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title: "EtherCAT "Network Communications Not Running" — Systematic Troubleshooting" date: 2026-05-06 search: boost: 4.0

ISSUE — EtherCAT "Network Communications Not Running" — Systematic Troubleshooting

CONFIRMED RESOLVED BOTH BOLT BOLT JR

Summary

Comprehensive troubleshooting guide for "EtherCAT network communications are not running" on Bolt and Bolt Jr systems. The seven most common causes are: faulty or unseated EtherCAT cable, InTime not running, cifX PCIe card not fully seated, internal barrel plug power failure inside the base, cifX driver files missing after a PC clone, wrong cifX port selected, or a change in EtherCAT slave configuration (check 24V power to the track amplifier).

Symptoms

  • "EtherCAT network communications are not running"
  • EtherCAT card in PC shows ERR light (red)
  • EtherCAT card shows fewer than expected green lights (should be 2 steady green + 1 blinking)
  • CS8 controller shows E on its display window (instead of A for normal)
  • InTime appears to start but EtherCAT does not connect
  • Swapping cables and PCs does not resolve it

Systems Affected

  • Bolt (Staubli — EtherCAT via cifX card, all confirmed)
  • Bolt Jr (Staubli — EtherCAT via cifX card)
  • Not applicable to Bolt X, Jr+, Cinebot Mini/Max (these use standard ethernet, not EtherCAT)

Software Environment

BOTH

Background — EtherCAT Network Architecture

The Bolt (and Bolt Jr) use a Hilscher cifX PCIe card for EtherCAT communication to the Staubli CS8 controller. This is a dedicated real-time fieldbus — completely separate from the standard Windows network and the InTime root network.

  • cifX card port → directly to Staubli CS8 (EtherCAT)
  • InTime root network → RT14 switch, Ultibox, turntable etc.
  • Windows ethernet → file sharing, internet (keep separate from above)

The Bolt X, Jr+, Cinebot series do NOT use EtherCAT — they use standard ethernet through the root network.

"The only robots that use EtherCAT are the Staubl is (Original Bolt and Bolt Jr). Yaskawas (Bolt X), Mitsubishis (Jr+ and Mini ModelMover), and the URs (Cinebots) all use ethernet." — Dan Gottesman (confirmed by Simon Wakley)

Possible Causes

  1. Faulty or unseated EtherCAT cable (most common)
  2. InTime not running — EtherCAT requires InTime to be active
  3. EtherCAT card (cifX) not fully seated in PCIe slot
  4. Power supply to internal ethernet distribution box has failed (loose barrel plug from transport)
  5. cifX driver/configuration files missing after PC clone or SSD swap
  6. Wrong port used on cifX card — cifX has 2 RJ45 ports; only one works (other should be blocked)
  7. ERR light = slave config change — check 24V power to track amplifier

Solutions

Solution A — Cable check (first step always)

CONFIRMED BOTH

Contributor(s): ~ David Chia, ~ Peter Constan-Tatos — multiple incidents

Steps

  1. Try a different EtherCAT cable.
  2. Unplug both ends and firmly reseat. Jiggle slightly and look for green lights.
  3. Verify the cable is in the correct port on the cifX card (the other port should be physically blocked or unused).
  4. Check the CS8 end — Amphenol plugs on older rigs are a weak point; pull out and reseat firmly.
  5. After each cable change, check for 2 steady green + 1 blinking on the cifX card.

Solution B — Check and restart InTime

CONFIRMED BOTH

Contributor(s): ~ Simon Wakley, Timothy Heys Cerchio — 2023-03-16

Steps

  1. Open INtime Explorer (in Windows system tray or Start menu).
  2. Expand Node A and verify cifxsthg.eta (or cifxecat.rta) is running.
  3. If it shows as stopped or errored: right-click → Start.
  4. Confirm it is set to auto-load in Node A configuration.
  5. If unsure: close Flair, restart InTime service from INtime Monitor, reopen Flair.

Notes

"Open Intime explorer and make sure that cifxsthg.eta is running. Should be set to start in the auto load config for node A. Also must be plugged into the correct port on that card" — Simon Wakley

"Intime is not running!" — Timothy Heys Cerchio (confirming the root cause in the 2023-03-16 incident)

Green lights diagnostic: - 2 steady green + 1 blinking = correct EtherCAT communication - Fewer or different = InTime not running, bad cable, or card issue

Solution C — Restart Node A from INtime Monitor

CONFIRMED BOTH

Contributor(s): ~ Colin Michael Quinn — 2024-11-20

Steps

  1. Close Flair completely.
  2. Open INtime Monitor.
  3. Locate Node A and restart it.
  4. Wait for Node A to fully initialise.
  5. Reopen Flair.

Solution D — Reseat EtherCAT card inside Bolt

CONFIRMED BOTH

Contributor(s): ~ David Chia — 2023-03-05

Steps

  1. Power off the Bolt and Flair PC completely.
  2. Open the Flair PC case.
  3. Locate the cifX PCIe card (Hilscher).
  4. Carefully remove it from the slot.
  5. Re-seat it firmly, ensuring full contact with the slot.
  6. Secure the retaining screw.
  7. Close the case and power on.

For the Bolt internal card (Starc board / axis board): - Main case: 4mm - Card slot retaining screws: T20, then T10

"I had to take out the card inside the Bolt and resit the card. Strangely the cards were not out of line, it was still sitting on the slot correctly. I just did the re sit, shut it down, and it worked after when it came back on." — David Chia

Solution E — Check internal power supply (barrel plug) inside base

CONFIRMED BOTH

Contributor(s): ~ Sebastian Opitz — 2022-02-17

Steps

  1. Open the robot base enclosure.
  2. Locate the ethernet distribution box inside the base.
  3. Check the power supply barrel plug is fully and firmly inserted.
  4. If loose: press firmly in. If damaged: replace the power supply.

"Found the problem. The power supply barrel plug on the ethernet distribution box inside the base was janky and had no power. Probably got loose from the transport." — Sebastian Opitz

This is a known transport risk — the barrel plug can work loose. Check after any transport.

Solution F — Restore cifX config after PC clone or SSD swap

CONFIRMED BOTH

Contributor(s): ~ Riley Morgan, ~ Simon Wakley — 2023-03-18

Steps

  1. After cloning a Flair PC to a new drive, InTime may not have valid cifX configuration.
  2. Copy the InTime license and Node A config files from the old drive to the new one.
  3. Open INtime Explorer and verify the cifX device is assigned to InTime with Polling mode.
  4. Check cifxsthg.eta or cifxecat.rta is present and configured to auto-load.
  5. If still failing, contact MRMC for a license re-apply procedure.

"I fixed my intime issue by copying over license and config." — Riley Morgan

"You might need to re-apply the license code. MRMC would be able to help. Or reinstall InTime." — Simon Wakley

Solution G — Check EtherCAT ERR light (slave config / 24V power)

CONFIRMED BOTH

Contributor(s): ~ Simon Wakley — 2026-05-06

Steps

  1. ERR light on the cifX card = a change in the EtherCAT slave configuration.
  2. Check whether 24V power to the track amplifier has been lost.
  3. Check the servo/amplifier status on the Staubli pendant.
  4. Power cycle everything and observe the lights after boot.

"Err light in Ethercat is usually that there's been a change in the slave config. Maybe the track amp power is lost? The 24V not the 3 phase. What do you see on the servo 1 junior amp?" — Simon Wakley

Timeline

Event Date Contributor
EtherCAT cable swap + restart Node A 2023-03-16 ~ João Varela, Timothy Heys Cerchio
EtherCAT card reseat inside Bolt 2023-03-05 ~ Lennard, ~ David Chia
Power supply barrel plug failure inside base 2022-02-17 ~ Sebastian Opitz
EtherCAT faint light, no steady green — cable issue 2022-08-06 ~ Alexandre Zahnn Ythen, ~ David Chia
InTime clone — license + cifx config must be copied 2023-03-18 ~ Riley Morgan, ~ Simon Wakley
ERR light on EtherCAT card — check slave config and 24V 2026-05-06 ~ Simon Wakley

Official Documentation

Document Section Notes
Flair v7.4 Operator Manual Networking / EtherCAT Not currently in repository; add link when local manual is available.
Precision Track Quick Start Guide — p.40: Limit / datum magnet setup Track hardware reference Track limit/datum wiring context, not the Staubli EtherCAT card itself.
Bolt Network Layout — whole document Entire document Full Bolt network layout and dedicated network separation reference.

Flair Classic Manual — Ch.14A High Speed Robots / EtherCAT — p.235

Flair Classic Manual — Ch.22 Network Direct — p.313

Flair 7 Manual — Ch.11 High Speed Robots / EtherCAT — p.195

Flair 7 Manual — Ch.19 Network Direct — p.263

WhatsApp Excerpts

[5/3/2023, 3:36:21 pm] ~ Lennard: Good morning. I'm getting an ethercat communication error on the bolt. I've switched PCs, ethercat cables, restarted intime, power cycled repeatedly but am still getting "ethercat network communications are not running" and an error on the back of the pc. The Staubli computer in the bolt is also booting with no errors.

[5/3/2023, 5:12:28 pm] ~ David Chia: I had this problem once, we had to take out the card inside the Bolt and resit the card. Strangely the cards were not out of line. I just did the re sit, and somehow it still didn't work, and I shut it down internal and it worked after when it come back on. The screwdriver to open the internal system is a T20 and then a T10 for the card slot. To open the main case it's a 4mm.

[16/3/2023, 2:22:54 am] Timothy Heys Cerchio: But no green lights on Ethercat card to the right? You should have 2 steady green lights and one blinking.

[16/3/2023, 2:25:45 am] Timothy Heys Cerchio: Intime is not running!

[16/3/2023, 2:52:08 am] ~ João Varela: Restarted it and with this cable it allowed the cs8 to have both lights. Grazzie Mille, Timothy!

[17/2/2022, 5:47:21 am] ~ Sebastian Opitz: Found the problem. The power supply barrel plug on the ethernet distribution box inside the base was janky and had no power. Probably got loose from transport.

[6/5/2026, 2:06:49 am] ~ Simon Wakley: Err light in Ethercat is usually that there been a change in the slave config. Maybe the track amp power is lost? The 24v not the 3 phase.

Revision History

Date Change Editor
2026-05-24 Initial extraction Tom D / Claude Code