Troubleshooting

This section covers common issues while using the Trossen Arm and their solutions.

Tip

Seeing a [CRITICAL] or [WARNING] message about connecting to the Arm Controller? Start with the Quick Checks below, then see Connection Issues for the specific error.

Quick Checks

Most issues come down to power, cabling, network, or a version mismatch. Before digging into the detailed guides, run through these checks:

Power. The Arm Controller is powered on (status LED solid green or blue, not red) and the joint motor LEDs have turned green, indicating the motors are enabled. Motor LEDs that are off mean the arm is unpowered; motor LEDs stuck red mean the motors never finished enabling. See LED Status.
Cabling. The Ethernet cable is firmly seated on both ends, and the controller-to-arm cable is connected.
Network reachability. The host and Arm Controller are on the same subnet. Confirm the Arm Controller is discoverable:
```
trossen-arm discover
```
See Command Line Interface for details.
Version match. The driver and Arm Controller firmware share the same minor version. See Firmware Upgrade.
Single owner. No other driver instance is currently connected to the Arm Controller.

If the arm has errored (solid or flashing red LED), see Error Codes.

LED Status

The Arm Controller and joint LEDs are the fastest way to read the arm’s state.

LED	State	Meaning
Arm Controller	Solid green	Powered on and healthy, in idle mode.
Arm Controller	Solid blue	Powered on and healthy, in an operating mode other than idle.
Arm Controller	Flashing red	Error at startup. Joints output no torque and the joint motor LEDs are solid red. See Error Codes.
Arm Controller	Solid red	Error during operation. The arm joints are brake-on and the gripper closes with a safe force; the joint motor LEDs stay green. See Error Codes.
Joint motor	Off	The arm is not powered.
Joint motor	Red	Motors are disabled. This is normal briefly during boot-up, before the Arm Controller enables them. If it persists, the motors never finished enabling.
Joint motor	Green	Motors are enabled and operating normally.

See Error Codes for the full list of error codes and how to clear them.