What the W1013 alarm means

The axis encoder backup battery is approaching end of life. Ignore this warning and absolute position will be lost at the next power-off — producing the far more expensive re-zeroing job. We see this alarm constantly when servicing Kawasaki E / F / C series (AS language) systems, and the first on-site pass usually pins down the cause.

Most common causes

  • Battery aged beyond its service interval
  • Robot stored long-term without power
  • Poor battery contact
  • Cold environment accelerating battery drain
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. Replace the encoder battery assembly (inside the arm rear panel on most models) at the next convenient stop
  2. Replace batteries for ALL axes at once, including conveyor axes
  3. Never power off the controller until the new battery is installed
  4. After replacement, jog each axis near its scribe mark and confirm zero values
  5. Add battery replacement to the annual PM checklist
Safety first: For Kawasaki w1013, encoder alarms often mean position data cannot be trusted: actual pose may disagree with the system record, so releasing a brake or jogging carries unexpected-motion risk. On site you may look at after confirming power-off the first step yourself: Replace the encoder battery assembly (inside the arm rear panel on most models) at the next convenient stop. Beyond that it is position feedback and brake release work - leave it to a professional.

How we diagnose encoder alarms on site

Kawasaki w1013 belongs to the encoder & position family. On Kawasaki w1013 the failing stage is encoder boards acquire absolute or incremental feedback per model; a battery holds zero on the E-Controller / D-Controller / F-Controller - the feedback path: encoder body, encoder cable, battery, measuring board and the stored position memory. We start reading Kawasaki w1013 at the pendant ERROR HISTORY with AS error numbers (D / E / P prefixes).

The chain involved in Kawasaki w1013 runs: motor-side encoder -> encoder cable -> drive / measuring board acquisition -> position count and zero data -> battery-held memory.

If Kawasaki w1013 shows Battery aged beyond its service interval and tracks arm pose, the hard case arrives: Encoder cables flexing in a drag chain fatigue their copper cores: open at one pose, conducting at another. This is the nastiest to reproduce because it is intermittent. We jog the suspect axis near the pose recorded at alarm time and measure continuity while moving, watching the feedback for jumps. If the cable in that chain is past its rated bend count, we recommend replacing the whole run rather than splicing, even when this repair holds.

Field notes on this page cover Kawasaki w1013 (Encoder Battery Voltage Low (Warning)); written by the Henghuan repair team, updated 2026-10-01.

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Related Encoder & Position alarms

E1029 — Encoder Revolution Count Abnormal (Axis XX) E1030 — Encoder Data Abnormal (Axis XX) E1033 — Encoder Line Error (Axis XX) E1511 — Encoder Battery Voltage Low [Servo] E1516 — Encoder Data Abnormal (Multiple Joints) D1500 — Axis Encoder Read Error
Same family: this code belongs to the Encoder & position alarms family - the page collects all Encoder & position-family codes we have handled, with the common inspection order and spares.
Other brands: we also keep field-fix libraries for Staubli · Epson · Nachi and more — see the complete alarm code hub.

Frequently asked questions

QWhat does the Kawasaki w1013 alarm mean?

The axis encoder backup battery is approaching end of life. Ignore this warning and absolute position will be lost at the next power-off — producing the far more expensive re-zeroing job. We see this alarm constantly when servicing Kawasaki E / F / C series (AS language) systems, and the first on-site pass usually pins down the cause. Kawasaki w1013 sits in the encoder & position family; on our work orders the highest-frequency trigger for this code is "Battery aged beyond its service interval".

QCan I clear a Kawasaki w1013 alarm myself?

Whether Kawasaki w1013 clears on its own depends on the outcome of "Replace the encoder battery assembly (inside the arm rear panel on most models) at the next convenient stop". Finish the flow with "Add battery replacement to the annual PM checklist" to confirm Kawasaki w1013 - do not skip it. If that step is clean, the second most frequent cause on Kawasaki w1013 is "Robot stored long-term without power". Do not chase takt through a repeating Kawasaki w1013. Left alone, encoder & position faults tend to graduate from repairable to must-replace.

QFor encoder alarms like Kawasaki w1013, can it be fixed in one visit?

The commonest causes we see on Kawasaki w1013 are "Battery aged beyond its service interval, Robot stored long-term without power, Poor battery contact", so we stock the van against those. For Kawasaki w1013 specifically, we carry feedback-path parts: encoder cables, battery packs, connector pins and the measuring-board type data for the brand. For Kawasaki w1013, encoder alarms are mostly broken cores and dead batteries, both of which ride in the van, so most clear in one visit. Before we roll, tell us what Kawasaki w1013 shows on the pendant ERROR HISTORY with AS error numbers (D / E / P prefixes) and what the machine was doing - phone or video triage is free.

This page on Kawasaki w1013 was compiled from actual repair records of the Henghuan Robotics repair team. Alarm notes are our own summary for troubleshooting reference only and may vary with controller and software version — please consult Kawasaki documentation or contact us if in doubt. Henghuan is an independent service provider, not affiliated with or endorsed by Kawasaki.