Robotics in Manufacturing
SRVO-073

SRVO-073: CMAL alarm (pulse coder noise/fault)

The encoder is misbehaving in a way that's either a real fault or electrical noise scrambling it - and FANUC's remedy list starts with grounding, which tells you noise is the frequent culprit.

What it means

The encoder is misbehaving in a way that's either a real fault or electrical noise scrambling it - and FANUC's remedy list starts with grounding, which tells you noise is the frequent culprit.

Common causes

Ranked by what technicians most often find, most likely first.

  1. Poor grounding letting noise corrupt the encoder (check the earth cable between controller and robot).
  2. Phantom alongside the SRVO-068/069/070 communication trio.
  3. Failed encoder, robot connection cable, or internal encoder/motor cable.
  4. On auxiliary axes: weak motor-flange grounding.

How to fix it

  1. Check the 068/069/070 trio in the history first.
  2. Verify the controller-to-robot earth connection is secure; on aux axes reinforce the motor flange ground.
  3. Then hardware in order: motor (re-master after), robot connection cable, internal robot cable.
  4. Recovery sequence after fixing the cause: PULSE RESET operation, then power cycle.

Quick facts

Category
Servo
Affected series
R-30iB; R-30iB Mate; R-30iB Plus; R-30iB Mate Plus
Alarm family
SRVO

Related codes

Verified against FANUC documentation (B-83284EN-1).Last reviewed: 2026-07-09.Editorial process