What the 1010 alarm means

$MOVE_ENABLE is false because the external safety chain (E-stop circuit, safety relay or door contacts on X11) is open — the controller refuses all motion until the chain closes. In our KUKA service archive this alarm on KRC2 / KRC4 / KRC5 (KSS) systems shows up constantly, and the first on-site inspection almost always locates it.

Most common causes

  • An E-stop button is still pressed (cell, SmartPad or operator panel)
  • Safety door or guard switch open, misaligned or faulty
  • X11 safety jumper wiring missing or loose after maintenance
  • Faulty external safety relay in the cell
Field note: The first cause is the most common in the field — check it first, then work through the rest.

Step-by-step field fix

  1. Walk the cell and release every E-stop device
  2. Close and verify all safety doors and guard switches
  3. Inspect the X11 safety loop wiring against the cell circuit diagram
  4. Check the external safety relay status LEDs
  5. After closing the chain, reset and confirm $MOVE_ENABLE goes true
Safety first: For KUKA 1010, 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

KUKA 1010 belongs to the safety chain & e-stop family. On KUKA 1010 the failing stage is SIB safety input board / SafeOperation option on the KRC2 / KRC4 / KRC5 - continuity of one series loop: e-stop buttons, door switches, light curtains, safety relays and the enabling device. We start reading KUKA 1010 at the smartPAD message window (KSS message numbers: 1xxx operator, 2xxxx drive) with KPP/KSP module LEDs.

The chain involved in KUKA 1010 runs: e-stop / door / curtain -> safety relay (dual channel) -> controller safety input -> motor-off and brake apply.

On KUKA 1010 (field clue usually An E-stop button is still pressed (cell, SmartPad or operator panel)) we have one hard rule: On this family we have a hard rule: no bypassing the safety loop, no forcing contactors closed, ever. Some sites jumper the door switch to keep running - that removes the entire protection function, and when something happens there is no protective action and no defensible account of responsibility. We have seen a crush injury caused by exactly that jumper, so we would rather wait for parts than do it. If a customer has already jumpered it, we restore the circuit first and then diagnose the real fault.

Field notes on this page cover KUKA 1010 (Move Enable Missing — E-Stop or Safety Relay Open); written by the Henghuan repair team, updated 2026-10-01.

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Related Safety Chain & E-Stop alarms

1001 — Operator Safety Acknowledgment Required 1002 — Drives-On Not Asserted ($DRIVES_ON) 15074 — Safety Junction Error in Drive — Channel N
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 ABB · Yaskawa · Universal Robots and more — see the complete alarm code hub.

Frequently asked questions

QWhat does the KUKA 1010 alarm mean?

$MOVE_ENABLE is false because the external safety chain (E-stop circuit, safety relay or door contacts on X11) is open — the controller refuses all motion until the chain closes. In our KUKA service archive this alarm on KRC2 / KRC4 / KRC5 (KSS) systems shows up constantly, and the first on-site inspection almost always locates it. KUKA 1010 sits in the safety chain & e-stop family; on our work orders the highest-frequency trigger for this code is "An E-stop button is still pressed (cell, SmartPad or operator panel)".

QCan I clear a KUKA 1010 alarm myself?

Whether KUKA 1010 clears on its own depends on the outcome of "Walk the cell and release every E-stop device". Finish the flow with "After closing the chain, reset and confirm $MOVE_ENABLE goes true" to confirm KUKA 1010 - do not skip it. If that step is clean, the second most frequent cause on KUKA 1010 is "Safety door or guard switch open, misaligned or faulty". Do not chase takt through a repeating KUKA 1010. Left alone, safety chain & e-stop faults tend to graduate from repairable to must-replace.

QA safety-chain fault like KUKA 1010 stops the line - how fast can you be here?

The commonest causes we see on KUKA 1010 are "An E-stop button is still pressed (cell, SmartPad or operator panel), Safety door or guard switch open, misaligned or faulty, X11 safety jumper wiring missing or loose after maintenance", so we stock the van against those. For KUKA 1010 specifically, we stock along the loop: safety relays, common door switches, e-stop buttons, light-curtain pairs and terminal blocks. For KUKA 1010, 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 KUKA 1010 shows on the smartPAD message window (KSS message numbers: 1xxx operator, 2xxxx drive) with KPP/KSP module LEDs and what the machine was doing - phone or video triage is free.

This page on KUKA 1010 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 KUKA documentation or contact us. Henghuan is an independent service provider, not affiliated with or endorsed by KUKA.