CiA Draft Recommendation 303 
  CANopen 
Additional specification 
Part 3: Indicator specification 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Version: 1.3 
14.08.2006 
 CAN in Automation (CiA) e. V. 
Additional specification – Part 3: Indicator specification 
Changes 
Publication of version 1.0 as draft recommendation 
Publication of version 1.2 as draft recommendation 
Publication of version 1.3 as draft recommendation 
- minor editorial changes 
 
 
 
 
 
 
HISTORY 
Date 
2001-07-01 
2005-01-01 
2006-08-14 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
General information on licensing and patents 
CAN in AUTOMATION (CiA) calls attention to the possibility that some of the elements of this 
CiA specification may be subject of patent rights. CiA shall not be responsible for identifying 
any or all such patent rights. 
Because  this  specification  is  licensed  free  of  charge,  there  is  no  warranty  for  this 
specification,  to  the  extent  permitted  by  applicable  law.  Except  when  otherwise  stated  in 
writing  the  copyright  holder  and/or  other  parties  provide  this  specification  “as  is”  without 
warranty  of  any  kind,  either  expressed  or  implied,  including,  but  not  limited  to,  the  implied 
warranties  of  merchantability  and  fitness  for  a  particular  purpose.  The  entire  risk  as  to  the 
correctness and completeness of the specification is with you. Should this specification prove 
failures, you assume the cost of all necessary servicing, repair or correction. 
© CiA 2008 
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or 
utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, 
without permission in writing from CiA at the address below. 
CAN in Automation e. V. 
Kontumazgarten 3 
DE - 90429 Nuremberg, Germany 
Tel.: +49-911-928819-0 
Fax: +49-911-928819-79 
Url: www.can-cia.org 
Email: headquarters@can-cia.org 
2 
 
 CiA 2008 – All rights reserved 
Additional specification – Part 3: Indicator specification 
 
 
CONTENTS 
1  Scope ............................................................................................................................... 4 
2  References ....................................................................................................................... 4 
3  Abbreviations and definitions ............................................................................................ 4 
3.1  Abbreviations........................................................................................................... 4 
3.2  Definitions ............................................................................................................... 4 
3.2.1  General ....................................................................................................... 4 
3.2.2  Using two CANopen LEDs ........................................................................... 4 
3.2.3  Using one bicolor CANopen LED ................................................................. 4 
Indicators.......................................................................................................................... 4 
Introduction ............................................................................................................. 4 
4.1 
4.2 
Indicator states and flash rates ................................................................................ 5 
4.3  CANopen error LED................................................................................................. 6 
4.4  CANopen run LED ................................................................................................... 7 
4.5  CANopen status LED............................................................................................... 7 
4 
 
 
 CiA 2008 – All rights reserved 
 
3 
Additional specification – Part 3: Indicator specification 
 
 
1  Scope 
A common behavior of indicators helps service personnel to identify communication problems 
quickly  without  checking  manuals  for  each  device.  This  recommendation  intends  to  specify 
the implementation of status LEDs (Light Emitting Diode) on CANopen devices. 
indicators.  Additional 
This  recommendation  only  describes 
application-related indicators can be present. Their use is either described in the appropriate 
device profile or is manufacturer specific. 
the  communication-related 
2  References 
/CiA301/ 
CiA DS 301, CANopen application layer and communication profile 
3  Abbreviations and definitions 
3.1  Abbreviations 
LED 
Light emitting diode 
ERR  Error 
I/O  
Input/output 
3.2  Definitions 
3.2.1 
General 
The definitions given in /CiA301/ apply to this draft recommendation too. As the manufacturer 
is  free  to  use  one  bicolor  LED  or  two  single  LEDs,  the  corresponding  of  the  two  following 
definitions shall apply. 
3.2.2 
Using two CANopen LEDs 
In case of using two single CANopen LEDs, the following definitions shall apply: 
One LED shall be red and shall be labeled as ERR LED. This LED shall be called the 
error LED 
The other LED shall be green and shall be called and labeled as RUN LED. 
3.2.3 
Using one bicolor CANopen LED 
In case of using one bicolor CANopen LED the following definitions shall apply: 
 
 
The colors provided by the LED shall be red and green 
The LED shall be labeled as STATUS LED 
4  Indicators 
4.1 
Introduction 
It is either recommended to support two single CANopen LEDs or one bicolor LED. Additional 
LEDs for power indication, I/O functionality etc. may also exist. 
4 
 
 CiA 2008 – All rights reserved 
 
 
4.2 
Additional specification – Part 3: Indicator specification 
Indicator states and flash rates 
The following indicator states are defined: 
LED on 
LED off 
LED flickering 
LED blinking 
The LED shall be constantly on. 
The LED shall be constantly off. 
shall 
indicate 
approximately  
10 Hz: on for approximately 50 ms and off for approximately 50 ms. 
iso-phase  on  and  off  with  a 
the 
frequency  of 
the 
shall 
indicate 
approximately  
2,5  Hz:  on  for  approximately  200  ms  followed  by  off  for  approximately 
200 ms. 
iso-phase  on  and  off  with  a 
frequency  of 
LED single flash 
shall indicate one short flash (approximately 200 ms) followed by a long 
off phase (approximately 1000 ms). 
LED double flash 
shall indicate  a  sequence  of  two short  flashes  (approximately  200  ms), 
separated  by  an  off  phase  (approximately  200  ms).  The  sequence  is 
finished by a long off phase (approximately 1000 ms). 
LED triple flash  
shall  indicate  a  sequence  of  three  short  flashes  (approximately  200 
ms), separated by an off phase (approximately 200 ms). The sequence 
is finished by a long off phase (approximately 1000 ms). 
LED quadruple flash   shall indicate a sequence of four short flashes (approximately 200 ms), 
separated  by  an  off  phase  (approximately  200  ms).  The  sequence  is 
finished by a long off phase (approximately 1000 ms). 
Figure 1 shows the indicator states and flash rates. 
 CiA 2008 – All rights reserved 
 
5 
 
 
Additional specification – Part 3: Indicator specification 
 
 
Figure 1 – Indicator states and flash rates 
4.3  CANopen error LED 
The CANopen error LED shall indicate the status of the CAN physical layer and errors due to 
missing  CAN  messages  (sync,  guard  or  heartbeat).  If  at  a  given  time  several  errors  are 
present, the error with the highest number shall be indicated (e.g. if NMT error and sync error 
occur, the sync error is indicated). 
Table 1 shows the CANopen error LED truth table. 
6 
 
 CiA 2008 – All rights reserved 
onsingle flash(green)off200ms200ms1000msonsingle flash(red)off1000ms200msonblinking(red)off200ms200msonflickering(red)offonflickering(green)off50 msonblinking(green)off200ms200msdouble  flashontriple flash(red)off200ms200ms200ms200ms200ms1000msondouble flash(red)off200ms200ms200ms1000msontriple flash(green)off200ms200ms200ms200ms200ms1000ms200msonquadruple flash (red)off200ms200ms200ms200ms200ms1000ms200ms200ms
 
 
Additional specification – Part 3: Indicator specification 
Table 1 – CANopen error LED truth table 
ERR LED 
State 
Description 
Category 
Off 
Flickering 
No error 
AutoBitrate/ 
LSS 
Blinking 
Single flash 
Invalid 
Configuration 
Warning limit 
reached 
The device is in working condition 
Mandatory 
The auto-bitrate detection is in 
progress or LSS services are in 
progress (alternately flickering with 
run LED)1 
General configuration error 
At least one of the error counters of 
the CAN controller has reached or 
exceeded the warning level (too 
many error frames) 
Optional 
Optional 
Mandatory 
Double flash 
Error control event  A guard event (NMT-slave or NMT-
master) or a heartbeat event 
(heartbeat consumer) has occurred 
Mandatory 
Triple flash 
Sync error 
Quadruple 
flash 
Event-timer error 
The sync message has not been 
received within the configured 
communication cycle period time out 
(see object dictionary entry 1006h) 
An expected PDO has not been 
received before the event-timer 
elapsed 
Conditional; 
Mandatory if object 
1006h is supported 
Optional 
On 
Bus off 
The CAN controller is bus off 
Mandatory 
4.4  CANopen run LED 
The  CANopen  run  LED  shall  indicate  the  status  of  the  CANopen  network  state  machine. 
Whilst the device is executing a reset the CANopen run LED shall be off. 
Table 2 shows the CANopen Run LED truth table. 
Table 2 – CANopen Run LED truth table 
CAN Run LED 
Flickering 
State 
AutoBitrate/LSS 
Description 
The auto-bitrate detection is in progress 
or LSS services are in progress 
(alternately flickering with error LED) 
Blinking 
PRE-
OPERATIONAL 
The device is in state PRE-
OPERATIONAL  
Category 
Optional 
Mandatory 
Single flash 
STOPPED 
The device is in state STOPPED  
Mandatory 
Double flash 
Triple flash 
 
Program/ Firmware 
download 
Reserved for further use 
A software download is running on the 
device 
 
Optional 
On 
OPERATIONAL 
The device is in state OPERATIONAL   Mandatory 
4.5  CANopen status LED 
If one bicolor status LED is used instead of two single color LEDs, this LED shall indicate both 
the physical bus status and the status of the CANopen state machine.  
In  case  there  is  a  conflict  between  turning  the  LED  on  green  versus  red,  the  LED  may  be 
turned on red. Apart from this situation, the bicolor status LED shall combine the behavior of 
the CAN error LED and those of the CAN run LED.  
Figure 2 and Figure 3 show the examples for behavior of bicolor CANopen status LED: 
————————— 
1  
 CiA 2008 – All rights reserved 
An LSS master shall flicker its ERROR and RUN LED whilst executing LSS services. 
 
7 
 
 
Additional specification – Part 3: Indicator specification 
Figure 2 – Flickering green/red: Auto-bitrate/LSS 
 
 
Figure 3 – Single flash red combined with blinking green: “CAN warning limit reached” 
during pre-operational state. 
 
8 
 
 CiA 2008 – All rights reserved 
red onoffgreen onred onoffgreen on200ms200ms1000ms