managing fault codes in visionlink

1Caterpillar: Confidential Green Managing Fault Codes in VisionLink

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Overview

Fault code monitoring for a mixed fleet of assets that includes a variety of models, model years and system software

versions can lead to confusion due to the evolution of individual product diagnostic strategies. It may be helpful to

understand the basic premise of event and diagnostic codes, referred to in this document as fault codes.

Understanding Event and Diagnostic Codes (Fault Codes)

A fault code, by definition, is an indication of an unacceptable state or condition. Diagnostic codes are embedded

software strategies that detect and report problems normally associated with the electronic control systems

themselves. Event codes are embedded software strategies that can detect and report problems normally

associated with the system being controlled. An event code may be thought of as requiring intervention and may

include problems such as high coolant temperature and low oil pressure, or operator-driven codes, such as coasting

in neutral and engine over-speed.

Fault codes are generated by individual ECMs (Electronic Control Modules) installed on the asset. The codes that

are supported and the parameters by which they are triggered are dictated by the software version on each module.

While service tools, such as Cat® Electronic Technician, are used to view these codes on-board, Product Link™

simply transmits these codes to be viewed in the off-board applications, i.e. VisionLink and associated data feeds.

Product Link does not generate or manipulate fault codes from other on-board ECMs.

Today’s diagnostic standards seek to detect the point at which failure modes will affect or impact system

performance, health or a pending safety issue before fault codes are activated. While the intention is to eliminate the

generation of nuisance codes without compromising systems and safety, finding just the right strategy to set a code

requires considerable technical analysis.

Troubleshooting procedures and additional service literature should be consulted when planning actions to address

issues identified by fault codes.

Fault Code Severity

The next consideration is determining the severity of the issue. Warning Code Indicators (WCIs) represent the

degree of impact. The following decision tree illustrates the logic used to determine warning levels.

WCIs are displayed as severity in VisionLink.

MANAGING FAULT CODES IN VISIONLINK®


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Many fault codes have thresholds defined to set the warnings to levels 1, 2, or 3 depending on the severity of the

condition. These thresholds can be defined according to the duration that a condition persists or a measure, such as

pressure, temperature, etc. These warning levels are mapped to operator notification, and can trigger flashing dash

lights, audible alarm or could even result in a derate or shutdown of the asset.

The combination of fault code, on-board warning and operator’s response all contribute to the severity of the fault

codes generated. For example, if an operator were to allow an engine to over-speed to the point that it met the

bottom threshold, receive notification via dash lights and then correct the operation, the only code logged in the fault

code history would be a level 1, or yellow code. If the operator were to ignore all notification and continue to allow

the engine to over-speed, a code may be escalated to level 2 or 3.

Managing Fault Codes in VisionLink

There are several features in VisionLink that help manage the flow and visibility of fault code information.

Reporting Configuration (Satellite)

The Fault Code Reporting configuration screen displays the schedule for fault codes to be sent from the asset for

display in VisionLink. This functionality is only available for satellite Product Link PL321 modules.


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From the Fault Code configuration screen in VisionLink, a drop-down box is available next to each setting to

configure the reporting frequency. The options available are Immediately, Next and Never. Once the settings have

been configured, clicking “Send” will push an Over The Air (OTA) command to the asset, updating the frequencies.

The following table describes the parameters of reporting configuration.

Field Description Sample Values

Information Event

Frequency:

Level 1

Defines when to send messages from the Product Link system

when a level 1 event is reported from other ECMs on the

asset.

Immediately: sends a

message when an

event occurs.

Next: queues messages

about events and

sends the messages

in a batch, based on

the next scheduled

interval that is

calculated from the

report start time.

Never: never logs

messages or sends

messages about

events.

Warning Event

Frequency:

Level 2



asset.

Severe Event

Frequency:

Level 3



asset.

Diagnostic Report

Frequency


when a diagnostic code is reported from other ECMs on the

asset.

Event/Diagnostic

Filter Interval

Determines when Product Link will report a recurrence of an

event or a diagnostic code. This is measured in units of asset

operating hours. All events and diagnostics are recorded and

may be viewed with Cat ET.

The default value of 4 hours means that the message for a

specific event or diagnostic update will not be transmitted until

the asset has operated for 4 hours after the previously

transmitted occurrence of that event or diagnostic update. If

the event or diagnostic occurs again within 4 hours, another

message will not be sent.

Minimum value: 4 hours

Default value: 4 hours

“Next” Scheduled

Interval

Sets the time period before an event or diagnostic message

update is sent. This is measured in units of real time or clock

hours. This time period is calculated from the Report Start

Time.

The default value of 168 hours, or 1 week, is only valid if the

event or diagnostic report intervals are set to “Next.”

A fault code that appears more than once in this time frame

will only be reported one time.

Minimum value: 24 hours

Default value: 168 hours (1

week)


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Reporting Configuration (Cellular)

The option to configure report settings is not available for cellular modules (PL52X, PL42X). All first occurrences of

event and diagnostic information are reported immediately. If the event or diagnostic occurs again within one asset

operating hour of the last, this occurrence will not be transmitted, but instead displayed as an occurrence count in a

hover over the next time the same fault occurs outside the one asset operating hour.

Alert Configuration

When configured, alerts within VisionLink can be sent to an e-mail account or as an SMS text to a mobile phone.

These alerts can contain information, such as events, diagnostics, planned maintenance notifications, fuel loss or

other status information about an asset. Alerts also can be configured to notify a user if an asset has exited or

entered a defined geographic boundary.

For events and diagnostics, there are three levels of severity that coincide with WCIs: high, medium and low. When

configuring an alert, all levels or a combination of levels can be selected, allowing for specific information to be sent

to the user.

The following table compares VisionLink alert levels to Cat ET warning indicators:

VisionLink Alert Levels Cat ET Warning Category Indicator

Level 3 (High) Level 3

Level 2 (Medium) Level 2

Level 1 (Low) Level 1

Using the “Customize” feature, VisionLink notifications can be customized to include and exclude specific codes.

When customizing, an all-inclusive list of available events and diagnostics, known as “exceptions,” is provided for the

user to select from. If a user would like to receive an alert on specific fault codes only, then those diagnostics and

events should be applied to the “Always send alerts for” section. If a notification is not required for a specific

diagnostic or event, it can be applied to the “Never send alerts for” section.


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Resolving Fault Code Alerts

The status of an alert can be changed within VisionLink to facilitate an alert management process. When an alert is

generated, its status is set to “Open.” Open alerts for an asset can be viewed within the Alerts tab of the main

application as well as from the VisionLink mobile application. A user managing the alerts can then record any notes

necessary and change the status to “Resolved” after action has been taken. For example, when an Air Filter

Restriction Warning alert is received, action can be taken to order a new filter and dispatch a maintenance person to

perform the replacement. This information can be entered in the “Notes” section of the alert and then once service is

complete the status can be updated to “Resolved”.


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Once the status has been changed to “Resolved,” the alert will be available within the VisionLink Alerts tab of the

main application if the “Show” selection is set to “All” or “Resolved.”

Viewing Fault Codes in VisionLink and VisionLink Mobile Websites

History of fault codes can be viewed in either VisionLink or VisionLink mobile websites. For VisionLink users,

navigate to the Health tab and select Fault Codes. There are several filters that may be applied on this screen which

will vary the results provided. VisionLink can display up to 13 months of historical data, by default it displays the

current week. To view earlier fault code information, use the date picker to select a date range to see. The

information may also be filtered down by either Events or Diagnostics or All as well as the severity options of High,

Medium or Low.

From the VisionLink mobile website home page, navigate to the Fault Codes feature, and select the assets to view.

There is only one filter option in the VisionLink mobile website and this is the date range. The options for date

filtering are Today, Last 7 Days and Last 30 Days.


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Fault Code History

VisionLink Compared to On-Board the Asset

Be aware that fault codes can be manually “cleared” or removed from the asset’s ECM memory by a technician on-

board, using Cat ET. Fault codes may also automatically be removed from an asset’s ECM according to data

retention parameters defined on the hardware such as timeframe or capacity. For example: Some ECMs are

programmed to automatically delete logged event codes after 50 asset operating hours if an active code of the same

is not generated. In either instance, once the fault data has been transmitted to VisionLink, fault code history in the

application will not be affected, but may differ from what can be viewed on-board using Cat ET.

If fault code information has not been deleted using Cat ET, fault information will align. Within Cat ET the occurrence

count is displayed in the “Occ.” column. This same information is available in VisionLink by hovering over a specific

diagnostic or event. VisionLink will provide the latest occurrence date as a time stamp whereas Cat ET displays the

hour meter when it occurred.

Cat ET Fault Code Screen

VisionLink Health Screen

More Information on Occurrence Count

When a fault code occurs for the first time, the initial instance is displayed in VisionLink. This applies to both the

cellular and satellite modules.

If the fault code is generated on a satellite module, the next instance of this specific fault will not be displayed until

after four asset operating hours have passed. In the example below, occurrences 2, 3 and 4 will not display in

VisionLink. It is not until after the four asset operating hours have passed that a new line will be displayed when the

specific fault code is generated. For the fifth occurrence, since it was beyond four asset operating hours of the first


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fault code occurrence, a new line is introduced and the occurrence count will show an updated “Occurrence count” of

5. This is configurable from four asset operating hours to 65535 hours as defined above.

If the fault code is generated on a cellular module, the next instance of this specific fault will not be displayed until

after one asset operating hour has passed. In the example below, occurrences 2 and 4 will not display in VisionLink

because they occurred within one asset operating hour of the last fault code. For the 3rd and 5th occurrences, since

they were beyond one asset operating hour, a new line is displayed and the occurrence count will show an updated

“Occurrence count” of 3 and 5, respectively.

2:001:0012:00 3:00 4:00

1 2 4 5

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3

4

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2

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Will not display until after another event occurs after 4 asset operating hours



Will not display until after another event occurs after 1 asset operating hour

Will not display until after another event occurs after 1 asset operating hour

Tim

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VisionLink Online Help

For additional information on configuring hardware and setting up alerts in VisionLink, please see the Online Help

system available under the “Help” dropdown in the VisionLink application.

© 2013 Caterpillar

All Rights Reserved

CAT, CATERPILLAR, their respective logos, “Caterpillar Yellow,” Product Link and the “Power Edge” trade dress, as well as corporate and product

identity used herein, are trademarks of Caterpillar and may not be used without permission.

VisionLink is a trademark of Trimble Navigation Limited, registered in the United States and in other countries.

managing fault codes in visionlink

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