Error Code 50-56...

[timm9]

Has anyone had this error code before? I'm 3 hours from the dealer and all of a sudden I get this code and warning light. Unit will not go forwards or backwards. Shut it down and wait about 5 minutes and it will move again. After about 5 minutes error code and warning light again. The only thing I have done to the unit since last operated is clean, lube, and charge the battery. Error code reference in manual says "CAN comms error."

I called the dealer and was told that it "sounds like a computer issue."

Any suggestions, ideas, or experiences along these lines would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Tim

 

[panther1400]

I can't remember the exact code but that sounds fimilar, I had the same problem and they checked the connections first, but all the electrical connections were good so they had to order a new control box for the drive system and that fixed the problem.

 

[goatman 1]

Don't know that error code, but must have to do with the drive system. My a just gave an error code 50-15 which isn"t in the manual, either the operator manual ot the factory shop manual. My dealer says there is no such error code. This code showed up several days after the inital problem. I had backed out of the shed, and when I put it in reverse, all the wheels spun in different directions, digging 4 holes. After shutting down the engine and restarting several times, it went forward and mowed for 4 hrs with no problem. Days later, same thing, no go, no error code. Two days later, error code 50-15. Today, the stupid thing won"t go, but digs very nice holes. I cant move it or get it up on a trailer. Dealer will fix if I can get it there. Any Ideas?????????

 

[y3ll0w]

I cant move it or get it up on a trailer. Dealer will fix if I can get it there. Any Ideas?????????

Rather costly:

UNI-5000 - Go Jacks Auto Positioning System 5000 lb.

 

[dsb5610]

goatman,

I am picturing the front wheels both trying to pull the machine forward and the back trying to pull it backward. The mental picture has me laughing. Probably not too funny from your view.

The front and back drive motors are indendent. Does each tire reverse direction when you switch from forward to reverse? Which axle spins according to the forward/reverse lever?

Without digging into the manual I am wondering if there is a problem with the forward/reverse lever or following the harness from the lever as it travels towards the axles, a connector off somewhere.

dsb

 

[Rip]

Have you tried putting it in 2 WD? Is there a "reboot" or "reset" procedure of some sort?

All sorts of mysterious computer problems seem to vanish after a reboot.....until next time. May at least get it on the trailer.

Good Luck,
Rip

 

[MrJimi]

disconnect your battery for about 5 minutes.
then hook it back up, that should clear your computer codes

 

[goatman 1]

Thanks for the ideas. The toolcat has no 2wd settings, is constant 3wd. I say 3wd because the only time I have 4wd is when the axles are turning against one another. I checked to see which way thy are turning--in forward the front go forward and the backs go backward. The opposite is true in reverse. However, I think my toolcat got jealous that I was using the John Deere for mowing, because my wife went to get it to clean the horsebarn, and it went like a new one. Go figure.
Goatman

 

[timm9]

It's back!

I知 assuming the correct thing to do is resurrect this thread as opposed to starting a new one. If this is incorrect please accept my apology and move it where ever you feel is appropriate.

As you can see from the previous post(s), I had an issue with the Bobcat Error Code 50-56. After the new console CPU was installed all was good until February when we had 15 days of straight snow totaling 6 ｽ feet, and the Toolcat started to lock up again with the 50-56 error code.

The dealer found that they could not find an available console CPU in the country! The dealer actually cannibalized another unit in their yard to get me back up and running. The temporary CPU worked for about 3 or 4 days and then it too was locking up with the 50-56 error code.

The dealer was able to find a new console CPU and came to me to install it. Everything was fine for approximately 60 to 70 hours which finished off the season. About a month ago, I started collecting my equipment from the driver痴 residences and bringing them back to the barn. The Toolcat sat unused until Monday night when I used it (or more accurately tried to use it) to move a trailer. It had only run about 10 minutes and locked up again with the error code 50-56. To make matters worse, it locked up sideways at my home blocking both garage doors and our daily drivers.

Out of desperation I pulled the driver痴 seat, center console, etc. and disconnected the wiring harness to the drive CPU controller and popped the dash console and disconnected the corresponding wiring harness. I reconnected both harnesses again and was able to move it out of the way. While the disconnect/reconnect does not solve the problem, it does allow some sort of reset so you can move the unit. Thank God it痴 summer!

The dealer is working on the issue but I wanted to post the most recent chain of events. Hopefully we will get to the bottom of this once and for all this time. I will post what ultimately happens! I still love my Toolcat(s), and I really love my dealer!

 

[MetroX]

I had a couple weird electrical issues with my 2004 Model B, and had to solve them myself because the dealer wouldn't take the time to actually find the root cause.

First issue was also a CAN communication error, long story short it was a pin in the wiring harness connector to the controller which was not fully seated. This controller module is located on the back wall of the cab, between the seats. I would recommend that you remove the connector and visually look at each pin (well, socket actually, the pins are on the controller) to see if any are not all the way at the mating surface of the connector. You can also pull on each wire individually to see if any pull back. If they do, push it all the way in and see if it locks. If so, your done. If not, then pull that wire all the way out and tweek the tab that sticks out the side a little and reinsert. If they don't lock into the connector, they will eventually vibrate out.

My second wiring problem which may be causing your issue was caused by the engine rubbing through the wire harness, grounding out the wires. My dealer 'fixed' this for me under warranty by bypassing the first wire to short out with another loose piece of wire, not a very good fix. And ultimately the reason I'll never have my dealer do any further electrical work! The location was the front corner of the cylinder head, center of the vehicle under the seats. Kind of a tough location to get to, but I highly recommend investigating this location for harness damage. It was a couple years ago now, but as I remember there is a clip in this location holding the harness to the engine, and I had to bend it away from the cylinder head a little. It was very had to see the rub through, I recommend using a little mirror. It's even harder to repair the wires, but the could easily be the cause of your intermittent CAN error. Basically anything grounding either CAN high or CAN low will squash the communications between all modules. If they were routed correctly in the first place, it would never have been an issue. Instead I had three repair trips to the dealer, and the two days I spent tracing the actual problem down and repairing it so it would not re-occur. Lesson learned!

 

[timm9]

MetroX,

Thank you for responding! Very interesting information that I will be sharing with the dealer!

 

[Rara Avis]

Did you ever get this resolved?

 

[timm9]

Paul,

Not yet. The TC has been at the dealer for two weeks (two hours away) and they have yet to be able to reproduce the issue. Hopefully this will get resolved before winter! What ever the outcome, I will post the results and (hopefully) fix.

Tim

 

[MetroX]

Tim,

Any word yet on the source of the problems with the CAN communications on your TC?

 

[timm9]

MteroX,

Not yet.... That unit has been at the dealers for going on 7 weeks. They just last week got it to "throw" the code again. They have been very good about not running the bill through the roof. I told them a was not worried about getting it back quickly as I have another TC and a W11B if I need it, and it's not snowing...

Interestingly enough, When the code locked up the TC the only way I got it on the trailer was to disconnect both CPU's which reset the code and allowed me to move it. It would not lock up again until everything was tightly reconnected and put back together again. I will post the minute we have a cure!

 

[MetroX]

Timm9,

I am so confident that you have a wiring problem affecting one of the CAN bus wires, I just want to tear into that harness!

The nature of CAN bus communications allow a certain number of erroneous messages to exist on the CAN bus. When you reset the controllers, you effectively reset the error counters.

With an intermittent connection on the CAN bus, or an intermittent grounding of one of the CAN bus wires, some messages will get through, others will be considered error frames and discarded, then the module will resend that message. So it is not uncommon that the unit will seem to work normally for a short time. Once the limit of error frames on the CAN bus is reached, the master device controller (I think this is the dash module) will ignore all messages from the module whose messages were being jumbled. If the issue affects all communications on the bus, the module that gets ignored (called going error passive, and then bus off) is usually the one trying to send the most messages. The end result to the Toolcat is that when one of the modules goes off line, it stops moving.

When you shut the Toolcat off and restart, the error counters are reset. If the intermittent problem with the CAN bus communications are not present, it will then work fine again. If the CAN bus cannot send messages (due to being grounded out, or a poor connection) then it will go into the error mode again and not move. I think that when the service guys remove the modules and plug them back in, they are moving the part of the harness that has a problem, sometimes making it work again (temporarily). This is exactly like the problem I had with my 2004 B series, which was due to an unseated pin in the connector to the drive controller. Your symptoms indicate that the modules are able to communicate (not a problem with the controllers) so I would not waste any time swapping out the dash or drive controllers.

A frustrating problem, but I hope that your service guys can concentrate on that wiring harness and solve your problem for good!

 

[timm9]

MetroX,

Thank you very much for your input! I have shared your post with the service manager and he found it very interesting! I suspect that we will see a resolution very shortly!

This "issue" has been going on for a very long time with lots of time, money, and frustration for everyone. I will post a detailed explaination of the problem and the fix as soon as things are resolved.

Thanks again!

Tim

 

[timm9]

Update:

After 2 months at the dealer (who has been excellent in keeping the diagnostic costs down) the drive CPU has been swaped out and the unit was run without failure/error code. If you have been following the posts, you will remember that I have had 3 console CPU's. At the begining of the week I had intended to pick the TC (3 1/2 to 4 hours round trip) up and finish getting ready for winter.

The service manager called and told me that even after the drive CPU replacement, the TC is still coding 50-56. My thought (along with Metro's) is that this is a wiring harness issue. The dealer is now going to bypass the two primary CAN wires in the harness and see if it will still code 50-56. I have heard reports that other harnesses have been bad out of the factory but I have not been able to provide the dealer, nor has the dealer been able to find (to convience corprate) any hard evidence supporting the need to replace the harness which is over 20 hours in labor alone. I'm being told that the dealer is trying to get the area rep to visit the dealer to review the situation.

If anyone has evidence (invoice, TC serial numbers, etc) that might help in my situation I would be very greateful!

 

[timm9]

The saga continues...Yet another update on the Error Code 50-56.

After leaving one of my TC's with the dealer for over 2 months this summer they felt they had found a solution for the error code. The dealer isolated the wires (2 wires referenced by the code) and ran new wires from the Drive Controller to the Dash Controller. It ran just fine for 7 hours and then the Error Code 50-56 came back. Unfortunately, this time I'm not able to reset the code after disconnecting the wiring harness from the two controllers, and reassembling which I was able to do previously which would allow me to get the TC on a trailer. No amount of starting and shutting off will reset the code which will not allow the TC to be moved. The TC is dead in the water so to speak. As a side note, the dealer also changed out both CPU's and no luck.

I'm posting this update for the benefit of all, but also to let everyone know that there is a way to tow the TC (B series, not sure about the others) which I was not aware of until this most recent reoccurrence. There are a set of special bolts you can purchase that will allow you to tow the TC. It's not as simple as that. There is a procedure that is outlined in the service manual under Towing in the first few pages on the manual. The bolts are being shipped UPS and will arrive tomorrow. Hopefully I can get it on the trailer and to the dealer. I'll report back and let everyone know how big of a PIA it turns out to be...

 

[dsb5610]

Tim,

I posted the tow procedure for the 'A' model which probably is the same for the 'B' series in another thread. Per the manual once you have the tow bolts installed you are not supposed to exceed 2mph for a max distance of 25ft. Not really a tow, rather just enough to winch it on a trailer.

I agree with the thoughts on the wiring harness. How many times do you replace CPUs before you rule those out? I hope they find the root cause.

Are you deep in snow there now? Good luck with the TC problem.

dsb