EtherCAT FAQ and Troubleshooting: Invalid Mailbox Configuration, Invalid Outputs, Invalid Inputs

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Problem:

The EtherCAT stack aborts a state transition with one of the following AL Status Codes:

• Invalid Mailbox Configuration (0x0016)

• Invalid Outputs (0x001D)

• Invalid Inputs (0x001E)

Cause:

During state transition, the stack checks the Sync Manager settings received from the MainDevice. If the settings contain an invalid start address or invalid size of a Sync Manager, the stack will return an error. Also, if a Sync Manager interferes with the memory area of another Sync Manager, an error is raised.

For Input and Output Sync Managers, the corresponding PDO Mapping is also checked. The mapped byte stream must fit into a Sync Manager’s memory area.

Possible Solutions:

• Make sure the generated Files of the Industrial Communications Creator are always applied to all participants of the network

  • Compile and flash the source code to the SubDevice

  • Update the EEPROM image of the SubDevice

  • Update the ESI File in the Engineering Tool of the MainDevice and make sure the updated version is used

  • Update the configuration of the MainDevice

• Ensure start addresses of the Sync Manager memory area is greater than or equal 0x1000

• Avoid interference of memory areas between Sync Managers

  • A Mailbox Sync Manager’s memory area is defined by its start address and the size of the Sync Manager

  • An Input or Output Sync Manager’s memory area is defined by its start address and three times the size of the Sync Manager (3-buffer mode)

  • The size of the Input and Output Sync Managers is defined by the default PDO mapping

  • The start addresses of all Sync Managers and the sizes of the Mailbox Sync Managers can be defined in the Industrial Communication Creator (they are found in the Subindices of object 0x1C00)