What the 37098 alarm means

The brake supervision detected an open circuit on one axis brake — that brake cannot be commanded and all brakes were applied. This fault appears in a large share of our ABB IRC5 / OmniCore (RobotWare) service tickets, and the first round of on-site checks usually finds the source.

Most common causes

  • Broken brake cable or connector on the flagged axis
  • Open brake coil
  • Loose terminal at the drive/MCOB
Field note: Most of the time the problem is the first item on the list, so ruling it out saves you half the time.

Step-by-step field fix

  1. Measure continuity of the brake circuit on the flagged axis
  2. Reseat and inspect connectors at the base and cabinet
  3. Replace the brake cable or coil as indicated
  4. Verify brake release after repair
Safety first: For ABB 37098, a failed brake means a vertical axis can drop - a person underneath is a severe-accident case, so we require mechanical support first and no repeated power-on trials. What you can check yourself first is Measure continuity of the brake circuit on the flagged axis; a dropping vertical axis handling is not a DIY job. On ABB 37098: the only safe self-action is stopping the axis, holding power off and supporting the arm mechanically; gap measurement, torque testing and brake replacement are engineer work.

How we diagnose brake faults on site

ABB 37098 belongs to the brake family. On ABB 37098 the failing stage is DSQC drive modules (DSQC 600 generation; OmniCore drive units) on the IRC5 / OmniCore - the electromagnetic brake: brake supply, coil, friction lining and mechanical gap - directly tied to whether an axis can drop. We start reading ABB 37098 at the FlexPendant event log and system diagnostics, with the cabinet status LEDs.

The chain involved in ABB 37098 runs: brake control signal -> brake supply circuit -> electromagnetic coil -> friction lining and disc -> axis holding.

Broken brake cable or connector on the flagged axis on ABB 37098 is often not the brake itself: A brake that will not release is often not a bad brake but a short supply. The brake needs rated voltage to release fully; burnt relay contacts in its supply circuit, undersized conductors dropping voltage, or a weak supply module leave the brake half-open - it appears to work while actually running on friction, and then it burns. We measure actual voltage at the brake terminals against the nameplate; beyond the allowed drop we chase the supply circuit, not the brake.

Field notes on this page cover ABB 37098 (Brake Open Circuit Fault (Axis N)); written by the Henghuan repair team, updated 2026-10-01.

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Related Brakes alarms

37096 — Brake Power Fault (MCOB/MCB) 37097 — Brake Short Circuit Fault (Axis N) 37101 — Brake Failure — Mechanical Unit May Collapse
Same family: this code belongs to the Brake alarms family - the page collects all Brake-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 37098 alarm mean?

The brake supervision detected an open circuit on one axis brake — that brake cannot be commanded and all brakes were applied. This fault appears in a large share of our ABB IRC5 / OmniCore (RobotWare) service tickets, and the first round of on-site checks usually finds the source. ABB 37098 sits in the brake family; on our work orders the highest-frequency trigger for this code is "Broken brake cable or connector on the flagged axis".

QCan I clear a ABB 37098 alarm myself?

Whether ABB 37098 clears on its own depends on the outcome of "Measure continuity of the brake circuit on the flagged axis". Finish the flow with "Verify brake release after repair" to confirm ABB 37098 - do not skip it. If that step is clean, the second most frequent cause on ABB 37098 is "Open brake coil". After clearing ABB 37098, watch it for one shift. A second trip means stop and let an engineer arrive with the right test gear for a dropping vertical axis.

QWith a brake alarm like ABB 37098, can we keep producing for now?

The commonest causes we see on ABB 37098 are "Broken brake cable or connector on the flagged axis, Open brake coil, Loose terminal at the drive/MCOB", so we stock the van against those. For ABB 37098 specifically, we carry the brand's common brake assemblies, relays and supply modules; every change ends with a static hold test. For ABB 37098, brake faults carry drop risk so we prioritise them, and after replacement we hold-test on site before handover. Before we roll, tell us what ABB 37098 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 37098 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.