Last updated: 10/09/2025

Area Scanner - Troubleshooting Guide

TG0028

Introduction

This troubleshooting guide will show you how to troubleshoot the SICK safety area scanner configured with a Haas machine.

 NOTE: For area scanner installation onto a Haas machine, refer to the Area Scanner - Installation - AD0687 and Area Scanner - Software Setup - AD0688 procedure for more information. 

IMPORTANT: For more information directly on the SICK Safety Area Scanner, refer to the SICK microScan3 Safety Laser Scanner manual for more information. 

IMPORTANT: DO NOT OPERATE THE ROBOT UNTIL YOU HAVE PROPERLY CONFIGURED AND TESTED THE OPERATION OF THE SAFETY DEVICE.

Symptom Table

SYMPTOM POSSIBLE CAUSE CORRECTIVE ACTION

The Safety Device Icon does not clear when the Area Scanner is not tripped.

                   

 The electrical connections are not correct. Check the connections from the Area Scanner to I/O PCB. Refer to the Electrical Schematic section below. 
There is something interferring the Area Scanner protective field. Remove the object interferring the Area Scanner protective field.

The protective field's response time is too slow.

 The area scanner is scanning the object inside the protective field too many times before reacting.  Go to Configuration > Monitoring Plane to lower the multiple sampling. 
The protective field can detect large objects, but not smaller objects.  The object resolution is set too high--this defines the minimum size that an object must be to be detected by the protective field.  Go to Configuration > Monitoring Plane to lower the object resolution.
Area scanner will not connect with the computer. On Safety Designer under Configuration and then Read Out, verify that checksums of both area scanner and computer software are the same. If they don't, the configuration of the two devices does not match up. 

 

Update the software version of Safety Designer. 

Alarms

ALARM DISPLAY ALARM MEANING OSSD State¹

The protective field is clear.  ON
The protective field is not clear.  OFF
The area scanner has a fault. The specific fault type is shown with 2 characters on the LED display. To learn about each fault type, refer to page 125 - 127 of the SICK Safety Area Scanner manual.  OFF
The area scanner lens is 20% contaminated. Clean the lens with lens cloth or anti-static plastic cleaner. ON
The area scanner lens is 35% contaminated. Clean the lens with lens cloth or anti-static plastic cleaner. OFF
All safety function have stopped. Restart the area scanner. OFF
The device is not configured.  OFF
  1. NOTE: The OSSD state tells whether the output safety switching device is ON or OFF. When the protective field is triggered, the OSSD turns ON and the robot motion will stop. When the protective field is clear, the OSSD turns OFF and the robot motion will continue. 

Display Screen

There are four LED lights located directly above the display screen that shine depending on the state of the area scanner:

[1] The red LED represents when the OSSD pair is in the OFF state.

[2] The green LED represents when the OSSD pair is in the ON state. 

[3] The left yellow LED represents when the warning field is interrupted.

[4] The right yellow LED flashes when the restart interlock has been triggered. The restart interlock is not an option on machines, unless personally configured otherwise. 

There are four buttons located directly left of the display screen that can change simple setting and show more information about a specific alarm. To see more information in text form, press the arrows [5] or check [6] button to navigate. 

NOTE: These buttons [5, 6] and the display screen are useful tools when trying to troubleshoot an alarm. 

The display screen can also show device information of it's hardware, device code, firmware version, configurations and more. 

Diagnostics

Under Diagnostics, click on Message History to view recorded past data from the area scanner.

This shows previous error messages, warnings, etc. that provide more information on the specific problem by giving information on the time occurrence, reason for the error, solution, and any other relevant information. This page can be helpful when troubleshooting the area scanner's faults.

Electrical Schematic

 NOTE: Connect the area scanner cable 09-0625 from the area scanner [1] to the machine's interface box (or wall's outlet if stand alone area scanner) with the M12 connection. 

Service Home Area Scanner - Troubleshooting Guide - TG0028