Resolving SIMOTION DMM Drive Activation and DRIVE-CLiQ Errors

This technical reference addresses a recurring fault scenario on SIMOTION motion controllers running SINAMICS Integrated firmware when a Double Motor Module (DMM) is partially populated. The symptom is that deactivating one drive on a DMM either pulls the entire drive line offline, throws DRIVE-CLiQ communication faults on every drive object (DO), or generates a topology warning of type "Additional Component present." The root cause is almost always a mismatch between the configured drive object activation state (parameters p105, p125, p145) and the physical presence of the power unit, combined with an incorrect pairing of SIMOTION kernel and SINAMICS Integrated firmware versions.

1. Affected System Configuration

The scenarios covered here apply to the following hardware and software stack, which is widely deployed in machine builder applications such as packaging, printing, and converting lines:

A Double Motor Module is a single line-replaceable unit that contains two physically separate Motor Module power stages, addressed as two independent drive objects (typically DO2 and DO3, or DO4 and DO5, depending on the slot assignment in SCOUT). Both halves share the same DRIVE-CLiQ node, the same cooling fan, and the same housing, but they are addressed through separate p0105-style activation parameters indexed by drive object.

2. Symptom Catalog

Three fault signatures are observed in the field. They are usually reported together but can appear independently depending on whether the user deactivates one DO or both DOs at once.

2.1 Symptom A — Entire drive line drops out

When the operator (or a startup routine) sets the activation parameter of both drive objects on a DMM to a "deactivate and not present" value, the remaining drives on the SINAMICS Integrated line (i.e., drives on the other DMM and any other Motor Modules further down the chain) come back online as expected. The deactivation is acknowledged. No alarm is raised. From a user perspective, this case is harmless.

2.2 Symptom B — DRIVE-CLiQ communication error on all DOs

When only one of the two drive objects on a DMM is deactivated using value 2 (deactivate and not present), the second — still active — drive on the same DMM goes into a DRIVE-CLiQ fault, and the fault propagates outward to every other drive in the SINAMICS Integrated line. Both LEDs on the affected DMM turn orange. Typical fault codes seen on the HMI or in the diagnostic buffer:

• F08501 — DRIVE-CLiQ: life sign of component missing
• F08502 — DRIVE-CLiQ: heartbeat of component failed
• F08504 — DRIVE-CLiQ: connection to additional component interrupted
• A08502 — DRIVE-CLiQ: heartbeat of component failed (alarm)
• F30004 — Line supply: undervoltage (secondary symptom on the still-active DO)

2.3 Symptom C — Topology warning "Additional Component present"

When the user attempts to open the topology view in SCOUT, the offline comparison reports "Additional Component present" for the deactivated DMM slot. The topology editor refuses to render. This blocks commissioning, backup/restore operations, and any further configuration change until the mismatch is resolved.

3. Root Cause Analysis

All three symptoms have a common root cause: the value of the activation parameter at the drive object level is set to 2 ("deactivate and not present") even though the DMM hardware is physically installed in the cabinet. The SINAMICS parameter model distinguishes between three different ways of removing a drive object from the active set:

When a DMM is mounted in the cabinet, value 0 or value 1 must be used to disable one half of it. Using 2 tells SINAMICS that the entire DMM is unplugged, which causes the DRIVE-CLiQ master (CU320 or SIMOTION integrated controller) to report a topology mismatch on the next cyclic poll. The orange LEDs on the DMM are the physical layer's way of indicating that the node is alive but is being addressed with a configuration that does not match what is plugged in.

The propagation to all other drives is a side effect of the way SINAMICS handles a topology inconsistency. The CU320 enters a fail-safe state, marks the entire downstream DRIVE-CLiQ ring as untrustworthy, and forces every downstream drive object into a configuration error state. This is conservative behaviour by design, and it is why the symptom looks like a complete drive line failure even when only one DO is wrongly configured.

4. Parameter Reference — p105, p125, p145

For a SIMOTION D4x5-2 with two DMMs (four motor axes), the drive object indices for a typical SCOUT offline configuration are:

The parameter index is the drive object number, not the physical slot. SCOUT numbers DOs sequentially starting from index 1 (the control unit itself). Motor Modules on the first DMM receive indices 2 and 3; the second DMM receives indices 4 and 5, and so on. Operators frequently confuse this with the DRIVE-CLiQ port number on the DMM, which is not the same thing.

The complete set of valid values for the activation parameter, as defined in the SINAMICS S120/S150 List Manual, parameter p105 / p125 / p145 "Activate/deactivate drive object":

0 = Deactivate (drive object present, not operational)
1 = Deactivate drive object (same as 0, preferred spelling for new projects)
2 = Deactivate and not present (component removed from topology)
3 = Deactivate and not present (alias of 2, retained for legacy projects)

5. Step-by-Step Resolution Procedure

Use the following sequence to bring a partially populated DMM into a stable state without removing the hardware.

1. Connect SCOUT to the controller online. Open the project, go online with the SIMOTION target, and navigate to the SINAMICS Integrated subproject.
2. Open the drive object list. In the project navigator, expand SINAMICS Integrated > Drive Objects. Confirm the DO numbers and the physical DRIVE-CLiQ port to which each DMM is connected (X1 or X2).
3. Upload the actual parameter set. Right-click the SINAMICS Integrated node and select Target device > Load to PG. This is required because the offline value of p105/p125/p145 may differ from the value currently in the drive.
4. Inspect the activation parameter for each affected DO. For each DO whose motor is to be left disconnected, read the indexed parameter and note the current value.
5. Change value 2 to value 1. Enter the value 1 for each deactivated DO whose hardware is physically present. Do not use 0 on a DMM half that has never been commissioned; 1 is the documented value for "deactivate drive object" in the current List Manual.
6. Save (RAM to ROM). Execute Copy RAM to ROM on the SINAMICS Integrated node so the value survives a power cycle.
7. Perform a power-on reset of the SINAMICS Integrated subsystem. In SCOUT, use Target system > Reset > Warm restart or cycle the 24 V control voltage. The DRIVE-CLiQ ring re-enumerates with the new topology.
8. Verify in the diagnostic buffer. Open the SINAMICS diagnostic buffer and confirm that no F0850x entries are present, and that the topology comparison reports "Topology OK".
9. Open the topology view. In SCOUT, click Topology in the project navigator. The previously observed "Additional Component present" warning should now be gone.
10. Test drive enable / disable in TO mode. From the SIMOTION side, issue Axis enable on the still-active DO and confirm it transitions to Operation enabled (status word bit 0, drive status o0007 = 4913). Issue Axis disable and confirm clean ramp-down.

6. DRIVE-CLiQ Topology Rules for a DMM

A Double Motor Module occupies a single physical node on the DRIVE-CLiQ ring but presents two logical drive objects to the control unit. The rules that govern the activation state are stricter than for a Single Motor Module (SMM), because a partially populated DMM is a common field configuration while a partially populated SMM is unusual.

1. Once a DMM is recognised by the CU320 (i.e., appears in the topology result list), both of its drive objects are auto-discovered. You cannot keep one DO unconfigured — it must be either configured-and-active, or configured-and-deactivated.
2. The physical DRIVE-CLiQ port on the DMM (X200 or X201) is independent of the activation parameter. The port remains live as long as the DMM is in the topology.
3. If the DMM is the last node on the DRIVE-CLiQ line (no outgoing connection on its X500 DRIVE-CLiQ output), leaving the last DO with value 2 typically does not raise a topology fault on the active axes — the fault is isolated. This is why the user's first machine tolerated the wrong value: the deactivated DMM was at the end of the line.
4. If the DMM is in the middle of the DRIVE-CLiQ line, value 2 blocks the ring from completing and brings the entire downstream chain down. This is the configuration the user is now seeing.
5. Position of the DO within the topology does matter. DOs in the same physical DMM share the DRIVE-CLiQ heartbeat — if one is misconfigured, the other can briefly drop out during reconfiguration. Keep activation changes to a single DO at a time and verify before proceeding.

7. Firmware Upgrade Procedure with an Absent Motor

When one motor is not connected (e.g., the customer's machine variant does not use the second axis of a DMM), the firmware upgrade must be carried out with the DMM still in the topology as a hardware node, but with the unused DO deactivated. The procedure is:

1. Confirm the firmware files are present in SCOUT under Options > Firmware/Update Manager. For SINAMICS Integrated, the files are delivered as .upd blobs in the SCOUT installation directory, not via the Siemens support portal directly.
2. Open the SINAMICS Integrated node online. The update manager should display the current firmware version of every DO, including the deactivated one.
3. Select the target firmware (e.g., V02.50.32.16 → V02.60.xx.xx) and click Perform update. The upgrade is performed for the whole CU320, which includes all DOs, active and deactivated.
4. The deactivated DO's firmware is updated silently. No motor is required to be connected; the firmware lives on the Motor Module's control board, not in the motor itself.
5. After the upgrade, verify the firmware version on each DO via r0018 (control unit firmware version) and the DO-specific version word in the drive object properties.
6. If the offline project was created with a different firmware version, SCOUT will prompt to perform a Project comparison. Accept the conversion to bring the offline project in line with the new firmware.

8. Firmware Compatibility Matrix

The following matrix lists the supported pairings of SIMOTION kernel and SINAMICS Integrated firmware. Use the latest available combination in the same SP branch whenever possible.

9. Verification Checklist

After applying the fix, run the following checks. Each item must be in the indicated state before the machine is handed back to production.

10. Common Topology Errors and Resolutions

11. Frequently Asked Questions