What causes fault code ASRS-WCS1 (AS/RS WCS Communication Loss — Crane Offline)?

Ethernet network connection between WCS server and crane PLC lost — cable, switch, or NIC failure. Crane PLC faulted or rebooted — communication dropped during controller restart. WCS server application crashed or hung — not sending/receiving messages. Network bandwidth saturated — excessive traffic on shared network infrastructure. Firewall or VLAN change on the IT network blocking WCS-to-crane traffic

How do I fix fault code ASRS-WCS1?

Check WCS application status — verify the WCS software is running and responsive. Ping the crane PLC from the WCS server — verify basic network connectivity. Check crane PLC status — controller should be in RUN mode with no major faults. Check network switch ports — verify link LEDs on both ends of the connection. If IT recently made network changes, check VLAN assignments and firewall rules. Restart WCS communication service if application is running but connection is stale — this often reconnects without a full WCS restart

AS/RS WCS Communication Loss — Crane Offline

ASRS-WCS1

Warehouse Control System (WCS) lost communication with the crane controller. Crane is operating in local mode or is stopped, not accepting commands from the WCS.

high asrs

asrs wcs communication network plc offline warehouse

Probable Causes (ranked)

Ethernet network connection between WCS server and crane PLC lost — cable, switch, or NIC failure
Crane PLC faulted or rebooted — communication dropped during controller restart
WCS server application crashed or hung — not sending/receiving messages
Network bandwidth saturated — excessive traffic on shared network infrastructure
Firewall or VLAN change on the IT network blocking WCS-to-crane traffic

Fix Steps

1 Check WCS application status — verify the WCS software is running and responsive
2 Ping the crane PLC from the WCS server — verify basic network connectivity
3 Check crane PLC status — controller should be in RUN mode with no major faults
4 Check network switch ports — verify link LEDs on both ends of the connection
5 If IT recently made network changes, check VLAN assignments and firewall rules
6 Restart WCS communication service if application is running but connection is stale — this often reconnects without a full WCS restart

Field Trick

In most AS/RS installations, the crane PLC network and the office IT network share infrastructure (same switches, same cable plant). When IT pushes a switch firmware update or changes a VLAN at 2 AM, it can take the crane offline. Always get on the IT change notification list so you know about network changes BEFORE your crane stops talking.

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