past the zero-point initialisation area (at least past 70 mm) in an outwards direction – preferably at a smooth movement with fixed speed.
Connect to pc
Connect your actuator via Bluetooth® or cable to the LINAK Actuator Connect configurator to see the current state of the actuator and remedies to resolve a potential issue.
If the actuator reports faults, then you can identify the exact fault that has triggered a stop. The available state and diagnostics data can help you reduce downtime.
With the error log, you get an overview of the last 5 errors that the actuator has encountered and information of the number of times these have occurred in a row. This is documented with a timestamp that can be compared with the total running time of the actuator.
This data can be used to identify a pattern and make you wiser about a recurring source of error.
Configure your I/O™ actuator or make in-depth troubleshooting via the intuitive Actuator Connect configurator.
Download a free version of the latest Actuator Connect software here.
Parallel troubleshooting
The parallel system is designed to constantly monitor the state of all actuators in the system. If the actuator has lost track of its position, the parallel system will enter Recovery mode and initialise itself – here the system runs at reduced speed (50% speed-setting) while a run signal is applied (throughout a full stroke length in both directions).
If the system is unable to run in recovery mode, please continue this troubleshooting process:
- Check cabling, power supply and communication signals between actuators.
- See LED colour for visual inspection of the actuator(s) to locate the one that has caused the system to stop.
- Connect each of the faulty actuators indicated by the LED to the Actuator Connect configurator and look at the current status to see why the system has stopped.
- Try to initialise the actuator manually by using the Actuator Connect configurator (prerequisite is that the actuator is either dismounted or allowed to run without the other actuators in the parallel system).
- If the initialisation process has fixed the internal or external error, the actuator is ready to operate in parallel again.
Still having trouble? Please contact your local LINAK office.
