Resolving Siemens CP5613 PROFIBUS Card Defective Errors in WinCC

Problem Definition

The reported fault is a Siemens CP 5613 PROFIBUS card reporting the diagnostic "CP5613_5614 is defective" to WinCC V6.0 running on Windows XP. The board carries Siemens commodity code C79039-A8000-E077-02-SA EWk-X30 and has been in continuous service for more than 15 years. The bus connection holds for roughly 30 minutes after each cold start, then the SCADA loses variables and the runtime log fills with defective entries. The fault reproduces with a different industrial PC and a fresh OS image, isolating the CP card as the common element.

The string "CP5613_5614" is generated by the SIMATIC NET PC driver when the PROFIBUS ASIC on a CP 5613 or CP 5614 fails the periodic self-test or the firmware watchdog trips. The two PCI PROFIBUS cards share a single driver layer in the SIMATIC NET stack, so the OP is reading a defect diagnostic generated against the CP 5613 he has installed, not against an alternative card.

Identifying the Faulty Hardware

Before declaring the CP 5613 dead, rule out the host PC, the bus cabling and a SIMATIC NET version mismatch. The OP already eliminated the host by reproducing the fault on a second industrial PC with fresh hardware, which is the strongest evidence that the CP itself is the failure point. Verify the following physical-layer conditions in the same step:

• Bus cable is Siemens PROFIBUS FC (violet), not a generic twisted-pair cable that exceeds RS-485 limits.
• Termination resistors are switched ON only at the two physical end nodes of the segment.
• Segment length at 12 Mbps is ≤ 100 m between active nodes; 200 m is the spec at 1.5 Mbps.
• Shield is bonded 360° at every cabinet entry. Pigtail shield bonds are a common cause of 30-minute intermittent drops.
• Bus load from the WinCC cyclic polling plus the DP slaves is below 50% to leave headroom for retries.

Root Cause Analysis

CP 5613 cards from the 6GK1 561-3AA00 series have a documented end-of-life failure mode after long-term service:

1. ASIC re-train failure. The PROFIBUS ASIC (PBC / ASPC2 family) trains to the next bus master each time the host boots. Aging of the PLL section causes the training loop to drop lock after the +3.3 V and +5 V rails warm up; the driver then reports the card as defective after the watchdog timer expires.
2. Electrolytic-capacitor drying. 15 years of storage and use dries out the rail-filter capacitors. The bus survives a warm-up window of roughly 20-40 minutes while the ASIC is still tolerable, then decays as the rails heat and ripple rises.
3. Driver / firmware mismatch. Mixed SIMATIC NET builds between adjacent stations hide intermittent faults. The OP has already swapped PCs and still hit the same diagnostic, which strengthens the case for a hardware fault rather than a driver mismatch.
4. Shield or termination drift. A 30-minute intermittent window is classic thermal drift on a shield bond that is intermittently open as the cabinet warms. Always confirm the physical layer is clean before changing the CP card.

Compatible Replacement CP Cards

The original CP 5613 (6GK1 561-3AA00) and CP 5614 (6GK1 561-4AA00) PCI cards are no longer orderable as new parts. The OP has a Windows XP PCI-based industrial PC. The set of acceptable replacements narrows quickly:

Because the OP is on a legacy PCI industrial PC running Windows XP, only CP 5613 A3, CP 5614 A3, or CP 5711 fit the existing enclosure without replacing the host PC. CP 5623 is PCI-Express and would need a motherboard swap; leave it for the Phase B retrofit.

USB MPI/DP Adapter (6ES7 972-0CB20-0XA0) Analysis

The OP also has a Siemens USB MPI/DP adapter 6ES7 972-0CB20-0XA0. This is a programming adapter, not a CP-class PROFIBUS interface. The card is driven by the SIMATIC NET "PC Adapter" driver set and is operationally limited to low-speed, point-to-point connections.

The "LEDs off / adapter appears dead" behavior the OP observed when connecting to the field trunk is fully explained by the bus-segment voltage check. The PC Adapter transceiver draws power from the PROFIBUS bus itself. If the segment has missing termination, an open shield, or no powered station at the far end, the adapter has no supply rail to drive its LED stack. Use a powered repeater segment or connect to a CPU's isolated MPI/DP port to confirm the adapter itself is healthy.

Fault Timing Profile

The reported 30-minute window is a useful signature. Two parasitic elements converge:

The warm-up window is consistent with capacitor ESR drift and ASIC PLL jitter rising with temperature. A clean bus and a fresh CP remove the entire failure mode.

WinCC V6.0 and Windows XP Compatibility

WinCC V6.0 was released for Windows 2000 Professional SP4 and Windows XP Professional SP2/SP3. The hard tie on compatibility is the SIMATIC NET PC software build. The OP is on WinCC V6.0 and must stay on a SIMATIC NET version on the Siemens compatibility list, or driver faults will be attributed to the CP card.

SIMATIC NET Version Mapping

Capture the installed versions before replacing any hardware. If the running build is below V6.3 on Windows XP, upgrade to SIMATIC NET V6.4 SP7 on the same SP that ships with WinCC V6.0 SP3. The driver upgrade alone sometimes stabilizes an aged CP 5613 because the V6.4 line revised the bus-reset routine to recover the older ASIC more aggressively.

1. Open Start > Programs > Siemens Automation > SIMATIC NET > Set PG/PC Interface.
2. Note the active access point (typically S7ONLINE (STEP 7)) and the assigned module (currently CP5613 PROFIBUS).
3. Open Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs and identify the installed SIMATIC NET build, for example SIMATIC NET PC Software V6.4 SP7.
4. Open Device Manager and confirm the CP card shows up without a yellow bang.
5. Run the bus diagnostic tool: Start > Programs > Siemens Automation > SIMATIC NET > Diagnostics > PROFIBUS Diagnostics. Capture a baseline before the swap.

Note the WinCC project's DP slave addresses, baud rate, master class, OPC items and the SOE archive layouts before any hardware swap. WinCC V6.0 does not auto-migrate between machines even when the version is identical.

PROFIBUS Cable, Termination, and Bus Speed

Even a new CP card behaves badly on a poor physical layer. Confirm every point in the bus checklist before installing the new card:

Bus rate on the OP's segment is configured in SIMATIC NET > Set PG/PC Interface under the CP PROFIBUS properties. If the SCADA traffic includes DP-V2 slaves (e.g. drives), the replacement CP card must support DP-V2; use CP 5614 A3 or CP 5623, not the basic CP 5711.

Replacement Procedure (Step-by-Step)

1. Capture the current project. Export the WinCC V6.0 project to a USB stick. Note DP slave addresses, baud rates and OPC items exposed via SIMATIC NET.
2. Power down and discharge. Shut down Windows, switch off PSU, wait 60 s for the +5 V and +3.3 V rails to drop to 0 V. Touch the chassis to dissipate static before handling the CP.
3. Remove the failing CP 5613. Note the slot number. Inspect the failing card for bulging capacitors, oxidation on the gold-finger contacts, or scorching near the ASIC. Visible degradation supports the "defective" diagnostic.
4. Insert the replacement. For PCI: CP 5613 A3 in the same slot, or CP 5614 A3 if the segment has DP-V2 slaves. For external: CP 5711 in a downstream USB port away from noise sources. Tighten the D-sub retaining screws.
5. Reboot and verify driver load. Windows XP should auto-detect and request the SIMATIC NET drivers. If the driver was uninstalled when the failing card was removed, install the matching SIMATIC NET build first.
6. Re-apply the bus parameters. Set PG/PC Interface > CP5613 PROFIBUS > Properties > PROFIBUS; set baud rate, DP master enable, station address.
7. Run the bus diagnostic. Open SIMATIC NET > Diagnostics > PROFIBUS Diagnostics. Confirm every configured slave appears with green status.
8. Run WinCC in test mode. Restart WinCC Runtime; observe at least 8 hours before declaring the fix complete. The OP's original 30-minute failure window is the minimum stress test.

Verification and Acceptance Tests

Acceptance criteria after the CP swap:

• CP 5613 / CP 5614 / CP 5711 visible in Device Manager with no warning triangle.
• PROFIBUS diagnostic shows green for every configured slave at the 5-minute mark and again at the 4-hour mark.
• WinCC Runtime tag status Good for ≥ 99% of polls over a 24-hour log.
• Bus monitor trace shows round-trip < 50 ms at the configured baud rate for an idle segment.
• Stress test on the new card: load the bus to 60% in SIMATIC NET Diagnostics and confirm no fault appears over 30 minutes.
• Drive a power-cycle on the host PC and confirm the bus recovers within the driver attach timeout (typically 30 s).

If the diagnostics remain green for 24 hours, mark the defective entries in the runtime log as resolved and keep the failing card tagged for failure analysis.

Troubleshooting Matrix

Map the common observations to their root causes:

Retrofit Strategy for Long-Term Stability

A second host PC reproducing the fault confirms the failure is hardware. The defined temporary fix (CP 5613 A3, CP 5711, or CP 5614 A3 on the same PC) removes the immediate outage but does not address the XP platform. Windows XP is out of mainstream support, and current SIMATIC NET and WinCC releases require Windows 10 (or Windows 10/11 LTSC) on x64 hardware.

Plan the retirement of the XP / WinCC V6.0 PC in two phases:

1. Phase A (1-3 months): Replace only the CP card to keep production running. Use CP 5613 A3 for slot compatibility, or CP 5711 if the host PC is sealed with no free PCI slots.
2. Phase B (3-9 months): Build a new PC station on Windows 10 LTSC with WinCC V7.5 SP2 or the current SP. Migrate the project with the WinCC Project Migrator. Use CP 5623 (PCIe) or CP 5711 with SIMATIC NET V18+ as the supported hardware path.

PROFIBUS Diagnostics Reference

For new S7-1200 stations that move to PROFINET or PROFIBUS, the diagnostic flow is similar: bring up the bus, verify the slaves, and use the controller's web server for live state. Reference: Diagnostics (PROFINET or PROFIBUS) — SIMATIC S7-1200 manual collection. For the S7-300 PROFIBUS segment in this article, the equivalent diagnostic surface is SIMATIC NET PROFIBUS Diagnostics, documented in the SIMATIC NET PC Software manual that ships with each driver release.

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