What the 10013 alarm means

An emergency-stop device has opened the motors-on circuit; all motion stopped immediately and the axes are held by brakes. We see this alarm constantly when servicing ABB IRC5 / OmniCore (RobotWare) systems, and the first on-site pass usually pins down the cause.

Most common causes

  • An E-stop button on the cell, FlexPendant or operator panel is pressed
  • E-stop chain wiring open or damaged
  • Faulty E-stop contact block
Field note: Based on our handling experience the first cause is the most frequent — use it as your starting point.

Step-by-step field fix

  1. Walk the cell and release every E-stop device
  2. Check the FlexPendant E-stop is twisted out
  3. Inspect the E-stop chain wiring for open circuits
  4. Reset and switch to motors-on; if it drops again, isolate the chain section by section
Safety first: For ABB 10013, this alarm is the safety circuit itself: jumpering a door switch or forcing a contactor removes the protection entirely - no protective action when something happens, and no defensible account of responsibility. The self-serviceable action is Walk the cell and release every E-stop device; anything past that falls under the e-stop chain and safety circuit and needs a certified engineer.

How we diagnose safety-chain faults on site

ABB 10013 belongs to the safety chain & e-stop family. On ABB 10013 the failing stage is SafeMove / SafeMove II on the IRC5 / OmniCore - continuity of one series loop: e-stop buttons, door switches, light curtains, safety relays and the enabling device. We start reading ABB 10013 at the FlexPendant event log and system diagnostics, with the cabinet status LEDs.

The chain involved in ABB 10013 runs: e-stop / door / curtain -> safety relay (dual channel) -> controller safety input -> motor-off and brake apply.

ABB 10013 is sometimes designed behaviour, not a fault - Releasing the enabling device (three-position switch) in manual mode triggers a protective stop by design, yet plenty of sites report it as an alarm. The switch enables only in the middle position; fully released or pushed through both open - and pushing through is the instinctive panic reaction, which is exactly what the designers used. Knowing that clears a good share of mysterious protective stops. The real fault is worn contacts inside the switch, showing up as poor contact in the middle position.

Field notes on this page cover ABB 10013 (Emergency Stop State); written by the Henghuan repair team, updated 2026-10-01.

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Related Safety Chain & E-Stop alarms

10012 — Guard Stop (Protective Stop) State
Same family: this code belongs to the Safety chain & e-stop alarms family - the page collects all Safety chain & e-stop-family codes we have handled, with the common inspection order and spares.
Other brands: we also keep field-fix libraries for Yaskawa · Universal Robots · Kawasaki and more — see the complete alarm code hub.

Frequently asked questions

QWhat does the ABB 10013 alarm mean?

An emergency-stop device has opened the motors-on circuit; all motion stopped immediately and the axes are held by brakes. We see this alarm constantly when servicing ABB IRC5 / OmniCore (RobotWare) systems, and the first on-site pass usually pins down the cause. ABB 10013 sits in the safety chain & e-stop family; on our work orders the highest-frequency trigger for this code is "An E-stop button on the cell, FlexPendant or operator panel is pressed".

QCan I clear a ABB 10013 alarm myself?

Whether ABB 10013 clears on its own depends on the outcome of "Walk the cell and release every E-stop device". Finish the flow with "Reset and switch to motors-on; if it drops again, isolate the chain section by section" to confirm ABB 10013 - do not skip it. If that step is clean, the second most frequent cause on ABB 10013 is "E-stop chain wiring open or damaged". After clearing ABB 10013, watch it for one shift. A second trip means stop and let an engineer arrive with the right test gear for the e-stop chain and safety circuit.

QA safety-chain fault like ABB 10013 stops the line - how fast can you be here?

The commonest causes we see on ABB 10013 are "An E-stop button on the cell, FlexPendant or operator panel is pressed, E-stop chain wiring open or damaged, Faulty E-stop contact block", so we stock the van against those. For ABB 10013 specifically, we stock along the loop: safety relays, common door switches, e-stop buttons, light-curtain pairs and terminal blocks. For ABB 10013, a safety-chain fault stops the whole line, so we rank it top priority and pre-triage by phone: door switch, e-stop or relay. Before we roll, tell us what ABB 10013 shows on the FlexPendant event log and system diagnostics, with the cabinet status LEDs and what the machine was doing - phone or video triage is free.

This page on ABB 10013 was written by the Henghuan Robotics repair team from field service experience. Alarm descriptions are our own summary for troubleshooting reference and may vary by controller and software version — when in doubt, check your ABB documentation or contact us. Henghuan is an independent service provider, not affiliated with or endorsed by ABB.