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.

A compact and printable Status Light Quick Reference is available.

Robot Signal Light (RSL)

Solid ON	Robot On and Disabled
Blinking	Robot On and Enabled
Off	Robot Off, roboRIO not powered or RSL not wired properly

roboRIO

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

Vivid-Hosting VH-109 Radio

VH-109 Status Lights

Power	Green	On or Powering up
	Off	No Power
System Status	Solid Green	Able to ping the field
	Blinking (1Hz)	Unable to ping the field
	Blinking (20Hz)	Firmware being flashed
	Blinking (50Hz)	Performing “first boot”
	Off	Booting Up
2.4 GHz	Solid Green	Wifi available
	Blinking (20Hz) Sys Blinking	Battery detected, Wireless is disabled
6 GHz	Solid Blue	6 GHz connection made
	Blinking (20Hz) Sys Blinking	Battery detected, Wireless is disabled

Power Distribution Panel

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

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

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)

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

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 Motor Controllers

These motor controllers use Phoenix 5. For the most up-to-date information, see the CTRE Phoenix 5 Documentation.

Talon SRX/Victor SPX Status LEDs During Normal Operation

LEDs	Colors	Device 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
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

Talon SRX/Victor SPX Status LEDs During Calibration

Status LEDs Blink Code	Device State
Flashing Red/Green	Calibration Mode
Blinking Green	Successful Calibration
Blinking Red	Failed Calibration

Talon SRX/Victor SPX B/C CAL Blink Codes

B/C CAL Button Color	Device State
Solid Red	Brake Mode
Off	Coast Mode

Talon FX Motor Controller

The Talon FX uses Phoenix 6. For the most up-to-date information, see the CTRE Phoenix 6 Documentation.

Talon FX Status LEDs

LED State	Meaning
LEDs Off	No Power
Blinking Alternating Red	No valid CAN/PWM signal
Blinking Alternating Orange	CAN detected but no Phoenix running
Blinking Simultaneous Orange	Valid CAN signal, device disabled
Both Solid Orange	Enabled with neutral output
Blinking Simultaneous Red	Driving in reverse
Blinking Simultaneous Green	Driving forward
Offset Alternating Red/Off	Device limit reached
Offset Orange/Off	Thermal cutoff
Alternate Red/Green	Pro-only command while unlicensed
Alternate Red/Orange	Damaged Hardware
Single LED alternates Green/Orange	Device in bootloader

Talon FX B/C CAL Blink Codes

B/C CAL Button Color	Device State
Solid Red	Brake Mode
Off	Coast Mode

SPARK-MAX Motor Controller

REV Robotics SPARK

Victor-SP Motor Controller

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

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.

Venom Motor Controller

REV Robotics Servo Power Module

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

REV Robotics Servo Hub

REV Servo Hub Status LED Patterns

General Status LED

LED Color	Status
Magenta Blinking	Powered on but not connected to a controller or the REV Hardware Client
Blue Solid	Connected to REV Hardware Client
Solid Cyan	Connected to a roboRIO or CAN controller
Green Solid	Connected to a Control Hub or RS-485 controller
Orange/Cyan Blinking	Battery voltage is lower than 5.5V
Orange/Yellow Blinking	CAN fault detected
Orange/Magenta Blinking	Overcurrent fault

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

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

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 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)

CANivore